SEC Cracks Down on Data Protection Rule Violations

STP mentioned in the 2024 PSA Mid-year Outlook

STP’s Dan Houlihan contributed an article to the 2024 PSA Mid-Year Outlook, which serves as a resource for financial advisors, family offices, asset managers, financial analysts, and wealth managers.

Read Dan’s thoughts about the evolution of outsourcing and what is driving trends in the middle office.

SEC rethinks RIA registration threshold

The acting chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked for a review of the registration threshold for RIAs, a move that compliance experts said could overburden state governments.

Since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act by Congress in 2010, RIAs with over $100m in assets under management have largely been required to register with the SEC as opposed to a state government, up from the $25m threshold that the federal government had in place prior to the legislation. SEC acting chair Mark Uyeda in a Tuesday speech floated the idea of raising the threshold further in an environment where the SEC faces staff attrition and scrutiny of its activity from the Trump administration.

While they acknowledged the need for a new look at defining RIA size from a regulatory point of view, compliance experts expressed concern about stretching state governments too thin.

‘My first reaction was wow,’ said Lori Weston, head of compliance at STP Investment Services, referencing the possibility of a $1bn registration threshold.

‘If mid-sized is under a billion, these firms are looking at not only understanding and complying with their own principal state regulations, which vary from the Advisers Act, but also multiple other states,’ Weston said.

Read what Lori and other subject matter experts had to say here.

SEC Spotlights Alts and Retail Risks in Exam Priorities

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently released 2026 examination priorities highlight the agency’s concerns around alternative investments for retail investors.

Hedge Fund Launches Set to Pick Up as Extreme Volatility Wanes

Hedge fund managers are increasingly optimistic about launching new funds as anxiety over U.S. economic policies that stoked extreme volatility in financial markets earlier this year starts to ease, say market observers.