COVID-19 RELATED DEVELOPMENTS -
SPECIAL REGULATORY UPDATE -
SEC Updates Investment Company Act Exemptive Order in Response to COVID-19 -
On March 25, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an...more
4/6/2020
/ Annual Meeting ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Relief Measures ,
Required Forms ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
State of Emergency ,
Virtual Meetings
On March 24, 2020, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, Division of Investment Management and Division of Trading and Markets issued a statement concerning the authentication document retention requirements...more
On March 13, 2020, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management and Division of Corporation Finance issued guidance in response to various inquiries from issuers and shareholders regarding compliance with the...more
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts –
PROPOSED RULES –
Agencies Propose Volcker Rule Amendments Relating to Covered Funds –
On January 30, 2020, the Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, OCC, SEC and CFTC proposed...more
3/3/2020
/ Cybersecurity ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Investment Fund ,
Investment Funds ,
New Guidance ,
OCIE ,
Proposed Rules ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sub-advisers ,
Volcker Rule
On January 21, 2020, the SEC issued a notice of its intention to grant exemptive relief to a registered fund and its investment adviser that would permit the fund’s board to approve new sub-advisory agreements and material...more
On January 7, 2020, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) announced its 2020 examination priorities for regulated entities, including investment advisers and registered funds. The examination...more
2/27/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinTech ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
MSRB ,
OCIE ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Retail Investors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On January 30, 2020, the Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, OCC, SEC and CFTC proposed amendments to certain Volcker Rule restrictions relating to banking entity activities with hedge funds or private equity funds (covered funds)....more
2/27/2020
/ Banking Sector ,
CFTC ,
Comment Period ,
Covered Funds ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Foreign Investment Fund ,
Hedge Funds ,
OCC ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Proposed Amendments ,
SBIC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Volcker Rule
On January 27, 2020, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published observations from its examinations of regulated entities, including funds and investment advisers, to assist those entities in...more
On January 9, 2020, FINRA released its 2020 Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter for its member firms. The exam priorities are organized into four categories: (1) sales practice and supervision; (2) market...more
2/27/2020
/ Best Execution ,
Compliance ,
Consolidated Audit Trail ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form CRS ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Liquidity ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts -
PROPOSED RULES -
SEC Proposes Amendments to Auditor Independence Rules -
On December 30, 2019, the SEC proposed amendments to Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, which sets...more
2/4/2020
/ Auditor Independence ,
Auditors ,
Derivatives ,
OCIE ,
Private Funds ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Retirement Plan ,
Risk Alert ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
SECURE Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
Swaps
On November 7, 2019, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a risk alert outlining its top compliance observations from examinations of nearly 300 registered funds conducted over a two-year...more
1/29/2020
/ Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Ethics ,
Investment Funds ,
Mutual Funds ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Alert ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stress Tests ,
Target Date Funds
On December 30, 2019, the SEC proposed amendments to Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, which sets forth the qualifications and independence standards for public company auditors, in order to carve out certain fact patterns...more
On December 18, 2019, the SEC adopted certain rule amendments to enhance the framework for regulating cross-border security-based swaps. Through this effort, the SEC established a broad security-based swap regulatory regime...more
1/28/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
CFTC ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Market Participants ,
Notification Requirements ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
Swaps ,
Uncleared Swaps
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts –
PROPOSED RULES –
SEC Proposes Rule Changes for Proxy Advisory Firms –
On November 5, 2019, the SEC issued a release proposing amendments to the federal proxy rules...more
12/20/2019
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Management ,
MiFID II ,
New Guidance ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Rule 206(4)-5 ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals
On November 27, 2019, the Chief Accountant of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued a “Dear CFO” letter—the first in nearly 20 years—to update certain accounting guidance appearing in prior Dear CFO letters that...more
On November 26, 2019, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management and Division of Trading and Markets issued guidance in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs) relating to the requirements of Form CRS,...more
On November 7, 2019, Dalia Blass, Director of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management, delivered the keynote address at the annual ALI CLE Conference on Life Insurance Company Products. Her remarks primarily focused on...more
On November 5, 2019, the SEC issued a release proposing amendments to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which is the rule that governs the process through which shareholders may submit proposals to be...more
12/10/2019
/ Corporate Governance ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Proxy Statements ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Public Comment ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholder Proposals
On October 18, 2019, the SEC issued a release proposing amendments to Rule 0 5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 that would expedite the review process for certain applications for exemptive relief under the 1940 Act....more
On October 18, 2019, the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions that address certain matters regarding the disclosure of conflicts of interest involving the receipt...more
12/10/2019
/ 12b-1 plan ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form ADV ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Revenue Sharing ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSD)
On October 26, 2017, the SEC staff issued a no-action letter providing relief to broker-dealers that provide research that constitutes “investment advice” under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to investment managers...more
On November 5, 2019, the SEC issued a release proposing amendments to the federal proxy rules that are intended to enhance the accuracy and transparency of information provided by proxy advisory firms to investors and...more
12/10/2019
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Exemptions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Proposed Rules ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
Proxy Voting ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts -
PROPOSED RULES –
SEC Proposes Rule Changes for Proxy Advisory Firms –
On November 5, 2019, the SEC issued a release proposing amendments to the federal proxy rules...more
11/26/2019
/ Corporate Governance ,
MiFID II ,
Proposed Rules ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
Proxy Statements ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts -
GUIDANCE AND ALERTS -
SEC Staff Issues Guidance on Improving Fund Principal Risks Disclosure -
On September 9, 2019, the Disclosure Review and Accounting Office...more
On July 9, 2019, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued a no-action letter to the BNY Mellon family of funds and BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. (collectively, BNYM) stating that the staff would...more