Hello, this is Dave Lynn, and I’m a partner in Goodwin’s Capital Markets practice and chair of the firm’s Public Company Advisory practice. This is New Directions, a series of discussions about the impact and trajectory of...more
4/23/2025
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Formation ,
Capital Markets ,
Corporate Governance ,
Deregulation ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Investment Management ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
On March 19th, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued two new FAQs under the Marketing Rule (Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940) that will allow investment advisers to (i)...more
On March 12, 2025, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a no-action letter (NAL) recognizing the reasonableness of one method by which issuers relying on Rule...more
The SEC currently has several notable rule proposals that have received public comment but have not yet been finalized. The potential direction of these proposals is likely to be influenced by the leadership of the new SEC...more
2/10/2025
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Markets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Custody Rule ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Proposals
On October 21, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of Examinations (Division) released its examination priorities for 2025, outlining the key topics the Division plans to focus on in the upcoming fiscal...more
11/5/2024
/ Code of Conduct ,
Compliance ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Popular ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Risk Assessment ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On September 9, 2024, approximately one year since its first flurry of similar Marketing Rule actions, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) announced settlements with nine SEC-registered investment advisers (the...more
9/17/2024
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Marketing ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Social Networks ,
Websites
Yesterday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the “Private Funds Rules,” which the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted on August 23, 2023. The opinion of the...more
On March 27, 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Rule 203A-2(e) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the Advisers Act) (the Internet Adviser Exemption)....more
On February 6, 2024, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an updated FAQ with respect to the Marketing Rule (Rule 206(4)-1) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the Advisers Act). This FAQ...more
On November 1, 2023, the industry groups (the Petitioners) challenging the new Private Fund Adviser Rules filed in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit their opening brief (the Brief) setting forth their legal...more
11/7/2023
/ Audits ,
Custody Rule ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Retail Investors ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) announced on September 11, 2023, that it had settled with nine SEC-registered investment advisers (the Advisers) over alleged violations of Rule 206(4)-1 under the...more
On September 5, 2023, almost one year since its first flurry of similar Custody Rule actions, the SEC announced settlements with five SEC-registered investment advisers to private funds with respect to alleged violations of...more
9/26/2023
/ Audits ,
Compliance ,
Custody Rule ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Statements ,
Form ADV ,
Fund Sponsors ,
GAAP ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations
On September 6, 2023, the staff of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) Division of Examinations (the “Division”) issued a risk alert describing how it selects investment advisers for examination and the...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently adopted new rules for private fund managers, which we covered in our alert SEC Adopts Expansive (Albeit Slightly Softened) Private Funds Rules.
The new rules include...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced on August 21, 2023 that it has settled with a FinTech registered investment adviser (the “Adviser”) that offers multiple investment strategies, including a...more
8/25/2023
/ Contract Terms ,
Cryptoassets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FinTech ,
Investment Adviser ,
Marketing ,
Misleading Statements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement
Today, the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) has adopted the much anticipated so-called “Private Funds Rules” under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”). The Private Funds Rules will impact not...more
The SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) has provided notice that it is preparing to adopt the so-called “Private Funds Rules” under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) on August 23, 2023....more
8/17/2023
/ Audits ,
Clawbacks ,
Custody Rule ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Negligence ,
New Rules ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On June 8, 2023, the Division of Examinations (EXAMS) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) published a Risk Alert regarding its priorities for the next stage of examinations with respect to Rule 206(4)-1 (the...more
On February 16, 2023, we circulated a client alert, “SEC Proposes Radical Transformation of Custody Rule Into New Safeguarding Rule,” concerning the proposed significant transformation of Rule 206(4)-2 (the Custody Rule)...more
On May 3, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) adopted important amendments to Form PF, the systemic risk reporting form for private fund advisers registered with the SEC, that would require (i) new...more
On February 15, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed a significant transformation of Rule 206(4)-2 (the “Custody Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) into a new...more
2/17/2023
/ Compliance ,
Custody Rule ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investors ,
Popular ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought an unusually high number of enforcement actions against exempt reporting advisers in 2022 — that appears to be more than the prior three years combined and a record number...more
1/27/2023
/ Asset Management ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exempt Organizations ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Private Funds ,
Regulation M ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Regulation ,
Venture Capital
On January 11, 2023, the staff of the Division of Investment Management at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC Staff”) updated their Marketing Rule FAQs. A new FAQ appears to impose the net performance...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently adopted, in a 3-2 vote, rule and form amendments impacting proxy disclosures reporting on Form N-PX (the “amendments”).
The amendments that are applicable to mutual...more
11/14/2022
/ Corporate Governance ,
ETFs ,
Executive Compensation ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investment Funds ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Proxy Voting ,
Required Forms ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
This article focuses on how the new Rule 206(4)-1 (the “Marketing Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) affects the relationships between investment advisers registered with the U.S. Securities...more
10/4/2022
/ Advertising ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Endorsements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Marketing ,
New Rules ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Testimonial Statements