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
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
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
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
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
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has now made it clear that, in its view, certain initial coin offerings (ICOs) within the United States or affecting U.S. residents may be within its jurisdiction. On October...more
10/19/2017
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
Two initial coin offerings (ICOs) were the target of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action filed on September 29. Based on the SEC’s descriptions, both ICOs, on their face, appear to be frauds, with...more
10/5/2017
/ Blockchain ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
Many initial coin offerings (ICOs) have recently raised large amounts of capital without the regulatory constraints of traditional initial public offerings (IPOs) and other capital-raising strategies. On July 25, the U.S....more
7/28/2017
/ Blockchain ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Howey ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
On March 22, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a rule amendment that will shorten the standard settlement cycle by one business day for most broker-dealer securities transactions. The standard settlement...more
Because of the implementation of new regulatory requirements relating to both variation and initial margin for swaps, swap documentation for many market participants is about to become much more complicated....more
2/13/2017
/ AIG ,
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) ,
CFTC ,
Credit Support Annex (CSA) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
End-Users ,
Financial Institutions ,
FX Swaps ,
ISDA ,
Jurisdiction ,
Margin Requirements ,
Over The Counter Derivatives (OTC) ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Dealers ,
Swap Market ,
Swaps
The application of blockchain technology to the securities market could prove to be a game changer by adding transparency, reducing costs and speeding up settlements.
Initially known as the technology underlying the...more
9/27/2016
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Popular ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stocks ,
Virtual Currency