Examining SEC s 2021 Examination Priorities - Corporate/Commercial Law mondaq.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mondaq.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
REGULATORY UPDATES
SEC Leadership Changes
On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Senate voted to approve President Biden’s nomination of Gary Gensler as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) through June 5, 2021. The vote came after the Senate Banking Committee endorsed Gensler’s nomination in March 2021. The confirmation only approves Gensler to serve the remainder of former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton’s term, though the Senate Banking Committee has cleared Gensler to serve another five-year term afterward. Gensler served as chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2009 to 2014, and helped to draft the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as senior advisor to U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes. In a statement, the SEC’s four commissioners said they welcome Gensler “and look forward to working together to execute our vital mission.”
Each year, the SEC’s Division of Examinations (f.k.a. OCIE) (the “
Division”) releases its priorities for the upcoming year, providing SEC registrants with a helpful tool to assist in managing, reviewing, and updating their compliance programs. The 2021 Examination Priorities (the “
2021 Priorities”), which were released last month, indicate a greater focus on conflicts of interest for broker-dealers (“
BDs”) and registered investment advisers (“
RIAs”); a special emphasis on disclosure of climate and environmental, social, and governance (“
ESG”)-related risks; and concern about risks related to financial technology (“
FinTech”) investments, including digital assets.
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The 2021 Priorities offer another indication of the Division’s sharpening focus on the investment management industry. Despite the significant increase in the number of RIAs and disruptions due to the pandemic, the 2021 Priorities report that the Division still managed to examine 15
Friday, April 9, 2021
SEC Announces 2021 Examination Priorities
The SEC’s Division of Examinations (Division), formerly known as the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), released its 2021 examination priorities. In its release, the Division noted that it completed over 2,952 examinations in 2020 and issued more than 2,000 deficiency letters. Approximately 15% of all registered investment advisers were examined during 2020 and the Division completed more than 100 examinations of investment companies. The Division also conducted hundreds of outreach calls to investment companies and advisers to assess market impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 priorities are grouped into the following categories, each of which is described below in more detail:
SEC s 2021 Securities Industry Registrant Examination Priorities natlawreview.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from natlawreview.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.