Broker-Dealers

Collectively, our lawyers have appeared before every state securities commission in the United States, as well as before the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and other self-regulatory organizations, including NYSE, Nasdaq, Cboe, and MIAX. As part of the firm’s Asset Management and Investment Funds practice and global Financial Services industry group , we are strategically positioned to assist broker-dealers and a variety of financial market participants in navigating US securities market structure, negotiating and interacting with broker-dealers, and novel regulatory and trading issues.  

Our team has experience facing a multitude of issues, including:

• Acquisition and due diligence
• Advertising and marketing compliance
• Affiliated entity fund distribution models
• Alternative trading systems and direct market access
• Anti-money laundering
• Bank and broker-dealer activities (United States)
• Broker-dealer status issues, including with respect to finders and solicitors and the issuer exemption
• Capital markets transactional and investment banking
• Clearing and prime brokerage
• Dual employee arrangements 
• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
• Formation, registration, and continuing membership
• Information barriers
• Internal audits and supervisory reviews
• Offshore capabilities
• Policy issues
• Regulatory and compliance
• Regulatory inquiries and investigations

In addition to advising traditional firms, our Broker-Dealer Compliance and Regulatory practice group lawyers also advise investment advisers, fintech firms, and other financial market participants on a range of complex issues related to the broker-dealer regulatory framework, including triggers that would require a firm to register with the SEC, digital asset security and cryptocurrency trading issues, crowdfunding in the private and public securities markets, and cross-border issues.