The SEC Office of Investor Education and Advocacy issued an investor bulletin to educate investors about affinity fraud, a type of investment scam that targets members of identifiable groups. The alert explains that affinity fraud often takes the form of a Ponzi or pyramid scheme, in which money given to the promoter by new investors is paid to earlier investors to create the illusion that the so-called investment is successful. In cases of affinity fraud, fraudsters frequently pretend to be members of the group they are attempting to defraud. The bulletin offers tips to help investors avoid

The Mercatus Center published an article by Mercatus Scholar and former Congressional and SEC staff attorney Hester Peirce titled "On Its 80th, How Can the SEC Renew Its Mission?" The article discusses how the 80-year-old SEC should change the way it fulfills its mission. According to Ms. Peirce, the SEC should move away from making decisions for investors and instead work to "foster investor skepticism" to ensure that the investors themselves are asking questions before investing their money. Additionally, Ms. Peirce argued that the SEC should take care not to harm investors inadvertently by

The Division of Consumer and Community Affairs of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") updated its Consumer Compliance Handbook. The updates include the newly adopted Community Bank Risk-Focused Consumer Compliance Supervision Program and the removal of the Alternative Examinations Approach for Low-Risk Banks. See: Updated Consumer Compliance Handbook.

Mercatus on Policy published a policy brief, by American Enterprise Institute scholar James K. Glassman and Mercatus Center scholar Hester Peirce , that outlines the regulations that give power to proxy advisory firms, discusses the nature and adverse consequences of that power, and offers suggestions for reform. The policy brief discusses the two major firms that dominate the proxy advisory industry and concludes that the firms' power derives from growth in the proportion of shares owned by institutions, the growing number of proxy votes, and the regulatory push toward reliance on outside

At SIFMA's Tech 2014 Conference, SIFMA Executive Vice President Randy Snook spoke about how to maximize the potential of technology while managing the inherent risk. According to Mr. Snook, while a tremendous amount of innovation has made the U.S. equity markets more efficient and liquid, it has also established a complex structure that requires review and maintenance. Mr. Snook stated that the Consolidated Audit Trail, when built, will provide regulators with the trade and order data that is needed to surveil the markets. Additionally, Mr. Snook noted, SIFMA has announced its support for a