Principal or Agency Transactions (State and Federal)
May not knowingly buy or sell to a client from own personal account without disclosure and consent
Agency: Bringing two of your clients together in a trade
Agency transaction the biggest temptation would be the bump in compensation
May obtain consent after transaction but before execution (consent cannot be provided on a blanket base)
Not acting as a broker if in an agency trade he does not take compensation (other than advisory fee)
Rule does not apply to BD if client does not advise on transaction
Advertising under the USA and SEC
USA- Unlawful to publish, circulate or distribute any AD not complying with investment advisers act of 1940
SEC definition- Any notice, circular, website, letter addressed to 1+ person that offers:
Unlawful advertisements
Investment Advisory Contacts (State and Federal)
3 Main differences between state and fed:
Contract must disclose:
Investment advisory contract strictly State
If adviser participate in profits on the funds
Must disclose the following to the client:
1. May be more advantageous to take a riskier approach
Fulcrum Fee
Outperform index by 5% over a set period, adviser would receive a fee increase
Underperform you could lose the same amount
Assignment
Sale of advisory contract with a client to another investment adviser
If it is a partnership, no assignment occurs in case of death or withdrawal of a minority partner
Pledging securities in a corporation is considered assignment
Allowed to add additional equal partners without customer consent but must notify them
Agency Cross Transactions
Acts as agent on both sides of trade
Must get written consent in advance before first trade and disclose:
Client must receive written trade confirmation stating:
Cash Referral Fees (SEC)27g
Must meet 4 criteria under SEC
1. Must be registered under the investment advisers act
SEC requires a solicitors written disclosure doc and that form adv part 2A be delivered to solicited client
Cash Referral Fees (State)
Solicitor must be registered as an IAR
Does not have to be strictly for the IA that you are under (weird)
Cash Referral Fee (both)
May pay for referrals from lawyers, accountants or insurance agents
Size of payment cannot be based on assets brought in though
Fraudulent or Prohibited Practices When Providing Investment Advice
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 makes it unlawful to provide advice to clients unless you
Section 28 (e) of SEC Act of 1934
Soft dollars- Allocating commission dollars towards purchasing of research
Directed Transactions- Sending client trades to a broker-dealer for services
Not deemed a breach of fiduciary duty if the extra commission paid in the soft dollar arrangement is worthy of the brokerage and research services provided
Must disclose soft dollar relationships to clients even if client is not paying extra money
Item 12 of Part 2A of form ADV
IA must describe in ADV:
SEC also requires IA must explain that:
-The IA benefits due to not paying for research
28 (e) Safe Harbor vs out
In Harbor:
Out: Telephone lines Office furniture Travel expenses to attend seminars Rent Software not relating Training for exams Internet service
Client Referrals
If an IA receives a referral from a BD in exchange for business, must be disclosed
Directed Brokerage
An IA recommending a BD must reveal conflicts of interest
If a client selects brokerage to use, IA must disclose if the BD is unable to perform or if there are cheaper options available to the IA
Trade Aggregation and Allocation
Making one large trade to save on cost
If trade cannot be done at one price, must average
Voting Client Securities
Must be infor on advisers policy in Part 2a
Must describe:
Compliance Programs
All IAs registered with SEC must implement a plan designed to prevent breaking of federal law, update annually and designate a chief compliance office
Chief compliance officer ID must be disclosed in the ADV
Should identify conflicts and compliance factors and address them in policy
SEC minimum compliance guidelines
Portfolio management process
Trading practices, including best execution obligation, soft dollar arrangements and aggregated trades
Trading of advisers and personal trading of supervised persons
Disclosures to clients
Safeguarding of client assets
Creation of required records and maintenance
Marketing advisory services
Safeguard of client info
Business continuity plans
Political Contributions by IAs (Pay to play)
Prohibits advisors from receiving comp for advisory services to a gov entity until 2 years after a donation is made to a public official or candidate in charge of public retirement funds
Covered employees may make $350 donation to campaign in which they can vote
$150 for others without violation
Covered Employee includes:
Exception- New Hires who made contribution 6 months prior unless job is soliciting clients (2 year look back for them)
Returned contributions not exceeding $350, discovered in 4 months after contribution and returned within 60 days from discovery
Limit on Exceptions
IA with over 50 employees, permitted 3 exceptions within calendar year
50 or fewer, permitted 2