FiSolve Weekly News Digest: February 6, 2026

Here is what we are reading in the news this week...

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson Issues Warning Letters to Law Firms

on Anticompetitive DEI Hiring

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew N Ferguson issued a letter to 42 law firms regarding potentially unfair and anticompetitive employment practices.  According to the FTC, each firm recently participated in the Mansfield Certification program, according to public information. Mansfield Certification is a creation of the company Diversity Lab, a for-profit DEI-consultancy business, which claims to “write the unwritten rules” establishing common race and gender-based employment practices across the legal industry.  The letter reminds law firms that collusion in hiring practices, including through competitors coordinating on the personal characteristics of their candidate pools and sharing sensitive information about pay and benefits, can violate the antitrust laws.  Read more here.

SEC Division of IM Director Discusses Modernizing Investment Management in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Invites Industry Collaboration

In an important speech delivered at the Investment Company Institute’s Winter Board Meeting, SEC Division of Investment Management Director Brian Daly posits that artificial intelligence (AI) is a transformative and inevitable force in investment management and that both industry and regulators must seize this moment as a long-overdue opportunity to modernize outdated regulatory frameworks and investor communications.  Director Daly notes that despite decades of technological progress, core rules around recordkeeping, electronic delivery, and disclosures remain anchored in a paper-based past, and he urges the industry to move beyond simply emailing PDFs toward genuinely innovative, AI-enabled solutions.  Director Daly emphasizes that AI can significantly enhance investment processes and investor understanding, but acknowledges uneven adoption driven largely by liability concerns and uncertainty about regulatory treatment.  Rather than prescribing rigid new rules that could quickly become obsolete, the Director calls for active engagement and collaboration between firms and the SEC to thoughtfully address fiduciary, supervision, and liability issues.  The speech highlights the potential for large language models to revolutionize investor disclosures through interactive, plain English AI agents trained on fund documents, while making clear that the SEC is open to dialogue, pilot programs, and no action relief to help bring such innovations to market without sacrificing investor protection.  To that end, Director Daly stated the Division’s desire “to work with advisers, investment companies, and other market participants to enable new technologies to come online, and to work with you on understanding how the industry can do that and still retain traditional investor protections.”  Read more here.

Ernst and Young Publishes Study on Building the Future-Ready Asset Manager: Strategic Vision, Innovation and Transformation

The Future of Asset Management report from EY presents a forward-looking analysis of how the asset management industry must evolve to thrive amid accelerating change, imaging the future state of an asset manager.  The report emphasizes that future success hinges on developing a clear strategic vision, scaling effectively, and investing boldly in innovation, especially artificial intelligence, technology, talent, and differentiated products, rather than relying on incremental improvements.  The report outlines seven radical future scenarios, such as AI-native firms and universal tokenization, that challenge traditional models, and offers practical blueprints across four core pillars (products and distribution, operating models, technology and talent) to help firms turn disruption into competitive advantage and build resilience in an interconnected, volatile world.  Read more here.

FINRA Fines Firm for Outside

Business Activities Violations

FINRA sanctioned a firm for its failure to (i) reasonably evaluate six disclosed outside business activities (OBAs) in violation of FINRA Rules; (ii) reasonably respond to red flags that representatives were engaged in undisclosed OBAs in violation of FINRA Rules; and (iii) reasonably supervise four private securities transactions (PSTs) in violation of FINRA Rules.  These violations occurred over a six-year period.  The firm also failed to reasonably supervise or preserve its registered representatives' business-related communications on unapproved, non-firm communications platform.  The firm was fined $125,000, was censured and agreed to certain compliance undertakings.  Read more here.

CFTC Withdraws Event Contracts Rule Proposal and Staff Sports Event Contracts Advisory

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced it has withdrawn the notice of proposed rulemaking titled “Event Contracts” that published June 10, 2024. The CFTC does not intend to issue final rules with respect to the proposal.  Additionally, CFTC Staff has withdrawn CFTC Staff Letter 25-36, a Staff Advisory on Certain Contract Markets, issued Sept. 30, 2025.   CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said the CFTC is withdrawing that proposal and will advance a new rulemaking “grounded in a rational and coherent interpretation of the Commodity Exchange Act that promotes responsible innovation in our derivatives markets in line with Congressional intent.”  Read more here.

ESMA Launches Search Process for its Next Chair

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) launched a selection procedure for the position of ESMA Chair.  As a full‑time, independent professional based in Paris, the Chair leads ESMA’s strategic direction and represents ESMA at the highest institutional level.  The successful candidate will chair both the Board of Supervisors and the Management Board, ensuring effective governance, strategic oversight and the delivery of ESMA’s priorities.  Read more here.

📣 WEBINAR ANNOUNCEMENT 📣

COMPLIANCE ANONYMOUS

FiSolve's next Compliance Anonymous session is set for 12 PM ET on February 25. This confidential forum brings together legal, compliance, and operations professionals to openly discuss real-world challenges without attribution or judgment.  Participation is free, but to ensure meaningful engagement, seating is limited. Reserve your spot here. 

💡FiSolve's Negotiation Tip of the Week💡

Work/Life Balance

For executives in financial services, a powerful negotiation tip is to frame “work/life balance” as a performance enabler rather than a personal accommodation.  When negotiating roles, compensation, or responsibilities, anchor the discussion in risk management, sustainability, and long-term value creation, core concepts your counterparts already respect.  For example, propose structured flexibility, protected recovery time, or clearer scope boundaries as mechanisms to maintain decision quality, stamina under market volatility, and leadership continuity, not as concessions.  Position work/life balance as a lever for sustained performance, risk control, and leadership retention, not as a perk.  In discussions with senior leaders, emphasize that clearly defined boundaries, flexible structures, and recovery time protect judgment quality, reduce costly burnout and turnover, and ensure continuity during periods of market stress.  By proactively negotiating balance into firm roles, firms signal disciplined management, long-term thinking, and respect for human capital.  This reinforces a culture where top performers can operate at peak effectiveness over years, not just quarters.

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