Pay to Play, Revenue Sharing and Wrap Fees Remain on the SEC’s Radar

Pay to play and wrap-fee violations, as well as improper revenue-sharing arrangements, are perennial SEC hot-button issues. Enforcement often turns on whether there has been adequate disclosure, but even extensive disclosure may be insufficient to avoid sanctions in certain cases. An added concern in the industry is that the SEC and FINRA often identify conflicts of interest in circumstances that do not seem obvious. Further, even if the SEC de-emphasizes enforcement under the Trump administration, FINRA and state regulators may try to fill the gap. These issues and others were addressed in a recent presentation by MyComplianceOffice (MCO) featuring Cipperman Compliance Services founder Todd Cipperman. This article summarizes Cipperman’s insights. For additional commentary from Cipperman, see our three-part series on the side-by-side management of hedge funds and alternative mutual funds: “Investment Allocation Conflicts” (Apr. 2, 2015); “Operational Conflicts” (Apr. 9, 2015); and “How to Mitigate Conflicts” (Apr. 16, 2015). For other recent insights from MCO, see “Study Reveals Weaknesses in Asset Managers’ Third-Party and Vendor Risk Management Programs” (Mar. 9, 2017); and “What the Record Number of 2016 SEC and FINRA Enforcement Actions Indicates About the Regulators’ Possible Enforcement Focus for 2017” (Dec. 15, 2016).

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