The SEC staff recently published updates to its interpretations (CDIs) for Rule 10b5-1 – the insider trading exemption for pre-established trading plans....more
5/9/2025
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
401k ,
Employee Benefits ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Funds ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Trusts
The new registration statement guidance will make capital raises by non-WKSI companies filing on Form S-3 easier, as they can proceed with offerings during periods before their proxy statements are finalized – a privilege...more
3/24/2025
/ Capital Markets ,
CDIs ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Requirements ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 8-K ,
Form S-3 ,
New Guidance ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Registration Requirement ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities Regulation ,
WKSIs
On March 12, 2025, the SEC staff confirmed in a no-action letter that issuers may rely on high minimum investment levels, as well as investor self-certification of accredited status, in private offerings involving general...more
3/19/2025
/ Accredited Investors ,
Certification Requirements ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
General Solicitation ,
New Guidance ,
Offerings ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Private Funds ,
Private Offerings ,
Rule 506(c) ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
The SEC staff recently published new guidance for voting commitments in public M&A transactions and all-cash tender offers....more
3/11/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Capital Markets ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Target Company ,
Tender Offers
In one of its first actions under the new Administration, the SEC staff issued new guidance that largely reinstated older guidance that had supported the ability of public companies to exclude shareholder proposals from their...more
2/21/2025
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
New Guidance ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rescission ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
On May 21, 2024, the Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued a statement providing guidance on the use of Item 1.05 of Form 8-K to disclose cybersecurity incidents....more
What happened -
The SEC staff recently issued 15 interpretations (see Sections 128D and 228D) relating to its new Pay versus Performance (PvP) rules....more
Spring-loading - awarding equity awards before announcing material good news - was in the headlines 15 years ago but still surfaces on occasion, notably when in July 2020 Kodak made large grants to executives the day before a...more
The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance recently published Legal Bulletin 14L (CF) (the “Bulletin”) providing updated guidance on excluding shareholder proposals under Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act. Specifically, the...more
11/15/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
New Guidance ,
Ordinary Business Exception ,
Proxy Materials ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
Last week the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance issued a statement addressing a variety of accounting, financial reporting and governance issues that a private operating company should consider before undertaking a...more
The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued guidance on securities offering disclosure during times of extreme price volatility, which it viewed as characterized by...more
ISS recently published FAQ guidance addressing how it will approach COVID-related pay decisions under its pay-for-performance qualitative evaluation. The guidance reflects feedback from discussions with investors and its...more
On June 23, 2019, both the Division of Corporation Finance and the Office of the Chief Accountant issued additional statements to public companies and their stakeholders about the importance of “high-quality” financial...more
This newsletter discusses noteworthy updates, key regulatory decisions and upcoming compliance reminders.
In this edition, we review:
...SEC Changes Approach to Shareholder Proposal No-Action Requests
...SEC Issues...more
10/24/2019
/ Breach of Contract ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Clean Water Act ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Governance ,
Default ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Violations ,
Federal Loans ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Interpretive Letters ,
Investment Adviser ,
Libor ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
MD&A Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Requests ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Voting ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation FD ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
On November 1, 2017, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14I (SLB 14I), providing guidance on the excludability of shareholder proposals under Exchange Act Rules 14a-8(i)(7)...more
Late Friday, April 7, the SEC issued two statements relating to the conflict minerals rule which reflect a significant change in the staff’s guidance for public companies.
The upshot of these statements is that the staff...more