On this episode of “The Preferred Return,” co-hosts Greg Norman and Abigail Reeves look at the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, particularly updates to the EU legislation, which are the most significant to...more
Activist shareholders had a busy 2023: The incidence of activist campaigns in Europe soared by almost 70% compared to 2022, according to data compiled by Skadden and Activistmonitor. As we described in a previous issue of The...more
2/16/2024
/ Board of Directors ,
Capital Markets ,
Disclosure ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Listing Rules ,
New Rules ,
Open-Ended Fund Companies (OFCs) ,
Private Equity ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholders ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Stock Exchange ,
UK
On 28 November 2023, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) unveiled its Policy Statement PS 23/16 (Policy Statement), which sets out the final rules for sustainability disclosure and investment labels (SDR Rules). The...more
1/8/2024
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UK
The European Commission recently launched two consultations — a public consultation and a targeted consultation (collectively, the Consultations) — seeking stakeholders’ feedback on potential changes to the Sustainable...more
10/18/2023
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Investors ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
UK
As part of its commitment to strengthen sustainability disclosure in its 2018 Sustainable Finance Action Plan, the European Commission (EC), together with the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), has conducted...more
As predicted in our February 1, 2023, client alert, “ESG in 2022 and Predictions for 2023,” a global economic slowdown and ongoing backlash in the U.S. have slowed the momentum of some aspects of the environmental, social and...more
7/18/2023
/ Activist Investors ,
Biodiversity ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Reporting ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Green Energy ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Remuneration ,
Sustainability ,
UK
The consultation period for the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) proposed rules for labelling ‘sustainable’ financial products formed or marketed in the UK ended 25 January 2023, and final rules are expected to be...more
At the end of 2022, the European Union adopted a law mandating detailed environmental disclosures and, for the first time, extending its non-financial disclosure requirements to many companies incorporated outside the EU....more
In the current environment, tax-free spinoffs may be the best option for companies focusing their business lines, we explain in this issue of The Informed Board. Spin-offs do not depend on third parties, and they preserve...more
2/20/2023
/ Activist Investors ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Insider Trading ,
Multinationals ,
Proxy Voting ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Evaluations ,
Shareholders
In this episode of “The Standard Formula” podcast, host Robert Chaplin is joined by investment management partner Greg Norman to discuss the Edinburgh Reforms, which serve as the UK’s most significant divergence to date from...more
As part of the European Commission’s (EC’s) commitment to strengthen sustainability disclosure in its 2018 Sustainable Finance Action Plan, the EC, together with the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), has...more
Following the recently introduced Solvency UK for insurers, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt (the UK finance minister) has announced the Edinburgh Reforms, a further series of reforms aimed at the UK financial...more
12/20/2022
/ Bank of England ,
Banking Sector ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UK
The pandemic’s impact may be subsiding, but businesses are encountering new challenges across the globe, including the potential for an economic retrenchment, rising interest rates, shifting regulatory and litigation...more
12/14/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Antitrust Division ,
Banking Sector ,
Big Tech ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
Capital Raising ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Convertible Notes ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forum Selection ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Lenders ,
Mergers ,
Money Laundering ,
Partnerships ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recessions ,
Repurchases ,
Russia ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Taxation ,
Technology ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues continue to be a very significant topic for the private capital industry, whether through increasing demands from investors and other stakeholders or the continued stream of...more
[co-author: Krishane Sri Rajkumar]
On 6 April 2022, the European Commission finally adopted the regulatory technical standards (RTS) to supplement the Sustainability-Related Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the EU Taxonomy...more
5/6/2022
/ Capital Markets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Markets ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Management ,
Private Funds ,
SFDR ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Taxonomy
On January 12, 2022, Skadden partners Greg Norman and Anna Rips led the webinar “Challenges for Cross-Border Distribution of Private Funds in 2022,” which considered recent changes to the rules and regimes governing the...more
2/22/2022
/ AIFM ,
Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Investment Adviser ,
Private Funds ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SFDR
Takeaways -
New EU regulations require detailed disclosures about the ways in which asset managers implement sustainability policies in the businesses they investment in. Similar rules are being considered in the U.K. and...more
2/1/2022
/ Asset Management ,
Business Strategies ,
Capital Investments ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Private Equity ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability
The European Union’s new cross-border fund distribution legislation comes into effect August 2, 2021, updating the existing framework for marketing alternative investment funds (AIFs) in the European Union (EU). The changes...more
The focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues grew considerably in 2020, in part due to significant regulatory developments.
Takeaways
- Financial services businesses and other UK companies will still...more
3/5/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
Taxonomy ,
UK Brexit
The negotiations that culminated in the establishment of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) at the end of 2020 concluded with no meaningful agreement in relation to the provision of financial services between the...more
Governance Factor; Beyond the Board -
Corporate governance has long been a focal point for large corporates, listed companies and regulated entities, with numerous studies connecting good corporate governance with higher...more
In a letter dated August 18, 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) wrote to the European Commission (EC) on certain topics it considers a priority to address in the context of the EC’s review of the...more
The list of events for which 2020 will be remembered continues to grow and we are only two thirds of the way through the year. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have come into focus in the financial community,...more
9/15/2020
/ AIFM ,
Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Fund Managers ,
Fund Sponsors ,
Institutional Investors ,
Pollution Control ,
Popular ,
Private Funds ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Taxonomy ,
UK ,
United Nations
One likely impact of the decision of the United Kingdom (UK) to leave the European Union (EU) is that the UK’s financial services industry will lose automatic rights of access to the EU’s free trade area (the Single Market)...more
6/8/2017
/ Affiliates ,
Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
EU ,
EU Passport ,
EU Single Market ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
MiFID ,
MiFID II ,
UCITS ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
In our August 2015 client alert, we reported on the European Union's tentative efforts to extend the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) marketing passport to managers and funds established in non-EU...more