In December 2025, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) published its 2026 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report (the “Report”). The Report includes a focused discussion of private placements, highlighting areas that continue to draw attention from FINRA’s Member Supervision, Market Oversight and Enforcement teams.
FINRA reiterates that recommendations of private placements to retail investors trigger…
On December 11, 2025, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) issued a report on social media‑influenced investing (the “Report”). FINRA observes that an increasing number of investors report that social media content directly impacts their investing decisions; this trend is especially pronounced among younger investors. The Report summarizes the findings of a FINRA staff…
On December 17, 2025, the staff of the Division of Trading and Markets (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released an update to its May 2025 FAQs relating to crypto asset activities and distributed ledger technology. The additional FAQs focus on trading and settlement issues, including how alternative trading systems (“ATSs”) and…
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…
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 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 March 25, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) held a Crypto Task Force roundtable to explore regulatory considerations surrounding custody of crypto assets through broker-dealers and other financial institutions, such as state chartered limited purpose trust companies. Newly installed SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins opened the roundtable by stating that he expects “huge…
