The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) recently delivered a series of speeches1 raising their concerns about the evolution of private equity financing and the...more
5/29/2024
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Bank of England ,
Capital Markets ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Policy Committee ,
Limited Partnerships ,
Private Equity ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Risk Management ,
UK
In March 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released two documents with its updated supervisory approach for the asset management and alternatives sector: the FCA’s 2024/25 Business Plan (the Business Plan), and a...more
In July 2023, the UK government published its findings from the Investment Research Review (Review) as part of the UK government’s Edinburgh Reforms. The Review made a number of recommendations to encourage research...more
On 15 February 2024, Skadden partners Kenneth Burdon, Robert Chaplin, Eben Colby and Greg Norman presented the webinar “Investment Trusts and Activist Funds,” which outlined recent trends in shareholder activism in publicly...more
Activist shareholders had a busy 2023: The incidence of activist campaigns in Europe soared by almost 70% compared to 2022, according to data compiled by Skadden and Activistmonitor. As we described in a previous issue of The...more
2/16/2024
/ Board of Directors ,
Capital Markets ,
Disclosure ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Listing Rules ,
New Rules ,
Open-Ended Fund Companies (OFCs) ,
Private Equity ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholders ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Stock Exchange ,
UK
On 28 November 2023, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) unveiled its Policy Statement PS 23/16 (Policy Statement), which sets out the final rules for sustainability disclosure and investment labels (SDR Rules). The...more
1/8/2024
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UK
On 24 November 2023, the industry-led Technology Working Group of HM Treasury’s Asset Management Taskforce (Group) released an interim report (Report) outlining a strategic blueprint for the implementation of fund...more
12/5/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HM Treasury ,
Innovative Technology ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Technology ,
Tokenization ,
UK
The United Kingdom has long been a target destination for activist investors. It is the venue for nearly half of all of recent activist campaigns in Europe. In previous articles, we have discussed how informed boards should...more
11/15/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Activist Investors ,
Asset Valuations ,
Capital Gains ,
Debt Securities ,
Equity Markets ,
Foreign Governments ,
Government Bonds ,
HMRC ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment Trust Companies ,
Mergers ,
NAV ,
Railroads ,
REIT ,
UK ,
Venture Capital
In a speech at the Investment Association’s Annual Dinner on 11 October 2023, Ashley Alder, chair of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), expanded upon the FCA’s discussion paper, “Updating and Improving the UK Regime...more
The UK’s Metro Bank announced a landmark refinancing package on 8 October 2023, following a series of regulatory setbacks and concerns in the markets over the financial condition of the bank. The proposal now awaits...more
The European Commission recently launched two consultations — a public consultation and a targeted consultation (collectively, the Consultations) — seeking stakeholders’ feedback on potential changes to the Sustainable...more
10/18/2023
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Investors ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
UK
As predicted in our February 1, 2023, client alert, “ESG in 2022 and Predictions for 2023,” a global economic slowdown and ongoing backlash in the U.S. have slowed the momentum of some aspects of the environmental, social and...more
7/18/2023
/ Activist Investors ,
Biodiversity ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Reporting ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Green Energy ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Remuneration ,
Sustainability ,
UK
On 20 February 2023, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released a discussion paper titled “Updating and Improving the UK Regime for Asset Management” (Discussion Paper), seeking industry feedback on potential changes...more
The consultation period for the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) proposed rules for labelling ‘sustainable’ financial products formed or marketed in the UK ended 25 January 2023, and final rules are expected to be...more
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published final guidance (FG22/5) and a policy statement (PS22/9) for the new consumer duty (Duty) on 27 July 2022. The main rules will come into force on 31 July 2023 for existing...more
In this episode of “The Standard Formula” podcast, host Robert Chaplin is joined by investment management partner Greg Norman to discuss the Edinburgh Reforms, which serve as the UK’s most significant divergence to date from...more
Following the recently introduced Solvency UK for insurers, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt (the UK finance minister) has announced the Edinburgh Reforms, a further series of reforms aimed at the UK financial...more
12/20/2022
/ Bank of England ,
Banking Sector ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UK
The pandemic’s impact may be subsiding, but businesses are encountering new challenges across the globe, including the potential for an economic retrenchment, rising interest rates, shifting regulatory and litigation...more
12/14/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Antitrust Division ,
Banking Sector ,
Big Tech ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
Capital Raising ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Convertible Notes ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forum Selection ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Lenders ,
Mergers ,
Money Laundering ,
Partnerships ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recessions ,
Repurchases ,
Russia ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Taxation ,
Technology ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently introduced important changes to the regime governing Appointed Representatives (ARs), which carry out regulated activity for which an authorised firm is responsible. The new...more
The UK financial services regulator Financial Conduct Authority’s latest three-year Strategy and annual Business Plan could have a significant impact on private capital sponsors and advisers and other asset managers....more
The U.K. Parliament has approved climate-related disclosure requirements that were announced by the U.K.’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) on 28 October 2021 (see our 18 November 2021 alert...more
The UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) announced on 28 October 2021 that new climate-related disclosure requirements had been laid before the Houses of Parliament. The proposals, contained in...more
The rapidly growing focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters that marked 2020 continued to shape events for companies operating or based in the U.K. and Europe in 2021. Discussions of ESG are occurring at...more
9/3/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Green Bonds ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UK
The negotiations that culminated in the establishment of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) at the end of 2020 concluded with no meaningful agreement in relation to the provision of financial services between the...more
Governance Factor; Beyond the Board -
Corporate governance has long been a focal point for large corporates, listed companies and regulated entities, with numerous studies connecting good corporate governance with higher...more