FINRA issued a regulatory notice regarding the revisions to the Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Principal ("Series 26") examination program. After conducting a review of the Series 26 examination program, FINRA revised the content outline to reflect changes in the laws, rules and regulations covered by the examination in order to incorporate the functions and associated tasks that an Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Principal performs currently. Specifically, FINRA divided the content outline into three major job functions and included specific tasks for

FINR A released the fifth podcast in its five-part series providing an overview of FINRA's 2014 examination priorities. The focus of the fifth podcast is FINRA's examination of priorities regarding market regulation. Specifically, it addresses particular areas of market regulation, including: Algorithmic Trading and Trading Systems: FINRA stated that it will continue to assess whether firms' testing and controls related to high-frequency trading ("HFT") and other algorithmic trading strategies are adequate in light of the Market Access Rule and firms' other supervisory obligations. FINRA

SEC Daniel Gallagher spoke about the SEC's revised statement on well-known seasoned issuer ("WKSI") waivers, which updated a policy on assessing the eligibility of issuers seeking to qualify as WKSIs under Securities Act Rule 405 ("Definitions of Terms"). Commissioner Gallagher stated that the touchstone of the analysis of the revised statement on WKSI waivers ("WKSI Statement") is the reliability of the issuer's current and future disclosure. In other words, if the misconduct that triggered the disqualification does not affect the issuer's current and future disclosure, then granting the WKSI

On April 29, testifying in front of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Financial Services, SEC Chair Mary Jo White stated that The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's decision to strike down a provision of the SEC's conflict minerals rule did not justify a delay in the rule's implementation. Chair White defended the decision by stating that the D.C. Circuit "went out of its way" to uphold a "vast majority" of the rule. She added that the agency would issue guidance by the end of April regarding what public companies will be required to report by

The SEC approved proposed amendments to FINRA Rule 5110("Corporate Financing Rule – Underwriting Terms and Arrangements") and Rule 5121("Public Offerings of Securities with Conflicts of Interest") that simplify and refine the scope of the rules. The amendments narrow the scope of certain definitions, modify the lockup restrictions to exclude shares owned by an underwriter that are not considered "items of value" and limit certain information requirements to a "participating" (rather than "any") member. See: SEC Order of Approval. Related news: FINRA Proposes Rule Change to Simplify and Refine