The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) published its 2026 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report (the “Report”), which builds on the structure and content of FINRA’s prior reports for 2021-2025. This year, the Report was published earlier than…
On November 17, 2025, the staff of the Division of Trading and Markets (the “Staff”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued no-action relief permitting a registered representative-owned personal services entity (“PSE”) to receive transaction-based compensation (“TBC”) without registering as a broker-dealer (“BD”) pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of…
Under new SEC leadership, the Division’s 2026 Examination Priorities reflect a modified approach, following a reevaluation of the Division’s risk-based priorities, and a renewed focus on several traditional risk areas (including Regulation Best Interest, adherence to fiduciary standards of conduct, complex products and the Broker-Dealer Financial Responsibility Rules) as well as continued attention to emerging …
FINRA has commenced a targeted review of member firm practices relating to public and private offerings undertaken by small-cap, exchange-listed issuers with business operations in foreign jurisdictions, including China (collectively, “small-cap offerings”). The review focuses on (i) firms that have participated in multiple small-cap offerings as an underwriter, bookrunner, syndicate member, selling group member, or…
FINRA’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Cook, recently published a blog post describing FINRA’s ongoing efforts to integrate artificial intelligence (“AI”), including generative AI (“GenAI”), into its regulatory program and engage with member firms regarding their use of GenAI. Below we highlight how FINRA is using GenAI to perform its self-regulatory functions more effectively…
On September 30, 2025, the staff of the Division of Investment Management of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission granted no-action relief that allows, subject to numerous conditions: (i) investment advisers registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”); and (ii) investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of…
On September 5, 2025, the Staff of the Division of Trading and Markets of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission granted no-action relief that allows members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) to rely on the Central Registration Depository system (“CRD”) to satisfy their record retention requirements under Rule 17a-4 under the Securities…
On August 6, 2025, the Staff of the Division of Trading and Markets of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released an updated set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) addressing the application of Rule 15c3-3a to cleared US Treasury securities. While these responses reflect only staff views and are not an SEC rulemaking, they provide…
Webinar | August 11, 2025
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EDT
Register here.
Tokenized bonds are one asset class that is quickly emerging from the amorphous pool of digital asset projects. Hosted by PLI, this webinar will provide an overview of the fundamentals of tokenized bonds, how they are structured, and how they have…
