Podcast: Federal Court Rejects Mutual Fund Fee Claims and Recognizes Market Realities
Final Regulations under Section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code - On October 11, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Final Regulations under Code Section 36B relating to eligibility for the Affordable Care...more
In This Issue. The federal bank regulators published frequently asked questions concerning the London Interbank Offered Rate transition; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) confirmed an effective date for two...more
Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co. and Great-West Capital Management, LLC (together, “Great-West”) have won a judgment that they did not violate their fiduciary duty by receiving excessive investment advisory and...more
In the News. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed modifying the disclosure framework for mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (funds), which would create a new layered disclosure regime that attempts to...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini outlined the factors courts must consider in determining whether the fees an adviser charges a mutual fund are excessive and in violation of the Investment Company Act. All the...more
In this issue, we summarize regulatory, litigation and industry developments from October 2019 to early January 2020 impacting the investment management sector, including SEC action on use of derivatives by registered...more
On September 27, 2019, following a two-week bench trial, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed an action brought by mutual fund shareholders under Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act...more
In this issue, we summarize regulatory, litigation and industry developments from May to September 2019 impacting the investment management sector, including SEC action on standards of conduct for broker-dealers and...more
On August 5, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California found for the defendant, Metropolitan West Asset Management, LLC (MetWest), following a bench trial in an excessive fee case brought under...more
Litigation and Enforcement Actions and Initiatives – SECTION 36(b) LITIGATION – Court Finds for Defendant Investment Adviser in Section 36(b) - Excessive-Fee Case – On August 5, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the...more
On July 31, 2019, Judge George H. Wu of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California released tentative findings of fact and conclusions of law dismissing an excessive fee claim brought under Section 36(b)...more
In an opinion unsealed on July 3, 2019, Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment to a mutual fund adviser and dismissed an excessive fee claim brought...more
In a newly unsealed decision, the federal district court in Manhattan granted summary judgment in favor of a mutual fund’s investment adviser in a lawsuit filed pursuant to Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940....more
In a strong opinion, a federal court in the Southern District of New York recently dismissed a suit alleging that the defendant charged “excessive” fees to a mutual fund....more
On March 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal prior to discovery of a complaint filed under Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Second Circuit’s decision is...more
Following an eight-day bench trial, Judge Freda L. Wolfson of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled in favor of certain subsidiaries of BlackRock, Inc. on $1.55 billion in claims brought under Section...more
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts – NEW RULES – SEC Adopts New Rules Permitting Covered Investment Fund Research Reports – On November 30, 2018, the SEC adopted Rule 139b under the Securities Act of...more
On October 25, 2018, Judge George Wu of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles largely denied an investment adviser’s motion for summary judgment in an action against Metropolitan West...more
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts – SEC STAFF GUIDANCE AND ALERTS – OCIE Publishes Risk Alert on Compliance Issues Relating to Best Execution – On July 11, 2018, the Office of Compliance Inspections and...more
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts - PROPOSED RULES - SEC Proposes New Rule to Permit Certain ETFs to Operate Without an Exemptive Order - On June 28, 2018, the SEC issued a proposed new rule under the...more
In a non-precedential opinion, the Third Circuit has affirmed a district court’s ruling in favor of AXA Equitable Fund Management Group (“FMG”) in a case in which the plaintiffs had claimed that FMG charged excessive fees for...more
On March 13, 2018, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered summary judgment for Harbor Capital Advisors, Inc. (“Harbor”) in consolidated actions brought under Section 36(b) of the...more
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts - PROPOSED RULES - SEC Proposes Changes to Fund Liquidity Disclosure Requirements - On March 14, 2018, the SEC issued proposed amendments to the disclosure requirements...more
On February 14, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan issued a decision dismissing a complaint brought under Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, that...more
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts – SEC STAFF GUIDANCE AND ALERTS - SEC Staff Issues Guidance on Cryptocurrency-related Holdings - On January 18, 2018, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment...more