The SEC has been operating under the premise that more disclosure is always beneficial to the markets. Proposed or adopted rules to increase or shorten time periods for trade reporting and position reporting reflect this. 

While it seems reasonable to conclude that the investor who receives the information is benefitted, that benefit comes at the expense of the person who must disclose. To the extent that an investor (including a fund) must disclose information that allows…

Mr. Atkins' approach marks a significant and welcome change from that of the SEC under his predecessor. Former Chair Gensler acknowledged that issuers increasingly preferred staying private to going public; however, the only means by which he considered addressing this preference was to increase the regulatory requirements on private issuers to make staying private more burdensome. He never considered whether it was possible to decrease the regulatory requirements on public issuers to make…

The suspension imposed on this broker, who allegedly stole a not-huge sum of money from his employer, is much greater than the penalties imposed on brokers who steal far greater sums from elderly customers or persons otherwise unable to protect themselves. FINRA should re-examine whether its penalties are proportionate to the sins for which penalties are imposed.  

The contrast with a recent SEC settlement is notable. The SEC just imposed a six-month suspension (see )…

One compliance point of which to take particular note: the failure of the firm to provide disclosure documents to customers to whom it did not provide custody.  Worthwhile points for other firms to check: (i) whether their provisions of Form CRS are tied to their custodial accounts; and (ii) whether their offering procedures mandate the provision of Form CRS to investors who may not have received the Form previously.