IOSCO published a Staff Working Paper titled Crowd-Funding: An Infant Industry Growing Fast, which provides a global overview of the crowd-funding industry, along with a mapping exercise of the global regulatory landscape. The purpose of the report is to identify investor protection issues and to determine whether crowd-funding poses a systemic risk to the global financial sector. The report analyzes financial return crowd-funding ("FR crowd-funding"), which refers to peer-to-peer lending and equity crowd-funding. According to the report, the main challenge facing regulators and governments is

ISDA announced the launch of its new web site, ISDA SwapsInfo ( www.swapsinfo.org). According to ISDA, the SwapsInfo site aims to enhance transparency in over-the-counter ("OTC") derivatives markets by pulling together publicly available data on interest rate derivatives ("IRD") and credit default swaps ("CDS"). The web site allows for the transformation of the following data into interactive charts: IRD: daily volume-weighted average IRD prices (for select products) and trading volumes, measured by notionals and trade count, as of January 2013; and weekly notional outstanding and trade count

The SEC Division of Investment Management issued a no-action letter to the Managed Funds Association ("MFA") updating the SEC guidance on the definition of "knowledgeable employees" under Investment Company Act Rule 3c-5 ("Beneficial Ownership by Knowledgeable Employees and Certain Other Persons"). According to an MFA press release, the MFA Investor Adviser Committee worked with the SEC staff on the letter. The no-action letter includes updated guidance on a number of areas covered by the definition of "knowledgeable employees", including that: (i) the principal status of an adviser's unit

Before an audience at the National Association of College and University Business Officers, FINRA CEO and Chairman Richard Ketchum delivered a speech on how to maintain the integrity of equities markets through technological developments. Ketchum explained that, because FINRA monitors 90 percent of all trading in U.S.-listed equities markets, it is important for the agency to implement programs to minimize the impact of technological failure and reduce potential trading abuses. Ketchum stated that FINRA has "implemented a safety net" by putting in place multiple programs to prevent market

FINRA announced that it signed an agreement with BATS Global Markets, Inc. ("BATS") to provide cross-market surveillance services to BATS' four stock exchanges - BZX, BYX, EDGX and EDGA - along with certain other regulatory services. According to the press release, this will increase the percentage of the market that FINRA surveils from 90% to 99%. Effective immediately, FINRA will also perform disciplinary and examination services on behalf of BATS. It is expected that BATS will be included in FINRA's cross-market surveillance program during the first quarter of 2015. Lofchie Comment: The