By: Grant F. Butler and Yuki Sako
Two proposals regarding oversight of the control of banks by asset managers were withdrawn at the 25 April board meeting of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). These proposals were a result of increasing concern by bank regulators regarding concentration in control of banks by institutional investors, particularly index funds.
Read MoreBy: Stacy L. Fuller, Kevin R. Gustafson, Christine Mikhael and Crystal Liu
On 15 April 2024, Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (Cboe) filed an application pursuant to Rule 19b-4 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to amend its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listing standards to permit ETF share classes issued by open-end investment companies that offer mutual fund share classes pursuant to any exemptive relief to be granted by the SEC.
Read MoreBy: Michael S. Caccese and Lance C. Dial
On 17 April 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Examinations issued a risk alert entitled “Initial Observations Regarding Marketing Rule Compliance” (the Alert). The Alert reflected the SEC examination staff’s preliminary observations coming from its examination program and noted that compliance with Rule 206(4)-1 (the Marketing Rule) continues to be a priority for the SEC staff.
Read MoreBy: Kane Barnett and Prudence Birchall
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services (Committee) has commenced an inquiry into the wholesale investor test for offers of securities, and the wholesale client test for financial products and services (together, wholesale investor/client tests) in the Corporations Act 2001 (link here) (Inquiry).
Read MoreBy: Neil T. Smith, Hayley Trahan-Liptak, and Sophia A. Khan
The traditional understanding of how the government charges insider trading is evolving, as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pushes to expand the scope of what constitutes misappropriation of material non-public information (MNPI) under Rule 10b-5.
Read MoreBy: Matthew Watts, Lisa Lautier and Dhivya Kalyanakumar
Since 2017, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has provided guidance to licensed exchanges on exchange traded products (ETP) naming conventions under Information Sheet 230 (INFO 230). This policy is designed to help ensure that admission and monitoring standards for ETP’s support fair, orderly and transparent markets.
Read MoreBy: Claudine Salameh and Tamsyn Sharpe
On 15 March 2024 the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) came into effect for authorised-deposit taking institutions (ADIs). Application of the FAR will be extended to insurers and registrable superannuation entities from 15 March 2025.
Read MoreBy: Lisa Lautier and Prudence Birchall
The Financial Services Council (FSC) in collaboration with the Responsible Investment Association of Australia (RIAA) released an information sheet for members (FSC Information Sheet) outlining overarching principles in relation to the use of responsible or sustainability-related terms in investment product labelling to promote consistency across the industry.
Read MoreBy: Richard F. Kerr, Eden L. Rohrer, Jessica D. Cohn, and Raymond F. Jensen
On 18 March 2024, the National Association of Private Fund Managers, Alternative Investment Management Association, Limited and Managed Funds Association (together, Plaintiffs) jointly filed a complaint (Complaint) against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging that the SEC’s newly adopted final rule (Dealer Rule) vastly overstepped and expanded the SEC’s authority. The Complaint, which was filed in federal court in Texas, details how the Dealer Rule, expanding those industry participants who would be “dealers” under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, is overbroad and was adopted in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.
Read MoreBy: Ron Feldman and Philipp Riedl
Deficiencies in compliance with derivatives post trade reporting rules have recently triggered regulator fines. Fin-FSA in Finland fined a pension fund €90K and the Central Bank of Ireland imposed the first fine on an investment fund, €192K. Although the fines are reasonably modest, they have sharpened industry focus on this issue.
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