SEC Commissioner Peirce Discusses Proposed Rescission of Pay-to-Play Rule

By Hester M. Peirce September 9, 2026 by renholding

Today [September 3], the Commission proposed to rescind Investment Advisers Act rule 206(4)-5, the investment adviser “Pay-to-Play Rule.” I am thrilled that we are proposing to eliminate rather than simply amend the rule, which always has bothered my First Amendment …

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses Supreme Court Ruling on Right of Action Under Investment Company Act

By Nowell D. Bamberger, Tom Bednar, John Mahon, Jennifer Kennedy Park and Rishi N. Zutshi July 2, 2026 by renholding

On June 11, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in FS Credit Opportunities Corp. v. Saba Capital Master Fund, Ltd., holding that Section 47(b) of the Investment Company Act (the ICA) does not provide an implied private …

Davis Polk Discusses Appeals Court Decision Vacating SEC’s Private Fund Advisers Rule

By Leor Landa, Gregory S. Rowland, Michael S. Hong, Sijia Cai and Michael W. Brasher June 11, 2024 by renholding

On June 5, 2024, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously ruled to vacate the SEC’s new rules and amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the Advisers Act) that targeted private …

SEC Proposal on Predictive Data Analytics Lacks Statutory Authorization

By Andrew Vollmer December 7, 2023 by renholding

In August, the SEC proposed rules requiring broker-dealers (BDs) and investment advisers (IAs) to identify and eliminate or neutralize the effect of conflicts of interest associated with their use of technologies, widely defined (Proposal). My primary concern about the Proposal …

SEC Chair Gensler on New Rules for Private Fund Advisers

By Gary Gensler August 24, 2023 by renholding

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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Davis Polk Discusses SEC’s Proposed Safeguarding Rule for Registered Advisers

By Gregory S. Rowland, Leor Landa, Michael S. Hong, Zachary J. Zweihorn and Sarah E. Kim April 20, 2023 by renholding

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

By Joseph A. Franco June 25, 2021 by renholding

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

By Bernard S. Sharfman and Vincent Deluard March 30, 2021 by renholding

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

By David Rosenfeld February 10, 2020 by renholding

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

By Kenneth J. Berman, Gregory T. Larkin and Norma Angelica Freeland November 21, 2019 by renholding

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

By Jay Clayton September 6, 2019 by renholding

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

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Statement of Concerned Securities Law Professors Regarding Investment Advisers and Fiduciary Obligations

By Drafting Committee June 25, 2019 by renholding

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

By Bernard S. Sharfman March 8, 2019 by renholding

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

By Kenneth J. Berman, Byungkwon Lim and Gary E. Murphy January 8, 2019 by renholding

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

By Jonathan Adler, Kenneth J. Berman, Robert B. Kaplan, Julie M. Riewe and Rebecca F. Silberstein December 24, 2018 by pss2150

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

By Robin M. Bergen, Meghan Irmler and Nathan S. Brownback September 15, 2016 by renholding

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 …

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