Machine Learning and the Future of Tax Valuation

By Jay A. Soled and Kathleen DeLaney Thomas May 20, 2022 by renholding

The tax law handles many computational issues with extraordinary efficiency. Need to compute employment taxes? The Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) lays out the rate for doing so. Need to ascertain the dollar amount deductible for business mileage expenses? Treasury regulations …

Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses California Governor’s Executive Order on Blockchain

By Aaron Levine, Michelle Thiry, Rebecca Simmons and Sarah Payne May 11, 2022 by renholding

On May 4, California Governor Gavin Newson signed an executive order that is intended “to foster responsible innovation, bolster California’s innovation economy, and protect consumers” and “create a transparent regulatory and business environment for web3 companies which harmonizes federal and …

Do Venture Capital Funds Overstate Their Performance? The Effects of FOIA

By Erin E. Smith May 9, 2022 by renholding

Venture capital (VC) has become an increasingly important asset class for institutional investors such as endowments, pension funds, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds, as well as for wealthy individuals. A large amount of money is involved: U.S. VC-backed companies …

Too Much Information? Increasing Firms’ Information Advantages in the IPO Process

By Michele Dathan and Yan Xiong May 3, 2022 by renholding

Traditionally, high-growth private firms in the United States have used the public equity markets as their primary source of external financing to fund innovation and expansion. For this reason, well-functioning capital markets have been instrumental to the U.S. economy, supporting …

Deep Learning Mutual-Fund Risk Assessment and Performance

By Sean Cao, Baozhong Yang and Alan L. Zhang April 29, 2022 by renholding

The ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have increased market volatility and even caused markets to close in some countries. These fluctuations substantially affected mutual funds, leading to fire sales of their assets and SEC scrutiny of their risk management. …

How Disclosure and Information Intermediaries Strengthen the Credibility of Initial Coin Offerings

By Thomas Bourveau, Atif Ellahie, Emmanuel T. De George and Daniele Macciocchi April 27, 2022 by renholding

The crypto-tokens market has recently emerged as an alternative source of financing for entrepreneurial ventures, with approximately $27 billion raised globally through March 2022.[1] These ventures issue blockchain-based digital “crypto-tokens” to raise external capital through an initial coin offering …

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses the LIBOR Act, State Law, and Litigation Risks

By Rishi Zutshi, Jeffrey Karpf, Duane McLaughlin and Elizabeth Chang April 18, 2022 by renholding

On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act (the “LIBOR Law”).[1] The objectives of the legislation are to facilitate the transition of legacy LIBOR contracts that either (a) lack LIBOR …

When Biden Met Crypto: Thoughts on the President’s Executive Order

By Hadar Y. Jabotinsky and Roee Sarel April 1, 2022 by renholding

On March 9, 2022, President Biden signed an executive order (“the Order”) requiring federal agencies to submit reports on how cryptocurrencies relate to various issues, including money laundering, investor protection, international cooperation, central bank digital currencies (“CBDC”), and systemic risk. …

ISS on Addressing the Looming Water Crisis in Investment Portfolios

By Cosima Reiff, Erina Molina and Erin Wood April 1, 2022 by renholding

Water means life. More than half of our bodies consist of water, and it is an indispensable resource for production of food and other goods. It is fundamental for societies and ecosystems alike. While water covers approximately 70 percent of

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New Department of Labor Investment Rules Could Be Big Win for Everyone but Labor

By David H. Webber March 28, 2022 by renholding

Few constituencies benefited more from the election of Joe Biden than the socially-responsible investor community, which saw the most-hostile presidential administration replaced by the most supportive.[1] The point is best illustrated by the departure of Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, …

Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses Federal LIBOR Transition Legislation

By Jordan Wish, Rodge Cohen and Ben Weiner March 21, 2022 by renholding

On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed into law the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022,” which enjoyed significant bipartisan support and contains, as Division U, the “Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act” (the “LIBOR Act”).[1] The LIBOR Act provides a uniform …

Debevoise Discusses Russia, Sanctions, and Digital Assets

By Satish M. Kini, Aseel M. Rabie, Robert T. Dura, Jonathan Steinberg and Amy Aixi Zhang March 9, 2022 by renholding

In response to ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine, U.S. authorities have imposed several tranches of new sanctions against Russia, particularly against Russia’s financial industry, including its major banks and the Central Bank of Russia. On February 26, President …

SPACs and PIPEs as Efficient Tools for Corporate Growth

By Frank Fagan and Saul Levmore March 8, 2022 by renholding

A SPAC can be understood as an alternative to an IPO, with investors using a large investor, a PIPE, to find out whether the SPAC founder has really chosen a good target or is simply rushing to get a big …

How Firms’ Simultaneous Release of Information Affects Market Feedback

By Mustafa Ahci, Tim Martens and Christoph J. Sextroh February 24, 2022 by renholding

Can managers obtain more useful feedback from capital markets by disclosing pieces of information separately and at different times instead of bundling the information and releasing it at once? It is well known that capital markets’ response to firms’ announcements …

An Academic Critique of the SEC’s GameStop Report

By Joshua Mitts, Robert H. Battalio, Jonathan Brogaard, Matthew D. Cain, Lawrence R. Glosten and Brent Kochuba February 22, 2022 by renholding

On October 18, 2021, SEC staff released a long-awaited report on equity and options trading in connection with the meteoritic rise of GameStop’s share price in January 2021. The staff report addressed several issues surrounding the GameStop episode, but one …

Strategically Staying Small: Regulatory Avoidance and the Community Reinvestment Act

By Jacelly Cespedes, Jordan Nickerson and Carlos Parra February 18, 2022 by renholding

Banks operate in one of the nation’s most heavily regulated industries, where policy intervention aims for wide-ranging goals that include limiting risk, protecting consumers, and ensuring fair treatment of individuals through equal access to credit. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), …

The Breakdown of the Public–Private Divide in Securities Law

By George S. Georgiev February 14, 2022 by renholding

Securities law in the United States has traditionally been designed around a set of lines – the “public–private divide” – which separate public companies, public capital, and public markets from private companies, private capital, and private markets. Until the early …

ISS Reviews ESG Equity Indices in 2021

By Hernando Cortina January 28, 2022 by renholding

With some exceptions, 2021 was a generally strong year for equity markets around the world. Impressively, passive ESG products such as ETFs garnered significant inflows of over $150 billion dollars and saw asset under management growth of over 80% globally.

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Fintech SPACs Have Been Swimming Naked – and the Tide Is Going Out

By Todd H. Baker January 27, 2022 by renholding

Acorns Grow Inc., the financial technology and investing startup, said last week that it was abandoning its $2.2 billion merger with SPAC Pioneer Merger Corp., putting itself on the hook for a $17.5 million termination fee. Coming almost eight months …

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