The SEC’s Focus on Value-Added Investors

Staff at the SEC have long been concerned about new ways that financial firms can become exposed to material nonpublic information (“MNPI”), which can lead to insider trading. Particularly with respect to investment advisers, regulators view contacts with other industry participants as potentially ripe for the transmission of MNPI. An investment adviser’s contacts with experts from expert networks, officials at publicly traded companies, and counterparts at other buy-side firms (typically within the scope of an adviser’s research and investment process), have long been within the SEC’s focus. Examination staff often request a copy of a fund manager’s policies and procedures relating to value-added investors — what are they looking for and how can a manager be prepared? In this article, partner and chair of the Investment Management Regulatory & Compliance Group Marc Elovitz and associate Tarik Shah discuss the SEC’s focus on value-added investors.