U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) questioned the "financial and editorial arrangements" behind a current study on the DOL's proposed Conflict of Interest rule. The study was co-authored by former Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Dr. Robert Litan, who also gave testimony on the rule before a senate subcommittee. Senator Warren discussed her concerns in letters to the DOL and the Brookings Institution. Specifically, Senator Warren questioned the following: Dr. Litan's specific representation of the Brookings Institution as a Nonresident Senior Fellow; the "wildly inconsistent results" of

The Board of Directors of the North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc. ("NASAA") is seeking comments on a proposed model act to protect vulnerable adults from financial exploitation. The proposed model legislation is intended to give industry participants and state regulators new tools for detecting and preventing the financial exploitation of vulnerable adults. Comments on the proposal are due by October 29, 2015.

The SEC filed fraud charges against a registered investment adviser and its owner for allegedly engaging in self-dealing and for failing to disclose material facts to clients about conflicts of interest, the use of investor funds and the risks of recommended investments. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the SEC alleged that the investment adviser and its owner urged their clients to invest over $40 million in illiquid securities issued by several related companies without disclosing that the owner had an ownership interest in the parent company

The SEC announced that its Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee will hold a meeting on October 27. The meeting will focus on NMS Rule 610 ("Access to Quotations") and the regulatory structure of trading venues. At the meeting, the SEC will discuss the impact of the access fees and rebates that are used widely by exchanges and other trading venues, as well as the current regulatory model for exchanges, including the different regulatory frameworks that are applicable to exchanges. Additionally, the SEC will discuss recent market volatility and any market structure issues that such

The MFA updated its equity market structure recommendations. It made the following new recommendations to the SEC for enhancing the resilience of critical infrastructure and the robustness of the market framework: improve the reliability and oversight of consolidated market data; require electronic trading venues to provide trade order and execution information in milliseconds; develop contingency plans and interim processes to address unexpected trading halts, particularly those that are caused by technology failures; at least every two years, reexamine the parameters used to set circuit