The heart of the final rule is a shortening of the filing windows for Schedules 13D
Securities Regulation
Should We Worry About Robo-Voting?
Robo-voting occurs when an investment fund mechanically follows the voting recommendations of its proxy adviser in corporate elections. The practice has become easier for funds with the development of online voting platforms that a proxy adviser can complete in advance …
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses SEC Charges for Failure to Timely Report Transactions and Holdings
On September 27, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced charges against six public company insiders for failing to timely report information about their holdings and transactions in company securities. Five publicly traded companies were also charged with …
Davis Polk Discusses Recent SEC and CFTC Enforcement Actions
In July and August 2023, the SEC filed 84 actions and the CFTC filed 16, against a combined total of 176 defendants and respondents. (These figures exclude follow-on actions, bars and suspensions.) The actions include public company disclosure and crypto …
Skadden Discusses Additional SEC Pay-Versus-Performance Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations
On September 27, 2023, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of Corporation Finance issued 10 new Compliance & Disclosure Interpretations (C&DIs) relating to the pay-versus-performance (PVP) disclosure rules adopted last year. This new set of C&DIs …
Arnold & Porter Discusses 2023 Annual Reporting and Proxy Season
During 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) continued its trend from 2022, actively engaging in regulatory rulemaking, providing disclosure guidance, and undertaking enforcement actions related to public disclosures and disclosure controls.
This Advisory provides a summary of …
Cleary Discusses Second Circuit Decision That Syndicated Loans Are Not Securities
On August 24, 2023, the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of state-law securities claims in Kirschner v. JP Morgan Chase,[1] concluding that the plaintiff failed to adequately plead that the syndicated term loans at issue were securities. This …
Finfluencers and the Reasonable Retail Investor
Existing securities laws primarily target lies. However, financial influencers, or finfluencers – people or entities with outsized influence on investor decisions through social media – need not lie in order to influence their followers. This means that finfluencers can profit …
Skadden Discusses CFTC Charges That DeFi Developers Facilitated Off-Exchange Trading
On September 7, 2023, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued three enforcement settlement orders against developers of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.1 The orders charge Opyn, Inc., Deridex, Inc., and ZeroEx, Inc. (0x) with illegally offering leveraged and margined …
Why Short Attacks May Compel a Company to Sue
In a recent post on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, three partners at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP give practical advice to companies in preparing for and responding to a short attack. With respect …
SEC Chair Gensler Speaks on Updates to the Names Rule
Today [September 20], the Commission is considering final rules to update the Names Rule. I am pleased to support this rule adoption because it will help ensure that a fund’s portfolio matches a fund’s name. Such truth in advertising promotes
Was the Exchange Act Redundant? The Questionable Legality of an SEC Commissioner’s Unicorn Reform Proposal
SEC Commissioner Speaks on Trans-Atlantic Effort to Strengthen Market Oversight
Good evening, and thank you, Didier [Cahen, Secretary General, Eurofi], for your kind introduction and for your leadership in organizing this conference.[1]
It is a pleasure to join you in this beautiful part of the world, a UNESCO World
Why the Major Questions Doctrine Does Not Cover SEC Crypto Lawsuits
In West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court expanded the reach of the major questions doctrine (MQD) by reframing it as a substantive canon and clear-statement rule rooted in both the Constitution’s separation of powers and “a practical understanding …
SEC Chair Testifies Before U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Good morning, Chairman Brown, Ranking Member Scott, and members of the Committee. Thank you for inviting me to testify today. As is customary, I’d like to note that my views are my own as Chair of the Securities and Exchange
Cleary Gottlieb Discusses New Private Fund Rules
On August 23, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted new rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) that will significantly impact private fund advisers (the “Final Rules”). …
SEC Commissioner Criticizes Funding for Consolidated Audit Trail
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The CAT has been expensive, far more costly than anyone imagined it would be. CAT’s considerable costs need to be allocated and no allocation method is ideal. And regardless of which approach we choose, most costs …
Will the Common Good Guys Come to the Shootout in SEC v. Jarkesy? And Why It Matters
During my recent visit to Columbia Law School, Professor John Coffee shared with me a draft of a short article that later appeared in the New York Law Journal.[1] Coffee’s article assessed the prospects in the U.S. Supreme …
Paul Weiss Discusses Second Circuit Decision Confirming Syndicated Bank Loan Not a “Security”
On August 24, 2023, in a highly anticipated decision, the Second Circuit in Kirschner v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. et al. affirmed dismissal of state-law securities claims because the syndicated term loan in question was not a “security” and therefore …
SEC Chair Gensler on New Rules for Private Fund Advisers
Today [August 23], the Commission is considering final rules related to private fund advisers. I am pleased to support this adoption because, by enhancing advisers’ transparency and integrity, we will help promote greater competition and thereby efficiency in this important
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