On November 4, 2019, the Office of the Chief Counsel of the
SEC's Division of Investment Management extended the temporary
no-action relief from compliance with the registration and other
provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the
"Advisers Act") for broker-dealers that receive payments
for research in hard dollars or through research payment accounts
(RPAs) from investment managers subject to the European directive
known as "MiFID II." See our Client Advisory on the
relief here.
The relief, which was set to expire on July 3, 2020, is
extended until July 3, 2023.
The press release announcing the extension also referred to
separate guidance concerning the exclusion for broker-dealers from
the definition of "investment adviser" under the Advisers
Act and "the continued ability of broker-dealers to receive
payments for research under section 28(e) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 through client commission arrangements
(CCAs)." Specifically,
