The ability to raise capital is one of the most critical challenges facing small businesses in the U.S. today. Capital can allow for exponential growth of a well-run startup with a good idea, but the lack of capital is the...more
The Situation: Late last year, a shareholder sued NorthWestern Corporation ("NWE") to compel the company to include a climate-change related proposal in its 2020 proxy materials after NWE had notified the staff of the...more
Companies preparing for their annual shareholder meetings will need to consider a variety of factors, including new guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and recommendations from Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass...more
The US agency has used a no-action letter to enable a sandbox-like approach to blockchain-based trade settlements. In what may be the first regulator-approved application of blockchain technology for the settlement of US...more
On October 28, 2019, the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets granted no-action relief for a limited period of time to Paxos Trust Company, LLC from registration as a clearing agency under Section 17A(b)(1) of the Securities...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued several important recent updates regarding shareholder proposals and the related no-action request process for companies to consider ahead of the 2019-2020 proxy...more
On October 16, 2019, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin (SLB) No. 14K providing guidance on Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange...more
On September 26, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted a new rule to modernize the regulation of most exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). Rule 6c-11 (the “Rule”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as...more
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts - SEC STAFF GUIDANCE AND ALERTS - SEC Staff Issues No-Action Letters to Facilitate Cross-Border Compliance with the Research “Unbundling” Provisions of the European...more
On Nov. 1, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Staff Legal Bulletin (SLB) No.14I to provide additional guidance related to shareholder proposals and Exchange Act Rule 14a-8. Specifically, the SLB...more
Companies that have previously adopted mainstream proxy access bylaws received a vote of confidence from the SEC earlier this month when the agency issued 18 no-action letters, 15 of which allowed the company to exclude...more
The SEC recently published myriad questions about the listing, trading, and marketing (especially to retail investors) of "new, novel, or complex" exchange-traded products (ETPs). Such ETPs include exchange-traded funds...more
The SEC granted Crescent Capital Group LP no-action relief if it does not retain an eligible risk retention interest under Section 15G of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 in connection with a refinancing of CLOs that...more
Growth in the ETP industry has led the SEC to seek public comment on a variety of topics related to the listing and trading of ETP shares. On June 12, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a release (the...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a release (Release) on June 12, 2015 seeking public comment on topics related to the listing and trading of exchange-traded products (ETPs) on national securities exchanges...more
On February 10, 2015, Keith Higgins, Director of the SEC Division of Corporation Finance, provided his informal views (available here) on the Division’s controversial decision to “express no views” on the application of...more
SEC staff action may head off congressional action to exempt M&A Brokers from registration. On February 3, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a no-action letter that permits an M&A broker...more