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
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published final guidance (FG22/5) and a policy statement (PS22/9) for the new consumer duty (Duty) on 27 July 2022. The main rules will come into force on 31 July 2023 for existing...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
Following another year of increasing focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations by companies, investors and regulators alike, ESG appears to have cemented its position in the corporate landscape...more
2/2/2023
/ Business Plans ,
Business Strategies ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Green Energy ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Finance
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
As companies grapple with the business challenges that rising interest rates and an uncertain economic outlook present, there are the inevitable questions about whether companies should worry less about environmental, social...more
12/20/2022
/ Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employees ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investors ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
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
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently introduced important changes to the regime governing Appointed Representatives (ARs), which carry out regulated activity for which an authorised firm is responsible. The new...more
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
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations continued to play a key role in the first six months of 2022, with geopolitical circumstances resulting in a reexamination of a number of ESG beliefs. In our 11...more
The UK financial services regulator Financial Conduct Authority’s latest three-year Strategy and annual Business Plan could have a significant impact on private capital sponsors and advisers and other asset managers....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
The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (the Act) took effect in the UK on 15 March 2022. The Act was expedited through the UK Parliament following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but it has been on the...more
The U.K. Parliament has approved climate-related disclosure requirements that were announced by the U.K.’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) on 28 October 2021 (see our 18 November 2021 alert...more
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
Throughout 2021, the importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters proved to be even greater than many had expected, with ESG becoming a key area of focus for a range of stakeholders, particularly in the...more
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 UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) announced on 28 October 2021 that new climate-related disclosure requirements had been laid before the Houses of Parliament. The proposals, contained in...more
The rapidly growing focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters that marked 2020 continued to shape events for companies operating or based in the U.K. and Europe in 2021. Discussions of ESG are occurring at...more
9/3/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Green Bonds ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UK
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