Columbia Law School
Sky Blog
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
Investment Advisers Act
Davis Polk Discusses SEC’s Proposed Safeguarding Rule for Registered Advisers
On February 15, 2023, the SEC proposed a sweeping new rule (Proposed Rule) which would replace current Rule 206(4)-2 (Custody Rule) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act or Act). The Custody Rule was originally adopted in 1962 …
The Fiduciary Principle and the Best Interests of Average Retail Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently offered a full-throated explication of its premise that investment advisers are subject to a federally imposed fiduciary standard under the Investment Advisers Act (IAA).[1] The premise, grounded in cryptic Supreme Court dicta, served …
Discretionary Decision-Making and the S&P 500 Index
Discretion is an integral part of how indices, including stock market indices, are constituted, according to professors Rauterberg and Verstein and Robertson (here and here), and the S&P 500 index is no exception.
The S&P 500 is a …
Recent Trends in SEC Penalties Against Public Companies
Over the past 20 years, civil penalties have become an increasingly important part of the SEC’s enforcement program. The agency frequently imposes large monetary penalties, highlights those penalties in press releases, and touts them in end-of-year statistics. Civil penalties are …
Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses SEC’s Proposed Changes to Advertising Rule
On November 4, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed amendments (the “Proposal”) to modernize Rule 206(4)-1 (the “Advertising Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”). [1] The first substantial amendment to the Advertising Rule …
Chairman Clayton Speaks Before SEC Investor Advisory Committee
Good morning. I understand the Committee will be continuing the discussion about our proxy system in today’s [September 5] telephonic meeting.
Last month the Commission issued guidance regarding how an investment adviser’s fiduciary duty and Rule 206(4)-6 under the Advisers
Statement of Concerned Securities Law Professors Regarding Investment Advisers and Fiduciary Obligations
We circulate this statement as law professors specializing in the field of securities regulation who are concerned that the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) has moved in a new direction that is both contrary to its past practice and …
How to Enhance the Value of Shareholder Voting Recommendations
In a new article, I discuss how investment advisers like Blackrock, State Street, and Vanguard, can become adequately informed prior to voting their proxies without having to read massive amounts of information about the hundreds or thousands of companies …
Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses Custody of Digital Assets
Interest in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets on blockchains or distributed ledgers[1] has increased exponentially in recent years. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets on blockchains increased from slightly more than $17.5 billion in January …
Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses SEC Enforcement Against Private Equity Advisers
On December 13, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced a settled enforcement action against private equity adviser Yucaipa Master Manager, LLC (“Yucaipa”) for alleged negligent failure to disclose conflicts of interest and misallocation of fees and expenses …
Cleary Gottlieb Discusses SEC’s Changes to Investment Adviser Filings
On August 25, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted amendments to Form ADV to modernize and enhance information reported by investment advisers (the “Amendments” or the “Form ADV Amendments”).[1] Among …