UpFront » November 2021

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has outlined a number of areas he expects to be a focus for exams of hedge funds and other private funds. Whether Gensler plans to put the hammer down on private funds remains to be seen, but he has put the industry on notice explains FrontLine’s Founder and President Amy Lynch. Providing the lead quotes, Ms. Lynch describes Gensler’s public comments coinciding with SEC issued risk alerts as a signal that…

Looking back at the past year reveals several key industry developments and trends that will continue to be impactful during 2022. On the regulatory side, a new era for the SEC began with Chairman Gary Gensler at the helm. It quickly became clear that changes would be coming for certain regulations – and at the top of the list were the rules for advertising and marketing. As part of the ThinkAdvisor cover story on 2021…

The SEC’s recent rejection of a spot bitcoin ETF based on its failure to meet investor protection obligations under Federal securities laws does not bode well for other similar ETFs seeking approval. The VanEck spot ETF would have traded within an unregulated cryptocurrency market that SEC Chair Gary Gensler has made clear lacks the same protections against fraud and manipulation as regulated markets. Unlike a bitcoin futures ETF that trades on commodity exchanges that are…

FrontLine Compliance Founder and President Amy Lynch was interviewed by BARRON’S for its recent cover story and related podcast on the state of the cryptocurrency market. Ms. Lynch suggests that crypto assets for now do not seem to present the type of systemic risk that caused prior market crashes and blind-sided banks and investment firms. An important question, she points out, is who would a crash impact in a systemic way since major financial players…

When the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (IM) recently issued an Information Update on the new Marketing Rule, FrontLine Compliance was among the first to notify the industry of its significance via our ComplianceAlert. Importantly, numerous SEC no-action letters were withdrawn by the SEC and no longer valid for reliance by investment advisers for marketing and advertising purposes. Key parts of FrontLine’s alert guidance were quoted in the ThinkAdvisor piece, as well…