MFA, the Investment Company Institute, the Investment Adviser Association, the Alternative Investment Management Association, and the Asset Management Group of SIFMA (the "Associations") submitted a letter to the CFTC, following up on a January 2013 letter, requesting relief to permit sponsors of privately offered investment funds and registered investment companies to net certain uncleared swaps held by a fund for compliance with a CPO de minimis trading registration exemption. The Associations amended the January 2013 letter to request that the CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary

The SEC announced that Martin Murphy, the Associate Regional Director for Examinations in the SEC's Los Angeles office, is retiring after 24 years at the Commission. Karol Pollock, the L.A. office's Deputy Associate Director for Examinations, will serve as Acting Director for the examinations project until a successor is named. See : SEC Press Release.

The SEC announced that, in fiscal year 2015, the fees that public companies and other issuers pay to register their securities with the Commission will decrease from $128.80 per million dollars to $116.20 per million dollars. The new fee rates will become effective on October 1, 2014. Lofchie Comment : If penalty levels are similarly reduced, we will know that true disinflation has hit. Se e : SEC Order; Press Release.

The SEC issued an order accepting the settlement offer of a Certified Public Accountant ("CPA") and a former Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") of Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. ("ACS"). According to the SEC, in 2008 and 2009, ACS arranged for an equipment manufacturer to redirect some of its preexisting orders through ACS, giving the appearance that ACS was involved when, in reality, ACS had no substantive involvement. Therefore, the SEC states, ACS should not have reported revenue from these arrangements nor misreported revenues in its financial reports for these periods. Subsequently, ACS

SIFMA submitted a comment letter and a petition for disapproval to the SEC regarding the NYSE proposal to establish a new market data product called "NYSE Best Quote Trade." According to SIFMA, NYSE's actions are "inconsistent with the decisions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in NetCoalition v. SEC." SIFMA stated that the SEC should not approve the rule change, since the filing "on [its] face [is] unlawful," and asserted that the rule change "fail[s] to comport" with the Exchange Act as interpreted by the court in NetCoalition. See: SIFMA Comment Letter