SEC Sues Investment Adviser for Violating MNPI Policies and Procedures

SEC Charges Investment Adviser for Policies and Procedures Failures

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against New York-based registered investment adviser OEP Capital Advisors, L.P (“OEP”) for failing to maintain and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent the misuse of material, nonpublic information (“MNPI”) and to implement written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent misleading communications to current and prospective investors in the privately-offered, private-equity funds that OEP advises. According to the SEC’s order, since at least 2019, OEP made numerous statements to current investors, potential investors and industry contacts that violated OEP’s policies and procedures concerning disclosure of merger-related MNPI and communication of OEP fund performance claims. Further, the order finds, in various business contexts, OEP violated its written policies and procedures on when it was appropriate to disclose MNPI.

Big Battles Loom in SEC’s War on Crypto

It is the Securities and Exchange Commission’s forever war.

The SEC in 2024 will mark the seventh year of its campaign to regulate cryptocurrencies through enforcement, with no end in sight. The regulator is waging several major court battles that could determine whether rules written for Wall Street apply to digital assets.

But a winner is unlikely to emerge in 2024 and neither is certainty about who regulates crypto.

“When you do regulation by enforcement, this is how long it takes,” said Jan Folena, a partner at Stradley Ronon who earlier tried major cases for the SEC. “There is no shortcutting it. You can’t go to the court and say, ‘We need an answer fast because nobody else is doing anything.’”

Elections, SEC Cases, DOJ Cases: What Crypto Regulation May Bring in 2024

Buckle up, folks….

There’s no rest for the weary. Though a lot happened in 2023, including an entire criminal trial, next year promises to be much busier. I’m interested in five main categories of events or activities that may play out next year: Court cases, elections, regulatory agency actions, legislation and the broader crypto market.

Wall Street Braces for More SEC Scrutiny of AI, Private Funds

The Securities and Exchange Commission is racing to safeguard its most consequential rules from any future changes in the administration or in Congress.

The SEC is targeting April to finalize almost two dozen rules, including those related to climate disclosure, according to the Biden administration’s regulatory agenda. More than a dozen other rule proposals are also in the works.

The anticipated activity builds on previous busy months, in which the SEC has adopted rules that include requiring funds to disclose more information about their fees and about short-sale transactions.

MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Holdings Top $8 Billion With Latest Purchase

MicroStrategy Inc., the enterprise software maker which has made buying Bitcoin as part of its corporate strategy, increased its total holdings of the cryptocurrency to more than $8 billion through additional purchases this month.

The Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company run by Bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor acquired 14,620 Bitcoin for $616 million in cash from Nov. 30 to Dec. 26, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. That brings its total holding to 189,150 Bitcoin, or to almost 1% of the 19.58 million Bitcoin outstanding.