2014 Year in Review: Division of Investment Management Guidance Updates

In 2014, the Division of Investment Management (the Division) of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) continued its practice of providing guidance and interpretations of legal, regulatory and compliance matters through its Guidance Update initiative. The 13 guidance updates published by the Division during 2014, in addition to the 14 published in 2013, have received a mixed welcome from the investment management industry. Although the guidance updates clarify and offer insight into the Division's view and interpretation of discrete issues, the guidance updates are not rules, regulations or statements of the SEC, and the Commission itself has neither approved nor disapproved the statements and polices set forth in the guidance updates. However, the guidance updates reflect current Division Staff views and have begun to serve as a basis for formal and informal initiatives of both the Division and the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE). Accordingly, the investment management industry should continue to be mindful of the Division's guidance updates and carefully consider the potential implications of the guidance updates to existing and future policies and procedures, disclosures to investors, filings with the SEC and other legal and regulatory matters.

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