On November 4, 2022, compliance with amended Rule 206(4)-1 (the “Marketing Rule”) became mandatory for all investment advisers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Seven months since the...more
Welcome to the UK Regulation Round Up, a regular bulletin highlighting the latest developments in UK and EU financial services regulation....more
6/6/2023
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
AML/CFT ,
Cryptoassets ,
ELTIF ,
ESRB ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Libor ,
MiFID II ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Risk Management ,
SFDR ,
UCITS
Recent enforcement actions highlight the increased regulatory scrutiny that private funds may face with respect to internal cybersecurity protocols and responses to cyber-crimes and cyber incidents under new and updated...more
5/23/2023
/ Coinbase ,
Compliance ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Private Funds ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Welcome to the UK Regulation Round Up, a regular bulletin highlighting the latest developments in UK and EU financial services regulation.
Key developments in April 2023:
28 April FCA Handbook: The Financial Conduct...more
5/22/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Asset Management ,
Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) ,
Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) ,
CRD IV Directive ,
Cryptoassets ,
CSDR ,
Digital Assets ,
EMIR ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Central Bank ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
FinTech ,
Illiquid Assets ,
Libor ,
UK
As IPOs and other traditional paths to liquidity for private assets have become more challenging, GP-led secondary transactions have emerged as a powerful and popular tool across closed-end private funds, leading to explosive...more
Go to any private equity event in the last 12 months, and “energy transition” will have been discussed, meaning the shift in energy production away from fossil‑based systems to low or zero carbon ones. As fund managers...more
5/10/2023
/ Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Liquidity ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SFDR ,
Taxonomy
It’s a pattern we often see in boom-and-bust cycles—disputes rising in the period after a wave crests. SPAC deal volume hit an unprecedented high in 2021, but then slowed down in 2022 alongside IPOs. However, the fallout from...more
The SEC’s Enforcement Division is conducting a sweep investigation of large investment advisers regarding their employees’ use of “off-channel” communications. The sweep, which has been widely reported in the press, focuses...more
4/25/2023
/ Asset Management ,
Breach of Duty ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investigations ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Private Funds ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Implications of SEC attempt to curb indemnification for private fund managers -
The SEC spent 2022 making multiple and sweeping proposals to amend rules under the Advisers Act, many of which have the ability to...more
Amid rising interest rates, tightening credit markets, geopolitical concerns in Europe and Asia, stubborn inflation and continuing supply chain issues, there is a growing sense of economic uncertainty. This uncertainty will...more
31 March -
SFTR: The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published an updated version of its Q&As (ESMA74-362-893) on complying with reporting requirements under the Regulation on reporting and transparency...more
4/10/2023
/ Amended Regulation ,
AML/CFT ,
Banking Sector ,
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) ,
Capital Markets ,
Cryptoassets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
EMIR ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
EU Benchmark Regulation ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
MiFIR ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Short Selling ,
UK
Crypto firm bankruptcies and resulting disruption in the crypto ecosystem will continue to exacerbate liquidity and regulatory concerns in this space. Signs of contagion are evident as prices of almost every cryptocurrency...more
On 29 March 2023, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) announced a delay to the upcoming policy statement on Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (“SDR”) and investment labels....more
Everything, everywhere, all at once, as a descriptor, captures the litigation and regulatory risks for the asset management industry in 2023. Every corner of the market faces greater risks than at any time since 2008. After...more
Background On 20 February 2023, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published a discussion paper (DP23/2) on updating and improving the UK regime for asset management (the “Discussion Paper”).
As part...more
3/6/2023
/ Asset Management ,
Discussion Draft ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
On 20 February 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (“ESMA”) consultation paper (ESMA34-472-373) “Guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms” (the “Consultation”) closed to comments....more
2/24/2023
/ AIFs ,
Biodiversity ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Greenwashing ,
National Private Placement Regimes (NPPR) ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
UK ,
Water
31 January -
The European Supervisory Authorities (“ESAs”) published a joint consultation paper (JC 2022 76) on the system established by the ESAs for the exchange of information relevant to the assessment of the fitness...more
Background -
In August 2022, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published a policy statement titled “[s]trengthening our financial promotion rules for high-risk investments and firms approving financial...more
In February 2022, the UK Government published the Corporate Transparency and Register Reform White Paper (the “White Paper”), which set out its plans to reform Companies House and increase the transparency of UK corporate...more
1/19/2023
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Structures ,
Foreign Entities ,
Fraud ,
HMRC ,
Limited Partnerships ,
Money Laundering ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Russia ,
Scotland ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
Ukraine
Following the turn of the new year, our UK Regulatory specialists have examined the key regulatory developments in 2023 impacting a range of UK and European firms within the financial services sector. The key dates have been...more
1/18/2023
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Greenwashing ,
Libor ,
MiFID II ,
Money Laundering ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
Taxonomy ,
UK
On 9 December 2022, the United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an expansive set of reforms to the UK’s financial regulatory regime – labelled the “Edinburgh Reforms”.
Following the UK’s exit from the...more
12/23/2022
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Scotland ,
SMCR ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
On 10 March 2021,the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation ((EU) 2019/2088) ("SFDR") came into force. This imposes environmental, social and corporate governance (“ESG”) and reporting requirements on a wide range of...more
12/23/2022
/ AIFM ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Firms ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
Taxonomy
Key developments in November 2022: The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Qualifying Provisions) (Amendment) Order 2022 (SI 2022/1252) was published together with an explanatory memorandum. The amendments allow for the...more
12/6/2022
/ Capital Requirements ,
Cryptocurrency ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Stability Board ,
MiFID II ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
UK
The United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) has become concerned that too many consumers are investing in high‑risk products without fully understanding them. To combat this, in August 2022, the FCA published a...more
Welcome to the Regulation Round Up, a regular bulletin highlighting the latest developments in UK and EU financial services regulation.
Key developments in October 2022:...more
11/2/2022
/ Bank of England ,
Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) ,
CSDR ,
EMIR ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
MiFID II ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
SFDR ,
UK