SEC order instituting administrative and cease-and-desist proceeding pursuant to Sections 203(e) and 203(k) of the Advisers Act. [SL Comment: This disciplinary action really goes to the conduct of, and the personnel involved in, the compliance process. The SEC stated that the firm (i) had failed to adopt remedial measures in response t prior examinations, (ii) its compliance procedures were generally inadequate, having been originally developed for a broker-dealer and not tailored to the firm's advisory business, and (iii) a CCO of whom the SEC "questioned [his] ability to adequately oversee

Chairman Schapiro noted that although the Knight Capital trading mishap is the type of event that can raise concerns for investors about our nation's equity markets, she believes that several of the measures the SEC instituted following the Flash Crash helped to limit its impact. "Recently-adopted circuit breakers halted trading on individual stocks that experienced significant price fluctuations, and clearly defined rules guided the exchanges in determining which trades could be broken giving the marketplace certainty." [SL Comment: In fact, many of the routine SRO rule "changes" of late

At yesterday's House Financial Services Subcommittee Markup, members approved H.R. 2827, introduced by Rep. Robert Dold (R-Ill.), by a vote of 20 to 10 with 1 present. The bill aims to clarify the definition of "municipal advisor" Additionally, the bill seeks to introduce exemptions to the municipal advisor definition. The definition of "municipal advisor" is in Section 15B(e)(4) of the Exchange Act. The revised definition narrows the definition and makes the definition less ambiguous by requiring that such entity be "formally engaged, in writing and for compensation" by a municipal entity

The SEC charged an executive at Bristol-Myers Squibb with insider trading on confidential information about companies being targeted for potential acquisitions. The SEC alleges that the executive profited by misusing nonpublic information he obtained while helping his employer evaluate whether to acquire three other pharmaceutical companies. Cross-Reference(s): Securities Act Section 17(a); Exchange Act Sections 10(b) and 14(e), Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3. View in full here (links externally to SEC website). Additional Materials: SEC Complaint; More SEC Insider Trading Cases.

The SEC announced that municipal securities expert John J. Cross III has been named the director of the agency's new Office of Municipal Securities. [SL Comment: What is perhaps more interesting is the amount of publicity being given to municipal securities these days. For example, the SEC has devoted a page of its website to issues involving municipalities. SEC Commissioner Walter is taking the lead on this initiative and many of the items of the web page feature her activities. View press release in full here (links externally to SEC website).