On October 26, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted final rules regarding intrastate and regional offerings, which largely follow the SEC’s proposed rules issued on October 30, 2015. The final...more
On October 26, 2016 at an open meeting, the SEC adopted final rules regarding intrastate and regional offerings, which closely follow the SEC’s proposed rules issued on October 30, 2015. The final rules amend Securities Act...more
On October 5, 2016, the SEC Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies held a public meeting to discuss, among other things, board diversity for public companies. As part of the meeting, the National Association of...more
On September 28, 2016, the SEC proposed an amendment to Exchange Act Rule 15c6-1(a) in order to shorten the standard settlement cycle from three business days (“T+3”) to two business days (“T+2”) following the applicable...more
On October 3, 2016, the two-year tick size pilot program, which was proposed by the national securities exchanges and FINRA in June 2014 and approved by the SEC in May 2015, officially commenced. The pilot program is a...more
On September 13, 2016, the House Financial Services Committee of the United States House of Representatives (the “FSC”) formally released H.R. 5983, the “Financial CHOICE Act” (the “CHOICE Act”). While the CHOICE Act has...more
9/16/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Capital Formation ,
Conflict Mineral Rules ,
Corporate Governance ,
Crowdfunding ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
FHFA ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Mergers ,
NCUA ,
Overpayment ,
Pay Ratio ,
Popular ,
Private Placements ,
Safe Harbors ,
Small Business ,
Smaller Reporting Companies ,
Title IX ,
Transparency
On September 12, 2016, the United States Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness hosted a webinar to discuss the policy recommendations outlined in its report titled “A Plan to Reform America’s...more
On July 12, 2016, the Empowering Employees through Stock Ownership (EESO) Act (S. 3152) was introduced to the U.S. Senate by Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Dean Heller (R-NV). The Act is intended to make it easier for...more
“Direct-to-consumer” offerings enable companies to raise capital directly from their customers, with or without the use of underwriters or other financial intermediaries. Direct-to-consumer offerings have garnered attention...more
9/7/2016
/ Capital Raising ,
Common Stock ,
Crowdfunding ,
Dave & Buster's ,
Direct to Consumer Sales ,
Equity ,
Funding Portal ,
Popular ,
Public Offerings ,
Regulation A ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Square ,
T-Mobile
On August 25, 2016, the SEC issued a release requesting comments on certain disclosure requirements under Regulation S-K relating to disclosures on management, certain security holders and corporate governance matters...more
Business development companies (“BDCs”) provide an important and growing alternative source of capital to small and middle market companies that may not otherwise have access to bank financing....more
The requirement of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for registered open-end funds to disclose “acquired fund fees and expenses” (“AFFE”) of other funds they invest in, including business development...more
On July 26, 2016, the SEC revised Question 140.02 of its Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“C&DIs”) on Regulation S-K, pertaining to selling securityholder disclosure. Revised Question 140.02 states that a...more
As privately held companies choose to remain private longer and defer their initial public offerings (IPOs), these companies are increasingly reliant on raising capital in successive private placements. New categories of...more
On July 1, 2016, the SEC approved NASDAQ’s proposed Rule 5250(b)(3), as amended by Amendment No. 2 filed on June 30, 2016 (the “Final Rule”), requiring NASDAQ-listed companies to publicly disclose third-party compensation...more
On June 24, 2016, FINRA proposed amendments to its communications rule, Rule 2210, to help clarify the application of Rule 2210 to debt research reports, in light of the new debt research rule, Rule 2242. The implementation...more
On June 23, 2016, the SEC Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”) issued new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“C&DIs”) for Securities Act Rule 701. The new C&DIs address the exemption for offers and sales...more
Overview -
Business development companies (“BDCs”) are U.S. publicly held investment funds that invest primarily in private and thinly traded public U.S. businesses. BDCs have generally faced capital raising challenges...more
On June 14, 2016, the SEC issued an order (the “Order”) to increase the net worth threshold for “qualified clients” under Rule 205-3 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”), from $2 million to...more
On June 16, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) issued a press release proposing rules to modernize disclosures for mining properties (the “Proposed Rules”), currently set forth in Item 102 of Regulation...more
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”) included a measure directing the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or “Commission”) to relax the prohibition against general solicitation and general...more
6/20/2016
/ Accredited Investors ,
Advertising ,
Capital Raising ,
Final Rules ,
General Solicitation ,
JOBS Act ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulation D ,
Rule 502 ,
Rule 506 Offerings ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On June 14, 2016, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Lindeen v. SEC upheld Regulation A+, including the SEC’s definition of “qualified purchaser.” The decision comes after petitioners William F. Gavin and Monica J....more
On June 28, 2016, Morrison & Foerster LLP, along with the Milken Institute, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Small Business Investment Alliance (SBIA), will be hosting the 2016 BDCs & Small Business...more
On June 1, 2016, the SEC issued an interim final rule to implement Section 72001 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which requires the SEC to issue regulations to permit issuers to submit a summary...more
Structured Notes Offered on an Agency Basis -
In our last issue, we discussed the potential impact of the Department of Labor’s new rules on sales of structured products. In that article, we discussed some of the...more
5/31/2016
/ Comment Period ,
Debt ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deposit Accounts ,
FDIC ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Offerings ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulation S-K ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Structured Financial Products ,
Underwriting