On November 1, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG), along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, issued a “Report on Stablecoins” (Report) that...more
On November 1, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG), along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, issued a “Report on Stablecoins” (Report) that...more
On July 22, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the OCC) confirmed in Interpretive Letter #1170 the authority of a national bank to provide cryptocurrency custody services. Since that time, the OCC has issued...more
Just before we said goodbye to 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finalized amendments to its advertising and solicitation rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (Advisers Act). The SEC...more
As public companies prepare for the 2021 reporting season, they will need to consider new SEC disclosure requirements and guidance. In addition, public companies must evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19),...more
RULEMAKING AND GUIDANCE -
SEC Adopts Amendments to Exemptive Applications Procedures -
On July 6, 2020, the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted rule amendments to establish an expedited review procedure...more
9/21/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Ethics ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Management ,
New Rules ,
OCIE ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On August 26, the SEC modernized the disclosure requirements in Items 101 (Description of Business), 103 (Legal Proceedings), and 105 (Risk Factors) of Regulation S-K, reflecting the first significant revisions to these...more
On August 26, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments expanding the definition of “accredited investor” to allow additional categories of investors to invest in unregistered private offerings. The...more
8/28/2020
/ Accredited Investors ,
Amended Regulation ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Private Equity ,
Private Offerings ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulation D ,
Rule 144A ,
Rural Business Investment Companies (RBICs) ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Venture Capital
SEC Grants Additional COVID-19 Relief to Business Development Companies -
On April 8, the SEC issued an order granting relief to business development companies (BDCs) by permitting BDCs to issue and sell senior securities...more
6/17/2020
/ Business Development Companies ,
Closed-End Funds ,
Co-Investment Rights ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Form ADV ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investment Management ,
OCIE ,
Offerings ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Relief Measures ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
WKSIs
Originally published on March 26, 2020 -
To slow or stop the spread of COVID-19, or the coronavirus, federal, state and local authorities and health organizations across the world are strongly advising, and in many cases...more
Many companies are facing potential funding issues as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic. Investors want to know if the companies they invest in are planning to raise capital, including through participation in...more
4/9/2020
/ Capital Controls ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business
To slow or stop the spread of COVID-19, or the coronavirus, federal, state and local authorities and health organizations across the world are strongly advising people to stay home, practice social distancing and avoid social...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initially announced on March 4 that it is providing conditional regulatory and time-limited relief from certain filing and periodic reporting obligations under the Securities...more
The Staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced guidance on March 13 for public companies that have been impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and that wish to modify the date, time or...more
3/17/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Relief Measures ,
Required Forms ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Virtual Meetings
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on March 4 that it is providing conditional regulatory and time-limited relief from certain filing and periodic reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange...more
3/6/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 10-Q ,
Form 8-K ,
Form S-3 ,
Form S-8 ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
On January 7, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) announced its 2020 national examination priorities. This is the eighth year that OCIE has published its fiscal year examination priorities. ...more
1/31/2020
/ Digital Assets ,
Examination Priorities ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinTech ,
Information Security ,
MSRB ,
OCIE ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Retail Investors ,
Robo-Advisors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
SEC Proposes to Update Accredited Investor Definition to Increase Access to Investments -
On December 18, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to the definition of “accredited investor” in...more
1/27/2020
/ Derivatives ,
ETFs ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Markets ,
Form N-CEN ,
Form N-LIQUID ,
Form N-PORT ,
Global Code of Ethics ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
OCIE ,
Proposed Rules ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Repurchase Agreements ,
Revenue Sharing ,
Risk Management ,
Rule 18f-4 ,
Rule 6c-11 ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Section 15(c) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Share Classes ,
Wealth Management
SEC Adopts ETF Rule -
On September 25, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unanimously adopted Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act to modernize the regulation of exchange-traded funds by establishing a clear and...more
10/23/2019
/ Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
ETFs ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Exemptive Relief ,
Form N-1A ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Mortgage Servicing Rules ,
No-Action Relief ,
OCIE ,
Popular ,
Prospectus ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Risk Alert ,
Rule 6c-11 ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Trading Platforms ,
Transparency
Covering legal developments and regulatory news for registered funds, their advisers and industry participants through June 30, 2019.
Auditor Independence With Respect to Certain Loans or Debtor-Creditor Relationships -
On...more
7/19/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Formation ,
Common Reporting Standard (CRS) ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
ETFs ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Management ,
Investor Protection ,
Public Comment ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation S-X ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
On February 28, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a new rule under the Securities Act of 1933. The new rule 163B would expand the availability to follow-on and other registered offerings and to all issuers of...more
4/22/2019
/ Accredited Investors ,
Comment Period ,
EGCs ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Offerings ,
Qualified Institutional Buyers ,
Registration Statement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Solicitation/Distribution Policies ,
Testing-the-Waters Communications ,
WKSIs
Leveraging blockchain technology to enhance supply chain logistics in the retail food industry is a prime business case for the many economic and public policy benefits that this new technology platform presents and that...more
2/8/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Data Management ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Food Safety ,
Food Supply ,
FSMA ,
Grocery Stores ,
Popular ,
Retail Market ,
Smart Contracts ,
Supply Chain
The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) has taken the first step toward providing banks meaningful relief from the Volcker Rule by soliciting public comment on a proposed rule that would simplify and streamline compliance....more
In a case of first impression, the D.C. Circuit Court struck down the Dodd-Frank-mandated risk retention requirements for managers of open market collateralized loan obligations (CLOs). ...more
With the proliferation of smaller companies seeking to grow their businesses, gain credibility and access capital, Regulation A+ is now increasingly being used as a fundraising tool. ...more
2/12/2018
/ Capital Raising ,
Crowdfunding ,
Digital Currency ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Regulation A ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business ,
Startups ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
Initial coin offerings (ICOs) have recently become very popular, causing investors of all levels of sophistication to consider buying ICO tokens (or coins).
Originally published in Crowdfund Insider - February 1, 2018.
...more