Drawing on his experience in government service and over 25 years of private practice at two global Am-Law 20 firms, clients look to Mr. Peterson for counsel on a broad range of federal and state securities-regulatory matters.
Mr. Peterson represents financial institutions, asset managers, proprietary trading firms, family offices, and trade associations primarily before the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and various state securities commissions on a variety of regulatory matters, including the registration and regulation of asset managers and securities market participants, compliance with the SEC’s broker-dealer financial responsibility rules, business approvals prescribed by FINRA and the NYSE, regulatory impacts of changes of ownership and control of market participants and/or their asset sales, and advocacy on behalf of market participants potentially impacted by the rulemaking process of the SEC and/or self-regulatory organizations (SROs).
Mr. Peterson specializes in advising market participants on securities regulatory issues related to, among other things: (1) registration of broker-dealers, security-based swap dealers, investment advisers, and municipal securities advisors, (2) securities distribution and sales platforms, (3) implementation of effective information barriers across an integrated financial services organization, (4) compliance with standards of suitability, best execution, Regulation Best Interest, and fiduciary obligations, (5) changes of ownership and control of regulated firms, (6) approvals for material business expansions of regulated firms, (7) implementation of compliance controls and written policies and procedures, (8) participation in permissible soft-dollar arrangements, (9) cross-border matters, including the permissible reliance on an exemption for foreign broker-dealers to offer and sell securities in the United States, (10) compliance with SEC’s net-capital and customer protection requirements, and (11) navigating SEC and SRO regulatory examinations. Mr. Peterson also advises and opines on broker-dealer, investment adviser, and investment company status issues.
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Peterson was associated with the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets, Office of Chief Counsel, where he participated in rulemakings under, and regulatory interpretations of, provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. During his tenure with the SEC, Mr. Peterson was the recipient of the Chairman’s Award for Excellence for his participation in the municipal securities market reform initiatives of then Chairman Arthur Levitt.
