On August 23, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) voted 3-2 to adopt a final set of rules and amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (collectively, the Final Rules) that significantly expand...more
The SEC’s final set of rules and amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 significantly expanded the regulatory compliance requirements for certain investment advisers. This table summarizes the applicability of...more
On August 23, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 to adopt a final set of rules and amendments under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (collectively, the Final Rules) that significantly expand...more
8/24/2023
/ Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
Final Rules ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Proposed Rules ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On April 20, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a Staff Bulletin (Bulletin) on the care obligations for broker-dealers and investment advisors, pursuant to Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) and the...more
5/2/2023
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Care ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Popular ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Conduct
In August 2018, President Donald Trump signed the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA), which significantly reformed national security reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United...more
11/1/2018
/ Advisory Board ,
CFIUS ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Fund Managers ,
General Partner ,
Indirect Investors ,
Investment Companies ,
Mandatory Declarations ,
National Security ,
Non-Controlling Interests ,
Trump Administration
For the past few months, issuers of token sales or “initial coin offerings” (ICOs) have known that they were, to some extent, sailing in unchartered waters. Those waters have just gotten a bit murkier with an announcement by...more
9/8/2017
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Canadian Securities Administration ,
Capital Raising ,
China ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Fraud ,
Global Market ,
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HKSFC) ,
Illegal Activity ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Contract ,
Popular ,
Public Financing ,
Pyramid Schemes ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Startups ,
Token Sales
Over the last 12 months, a growing number of start-ups, primarily those offering blockchain-based services, have raised capital utilizing so-called initial coin offerings or token sales (collectively referred to herein as...more
8/3/2017
/ Capital Raising ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investor Protection ,
New Guidance ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Startups ,
Stock Exchange ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
On June 1, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") accepted a settlement offer from a registered investment adviser of private equity funds, and its founder, principal and managing member. The settlement...more
6/17/2016
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Transaction-Based Compensation ,
Unregistered Brokers
On April 6, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a widely anticipated final regulation that redefines who is a “fiduciary” of certain employee benefit and other plans for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income...more
4/26/2016
/ 401k ,
Administrative Exemption ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan
Recent events relating to the fixed-income markets — including volatility in the high-yield markets and the high-profile closings of a number of funds invested in high-yield and distressed assets — have raised concerns among...more
On April 20, 2015, more than three years after withdrawing a similar proposal that was staunchly opposed by the financial services industry, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published in the Federal Register a proposed...more
4/29/2015
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Pension Funds ,
Prohibited Transactions
Over the last month, the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued four letters providing exemptive, no-action and interpretative relief to commodity...more
Skadden was one of 15 law firms that participated in the development of a recently released consensus interpretation letter regarding the ability of non-U.S. banking entities to invest in certain parallel funds organized by...more
In December 2013, five U.S. financial regulatory agencies adopted final regulations to implement the Volcker Rule. As expressed in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Volcker Rule generally...more
On December 10, 2013, five U.S. financial regulators (the Agencies) adopted a final rule implementing the Volcker Rule. The text of the final rule and its accompanying preamble are available here. The Volcker Rule was created...more
12/12/2013
/ Asset-Backed Securities ,
Banks ,
CEOs ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Exemptions ,
Hedge Funds ,
Market Making ,
Private Equity ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sovereign Debt ,
Volcker Rule
Yesterday, U.S. financial regulators issued the final Volcker Rule. The Volcker Rule implements provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that prohibit banking organizations from engaging in...more
On November 29, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (Division) issued temporary no-action relief from commodity pool operator (CPO) registration to...more
In Gatz Properties, LLC v. Auriga Capital Corp., the Delaware Supreme Court required a manager and controlling member of a Delaware limited liability company to satisfy the entire fairness standard of conduct and judicial...more
11/19/2012