Insights

New York – June 6, 2024: Christopher Mendez, former general counsel and chief compliance officer at several investment management firms, has joined Crowell & Moring’s Financial Services Group as senior counsel in New York, bringing in-depth experience advising on fund formation and other corporate matters.

On September 30, 2024, the SEC announced the settlement of an enforcement action against Marathon Asset Management, L.P. (Marathon) for failing to implement proper policies and procedures to prevent the misuse of material nonpublic information (MNPI).  The issue stemmed from Marathon’s participation in ad hoc creditors’ committees, where the firm inadvertently received MNPI through its consultants and advisers.  This enforcement action highlights the SEC’s intense focus on the participation by investors in ad hoc creditors’ committees and the importance of implementing robust MNPI controls when doing so.

On August 26, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had settled charges with Sound Point Capital Management, LP, a New York-based registered investment adviser, for inadequate policies and procedures regarding its handling of material nonpublic information (“MNPI”) and related compliance deficiencies in its collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) trading activities. Sound Point agreed to pay a $1.8 million civil penalty in addition to other remedial measures. Notably, the SEC did not charge the investment adviser or its employees with violating SEC Rule 10b-5.

The Private Fund Rules were the most comprehensive set of regulations for the private funds industry since the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank”). On June 5, 2024, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“Fifth Circuit”) vacated the Private Fund Adviser Rules (“Private Fund Rules”).

Thursday, October 10, 2024Understanding FinCEN's Final Rule: AML/CFT Compliance for Investment AdvisersClick here to view the on-demand webinar program.On August 28, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final rule that will impose new anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements on SEC-registered investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers. Join us for an insightful webinar on the new regulatory requirements issued by FinCEN. This session will provide a comprehensive overview of the specific requirements for AML/CFT compliance programs, as well as key takeaways and issues to keep top of mind as we move into this new enforcement era.