In response to rising geopolitical tensions – from the Middle East to the Taiwan Strait to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine –the Biden Administration is increasingly using economic incentives and sanctions to assist the United...more
Hope for a resurgence during 2024 in Venture Capital fundraising, investment, and returns was strong at the beginning of this year, with optimism fueled by the recovery in 2023 of U.S. stock markets (lead by the performance...more
4/30/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Markets ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Venture Capital
Big fund-raising rounds and high valuations have some wondering whether the AI sector is in a bubble in the nature of the dotcom boom. As of this writing, OpenAI is valued at over $80 billion; Amazon added another $2.75...more
The SEC’s new and proposed rules on cybersecurity and cyber-incident reporting will have a dual impact on private investment advisers and funds.
First, the proposal by the SEC will impose cybersecurity related...more
4/18/2024
/ Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Enforcement ,
Governance Standards ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Rules ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technology Sector
In its final Private Fund Adviser Rules adopted last year, the SEC dropped one of the more controversial proposed rules—the proposal to prohibit contractual exculpation or indemnification provisions that would shield or...more
4/16/2024
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Indemnification ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Negligence ,
Private Funds ,
Releases ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Adviser-led secondary transactions have seen explosive growth over the last five years. That growth has brought increased regulatory concerns over the conflicts of interests inherent in these transactions and a perceived...more
2023’s excitement for generative artificial intelligence (AI) prompted the SEC to respond on multiple fronts – stump speeches, rulemaking, new exam priorities and sweeps and previewing potential enforcement actions. SEC Chair...more
ESG continues to be a hot topic for 2024 for investors and regulators alike. The specific concerns investors and regulators have – and what they expect to develop over the coming months – differ, however, across...more
4/1/2024
/ Breach of Duty ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Statements ,
Form 10-K ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Investors ,
Jurisdiction ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sustainability ,
UK
Economic headwinds and the interest rate environment that developed over the course of 2023 increased financial stress on portfolio companies and portend heightened litigation risk in 2024 for portfolio companies and their...more
In a wave of SEC rulemaking this past year, representing a “new world order” event akin to Dodd-Frank, the SEC has provided itself with a fresh set of tools to increase regulatory and enforcement scrutiny on private funds....more
3/26/2024
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
New Amendments ,
New Rules ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
To understand the litigation and regulatory risks that are coming in 2024 for private capital, it is helpful to look back briefly on recent events. Arguably, the single most important event over the last 18 months was the...more
3/19/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Asset Management ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fund Managers ,
Hedge Funds ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Technology Sector
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
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)
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
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
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
Government scrutiny of the crypto market has been sharply increasing in recent months on the criminal and civil enforcement fronts.
In parallel proceedings that will be seen in other digital asset contexts — as in the...more
3/15/2023
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Coinbase ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Insider Trading ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Last week, the Fifth Circuit reversed a decision from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas that had dismissed a class action against Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. The complaint in...more
In the first insider trading case involving cryptocurrencies, a crypto trader was convicted of insider trading in federal district court and recently sentenced to 10 months in prison.
The defendant, Nikhil Wahi, pleaded...more
Representatives of asset managers often take up positions on the boards of portfolio companies. We have written posts before on some of the litigation and regulatory risks that can arise, both for the asset managers and the...more