Exploring the legal and regulatory issues affecting the worldwide asset management community.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) inflation adjustment to the qualified client thresholds under Rule 205-3 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 will become effective on 29 June 2026, and will carry important implications for SEC-registered investment advisers (RIAs) that charge performance-based compensation tied to capital gains or investment appreciation.
Read MoreBy: Thoreau Bartmann, Meghan Flinn, Ted Kornobis, Hayley Trahan-Liptak, and Neil Smith
On 18 May 2026, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rescinded the rule barring settling defendants from publicly denying the agency’s allegations. The policy, in place since 1972, effectively silenced settling defendants on pain of having their cases reopened. Now, defendants can publicly dispute SEC allegations, including under existing consent judgments.
Read MoreBy: Meghan E. Flinn, Hayley Trahan-Liptak, Thoreau A. Bartmann, and Steve G. Topetzes
One week into the role, new Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Enforcement Director David Woodcock used his first public remarks to reinforce the enforcement tone set by Chairman Atkins: “quality over quantity” and “back to basics.”
Read MoreBy: Gayle Bowen and Shane Geraghty
The Central Bank of Ireland (the Central Bank) today published its long-awaited revised AIF Rulebook, consolidating and modernising the regulatory framework for Irish alternative investment funds (AIFs). The revised Rulebook introduces a number of important flexibilities that will be welcomed by industry and will provide greater flexibility to investment managers when structuring their investment funds to better meet investors’ needs.
Read MoreBy: Sasha Burstein, Ami R. Jani, Andrew J. Feucht III, Mark T. Heine, Daniel F.C. Crowley, Karishma S. Page, J. Matthew Mangan, and Ruth E. Delaney
California legislators are advancing the proposed Private Equity Sunshine Act (SB 1319) amending the California Public Records Act to require expanded disclosure by California public investment funds, including state and local pension systems, regarding their alternative investments. The bill would affect both public pension investors and fund managers with California public pension plans as investors.
Read MoreBy: Gayle Bowen and Shane Geraghty
Ireland has taken a significant step forward in the implementation of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive II (AIFMD II), with confirmation that the enabling Statutory Instruments have now been signed and are set to come into force.
Read MoreBy: Jon-Luc Dupuy, Jennifer R. Gonzalez, Mark P. Goshko, Jordan A. Knight, Pablo J. Man, Keri E. Riemer, Tristen Rodgers, and George Zornada
On 27 April 2026, the staff (Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a no-action letter that extends to open-end funds, subject to certain conditions, exemptive relief that permits business development companies (BDCs) and registered closed-end funds to co-invest alongside affiliates in transactions otherwise prohibited under Sections 17(d) and 57(a)(4) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. This relief opens the door for open-end funds to participate, subject to their 15% liquidity restrictions, in co-investment transactions that were previously unavailable to these funds.
Read MoreBy: Thoreau A. Bartmann, Richard W. Burnett, Ruth E. Delaney, Lance C. Dial, Pablo J. Man, and Sarah V. Riddell
On 20 April 2026, the SEC and CFTC jointly proposed yet another round of amendments to Form PF to eliminate filing obligations for many private fund advisers and reduce burdens for many of those who remain subject to the form.
Read MoreBy: Thoreau A. Bartmann, Meghan E. Flinn, Theodore L. Kornobis, and Neil T. Smith
On 7 April 2026, the SEC announced its fiscal year 2025 enforcement results, speaking not only to key actions from the past year but also to its vision for enforcement going forward. The results were the first from the commission under Chairman Atkins, and featured several notable elements:
Read MoreBy: Thoreau A. Bartmann, Jessica D. Cohn, and Kevin R. Gustafson
With this fourth SEC approval, share class ETFs are now ready to go live.
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