SEC

Does Public Ownership and Accountability Increase Diversity?

By Rembrand Koning and John-Paul Ferguson February 25, 2019 by renholding

For two generations, U.S. companies, regulators, and activists have grappled with how to increase employment diversity in large firms. Quotas and other explicit hiring targets have tended to fare poorly in the courts. Instead, diversity policies have come to focus …

Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses Key Considerations for Annual SEC Filings

By Robert E. Buckholz, Catherine M. Clarkin, Robert W. Downes, James M. Shea Jr. and Danielle B. Abada February 25, 2019 by renholding

As issuers prepare their Form 10‑K and 20‑F filings for fiscal year 2018, they should consider the guidance provided in some recent speeches from officials of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which highlight a number of considerations relating to …

Arnold & Porter Discusses Insider Trading’s Personal Benefit Test After Martoma, Gupta, and Other Recent Cases

By Andrew Bauer, Jonathan Green and Daniel Hawke February 19, 2019 by renholding

On January 24, former SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager Mathew Martoma petitioned the Supreme Court to review his 2014 conviction for insider trading.  Martoma’s conviction stems from activity in 2008 when he paid a doctor from the University of Michigan …

Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses SEC’s Nissan Inquiry and Non-U.S. Issuers of ADRs

By Kara Brockmeyer, Andrew J. Ceresney, Alan Kartashkin and James C. Scoville February 14, 2019 by abirvarma

It was reported on January 27 that Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (“Nissan”) had received an inquiry from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), regarding alleged disclosure violations involving payments to its former Chairman, Carlos Ghosn. The reported …

SEC Commissioner Offers Inside View of the Regulation Machine

By Hester M. Peirce February 13, 2019 by renholding

I had high expectations when I picked up Thom [Lambert’s] book on regulation shortly after it first came out several years ago.[1] Those expectations were exceeded by the clear and compelling way in which the book wrestles with the

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Deal Initiation in Mergers and Acquisitions

By Ronald W. Masulis and Serif Aziz Simsir February 12, 2019 by renholding

Contrary to common belief, M&A transactions are not overwhelmingly initiated by acquirers. Target managers frequently put their firms up for sale before receiving any unsolicited bids. In fact, in our sample of U.S. domestic M&A deals completed between 1997 and …

SEC Chair Discusses Shareholder Proposals Seeking Mandatory Arbitration Provisions in Bylaws

By Jay Clayton February 12, 2019 by renholding

The issue of mandatory arbitration provisions in the bylaws of U.S. publicly-listed companies has garnered a great deal of attention.  As I have previously stated, the ability of domestic, publicly-listed companies to require shareholders to arbitrate claims against them arising

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Securities Disclosure As Soundbite: The Case of CEO Pay Ratios

By Steven A. Bank and George S. Georgiev February 11, 2019 by renholding

Since 2018, U.S. public companies have had to calculate and report a new, unconventional statistic—a CEO pay ratio—which links CEO pay to the pay of rank-and-file workers. Based on a last-minute addition to the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, the disclosure …

Double Trouble: An Analysis of IRS Attention and Financial Reporting

By Zackery D. Fox and Ryan J. Wilson February 7, 2019 by renholding

Existing research provides limited insight into what draws the attention of tax authorities to public information and how that information is used in the process of examining corporate tax positions.  For publicly traded firms in the U.S., the Internal Revenue …

Wachtell Lipton Discusses Mergers and Acquisitions — 2019

By Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz January 22, 2019 by renholding

As a whole, 2018 proved to be another strong year for M&A.  Total deal volume reached almost $4.2 trillion globally, higher than the $3.7 trillion volume of 2017, but still less than the record of over $5 trillion set in …

SEC Chair Discusses EDGAR-Hacking Enforcement Action

By Jay Clayton January 16, 2019 by renholding

In August 2017, shortly after my arrival at the Commission, I was informed that an intrusion into the SEC’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (“EDGAR”) system took place in 2016.   We immediately initiated a series of review and response

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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 …

Ballard Spahr Discusses SEC Case Against Clearing Broker Under Bank Secrecy Act

By Brad Gershel January 7, 2019 by renholding

On December 11, Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York granted, in part, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) motion for summary judgement in its action against Alpine Securities, Inc. (“Alpine”), finding that the clearing broker …

SEC Chair Clayton Talks Small Business Capital Formation

By Jay Clayton December 13, 2018 by renholding

Every year the SEC staff does a tremendous job identifying topics, selecting speakers and coordinating the behind the scenes work necessary to organize this all-day event focused on small business capital formation.[1]  Thank you Bill, Jennifer [Zepralka] and the

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Common Ownership: The Investor Protection Challenge of the 21st Century

By Robert J. Jackson, Jr. December 12, 2018 by renholding

Thank you so much, Scott [Hemphill], for that incredibly kind introduction.* It’s a real honor to be here with you—and to be invited to testify before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). I share your commitment to making sure …

SEC Chair Talks Rulemaking Over the Past Year and the Road Ahead

By Jay Clayton December 7, 2018 by renholding

For many, December is a time to reflect on the past year and to look forward to what the New Year may bring. I believe organizations also should mark milestones, take stock of what has been done and what needs

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How the Regulation of Initial Coin Offerings Shifted from Inactivity to Full Enforcement

By Marco Dell’Erba December 5, 2018 by renholding

In recent years, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) have emerged as a disruptive tool in entrepreneurial finance. ICOs involve the sale of a stake in a project with the aim of raising funds at an early stage of development. Although ICOs …

Debevoise Discusses SEC’s Record Year for Whistleblowers

By Mary Jo White, Andrew J. Ceresney, Arian M. June, Jonathan R. Tuttle and Ada Fernandez Johnson December 4, 2018 by renholding

On November 15, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC” or the “Commission”) Office of the Whistleblower (the “OWB”) provided its annual report to Congress describing the status of the whistleblower program and touting a “record-breaking year” for …

Dissecting the Conundrum of Investing in Hedge Funds Despite High Fees and Mediocre Returns

By Cary Martin Shelby November 29, 2018 by renholding

October 2018 ended with the hedge fund industry suffering its worst monthly decline since September 2011, according to the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index. Some commentators are predicting that 2018 will end with the hedge fund industry experiencing its worst …

What Justice Kavanaugh’s “Lorenzo” Dissent Means for the Future of Chevron Deference

By Matthew C. Turk and Karen E. Woody November 21, 2018 by renholding

On June 18, 2018, the Supreme Court granted cert in Lorenzo v. Securities and Exchange Commission (Lorenzo), a case that presents significant questions about the federal securities laws. Lorenzo also comes with a twist: The underlying D.C. Circuit decision …