OCIE Releases Risk Alert Regarding Compliance Considerations During COVID-19 Pandemic

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) issued a risk alert on August 12, 2020, addressing certain compliance risks and considerations for SEC-registered broker-dealers and investment advisers during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has led to considerable uncertainty among industry participants regarding how they should comply with regulatory requirements while operating in a work-from-home environment or limiting their activities to protect the health and safety of firm personnel. In this Legal Update, we review a number of observations and suggestions the OCIE has made where there may be heightened risk due to COVID-19.