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United States: SEC requests comment on broker-dealer and investment adviser digital engagement practices

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In brief

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently published a request for information and comment on how broker-dealers and investment advisers use digital engagement practices (DEPs) — behavioral prompts, differential marketing, “gamification,” and other design elements and features that firms use to engage with retail investors through digital platforms and mobile applications.  

The SEC seeks input about the current use of DEPs, tools and methods such as predictive data analytics and artificial intelligence/machine learning models that firms may use to operate and customize DEPs based on investor behavior or characteristics, and how DEPs interact with existing regulatory requirements for broker-dealers and investment advisers. The SEC is also focused on how investment advisers use technology to develop and provide advice both through digital programs and more traditional advisory services.

Comments are due on 1 October 2021.

Click here to download the Full Alert.

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Amy serves as the Co-chair of Baker McKenzie's North American Financial Regulation and Enforcement Practice, which provides our clients with a full range of regulatory advice and enforcement counseling. Amy also serves on the steering committees of the Firm's Global Financial Services Regulatory and Global Financial Institutions Groups. Previously, Amy has served as chief litigation counsel at the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Philadelphia regional office and managed a team of lawyers overseeing a wide variety of enforcement matters.

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Jennifer L. Klass serves as the co-chair of Baker McKenzie's North America Financial Regulation and Enforcement Practice, which provides clients with a full range of regulatory advice and enforcement counseling. Jen is an experienced financial services regulatory lawyer with particular focus on investment adviser regulation and the convergence of investment advisory and brokerage services. She regularly represents clients before the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), both in seeking interpretative guidance and in managing examination and enforcement matters.

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Gavin Meyers is a senior associate in Baker McKenzie's Financial Regulation and Enforcement Practice Group in North America. Gavin is an experienced regulatory lawyer advising broker-dealers, investment advisers, FinTech and cryptocurrency firms on regulatory, enforcement and compliance matters involving federal and state securities laws, FINRA rules and money transmission regulations. Prior to joining the Firm, Gavin was Senior Legal Counsel at a start-up FinTech broker-dealer and crypto-trading platform where he managed the firm's US money transmitter licensing (MTL) applications and advised the firm’s various entities on broker-dealer and crypto-related regulatory obligations and strategic business decisions. Gavin also previously was Assistant General Counsel at a global financial services firm where he provided practical guidance to business, supervision, and compliance groups regarding securities regulations and FINRA rules, including implementation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s Regulation Best Interest. Gavin also served as Senior Counsel in the Office of General Counsel at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) where he was responsible for providing guidance on complex regulatory initiatives and FINRA rules and developing and drafting regulatory guidance and rule filings for submission to SEC. He also served in FINRA's Office of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence (OFDMI) where he conducted regulatory investigations involving insider trading.

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