FINRA RN 11-18 April 15, 2011 FINRA published a notice to advise firms of the release of the Securities Industry/Regulatory Council on Continuing Education's Spring 2011 Firm Element Advisory. The advisory, contains a broad overview of FINRA initiatives from the last six months, identifies regulatory and sales practice topics that firms should consider including in training plans. Cross References Spring 2011 Firm Element Advisory

MFA Comment Letter RIN 3038-AD30 April 12, 2011 MFA submitted comments to the CFTC on its proposed amendments to commodity pool operator (CPO) and commodity trading advisor (CTA) compliance obligations. Among other things, MFA commented on the CFTC's proposed amendments to section 4.5, arguing that they could be overly burdensome to some RICs and their sponsors. MFA proposed (a) that section 4.5 be amended only with respect to the Marketing Test, and (b) that the Commission grant disclosure document delivery and Part 4 disclosure relief to CPOs offering commodity derivatives mutual funds and

FINRARN 11-17 April 15, 2011 FINRA published a notice to advise firms of recent amendments to the FINRA Discovery Guide and the Document Production Lists that apply for customer arbitration proceedings. These amendments become effective on May 16, 2011, and apply to all customer cases filed after that date. Cross References FINRA Rules 12506, 12508 SEC Release No. 34-64166 (approving amendments)

SEC Release No. LR-21928 April 13, 2011 The SEC announced the filing of a civil enforcement action against a former portfolio manager for a major hedge fund, relating to insider trading on the basis of confidential information regarding the results of a bio-pharmaceutical company's clinical drug trial. The SEC, which previously charged the tipper with insider trading, also charged the relevant hedge funds as relief defendants. The SEC case was also filed in parallel with a criminal action by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Cross References SEC Press Release 2011-91 SEC

CFTC Testimony April 14, 2011 In congressional testimony, CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler discusses his views with respect to issues related to the Financial Stability Oversight Council, reiterating his long-held view that the financial system should allow people to hedge their risk "without concentrating risk in the hands of only a few financial firms." Cross References Dodd-Frank Act, Title VII