Securities and Exchange Commission

ISS Discusses Global Crackdown on ESG Greenwashing

By Thomas Harding, William Cowper, Karina Karakulova and Manpreet Singh Sandhu June 22, 2022 by renholding

The meteoric global rise of ESG investing is increasingly being met with an equally ambitious regulatory disclosure regime, and, targeting greenwashing, policymakers are beginning to bare their teeth. In the latest salvo, on 25 May the US Securities and Exchange …

Bipartisan Group of Former SEC Officials and Securities Experts Confirms Longstanding SEC Authority on Climate Disclosure

By Working Group on Securities Disclosure Authority June 17, 2022 by renholding

[Editor’s Note: This post is based on a comment letter submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 16, 2022. The full letter is available here. Also, please see the Note at the end of this …

SEC Chair Gensler Issues Statement on Request for Comment on “Information Providers”

By Gary Gensler June 17, 2022 by renholding

Today [June 15], the Commission voted to issue a request for comment to help determine which “information providers,” such as index providers, model portfolio providers, and pricing services, might come under the Commission’s definition of an investment adviser. The role …

Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses SEC Amendments Requiring Electronic Filing

By Bob Reeder, Bradford Olson, Cathy Clarkin, Bob Downes and Sarah Payne June 15, 2022 by renholding

On June 2, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted amendments[1] to Regulation  S-T, the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and certain forms, including Forms 144, to mandate the electronic filing or submission …

Debevoise Discusses Shareholder Climate Activism and 401(k) Plans

By Alison Buckley-Serfass, Jonathan Lewis, Simone Hicks, Eric Juergens and Ulysses Smith June 13, 2022 by renholding

In December 2021, As You Sow, a non-profit foundation promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility, filed shareholder proposals on behalf of Amazon.com and Comcast Corporation shareholders for action at each of their 2022 annual meetings. The Amazon proposal and …

SEC Chair Gensler Speaks Before Investor Advisory Committee

By Gary Gensler June 10, 2022 by renholding

Good morning. It is great to join the Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) today. As is customary, I’d like to note that my views are my own, and I’m not speaking on behalf of the Commission or Securities and Exchange Commission

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Investor Information Gathering and the Resolution of Uncertainty

By Jed Neilson June 9, 2022 by renholding

Gathering additional information is an instinctive response to uncertainty. This behavior is found in many settings, perhaps most pervasively in capital markets. For example, if investors observe an earnings number that differs from what they expected, they might seek to …

SEC Chair Gensler Speaks on Plans to Overhaul Stock Trading

By Gary Gensler June 9, 2022 by renholding

Thank you, Rich (Repetto), for that kind introduction. It is good to be with you again. As is customary, I’d like to note my views are my own, and I’m not speaking on behalf of my fellow Commissioners or the

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Don’t Forget the “G” in ESG: The SEC and Corporate Governance Disclosure

By Jennifer O’Hare June 8, 2022 by renholding

In March 2022, the SEC proposed rules (the “Proposed Rules”) that, if adopted, will require public companies to include extensive climate-related disclosures in their periodic reports.[1]  According to the SEC, this disclosure will help investors “make informed judgments about …

Universal Proxy Cards and the 67 Percent Solution

By Michael R. Levin June 7, 2022 by renholding

The upcoming Universal Proxy Card (UPC) presents activist investors with only one potentially significant new burden: solicit two-thirds of the shares in a proxy contest at a portfolio company. Everything else in the new rule, including the new proxy card …

SEC Chair Gensler on ESG Disclosures Proposal

By Gary Gensler May 27, 2022 by renholding

Today [May 25], the Commission is considering a proposal to improve disclosures by certain investment advisers and funds that purport to take Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into consideration when making investing decisions. I am pleased to support this

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SEC Commissioner Peirce on ESG Disclosures Proposal

By Hester M. Peirce May 27, 2022 by renholding

Thank you, Mr. Chair. A key impetus for today’s [May 25’s] rulemaking[1] is a legitimate concern about the practice of greenwashing by investment advisers and investment companies. This concern is real because advisers can mint money by calling their

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Katten Discusses Shareholder Litigation Risk in an Unstable Geopolitical Environment

By Richard Zelichov and Trevor T. Garmey May 26, 2022 by renholding

Over the past two years, U.S. public companies faced an unpredictable risk environment.  Two geopolitical crises – the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine – strained international supply chains and destabilized financial markets.

It is tempting to view …

Predicting the Unpredictable: What Will Musk Do Next?

By John C. Coffee, Jr. May 25, 2022 by renholding

What did business journalists do before the arrival of Elon Musk? In those by-gone days, their page in the newspaper was gray, dull, and strewn with statistics. Now, it is filled with a continuing soap opera, as exciting as the …

Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses Recent Rulings’ Effects on SEC Use of Administrative Forum

By Sullivan & Cromwell May 25, 2022 by renholding

Two cases—one recently accepted for review by the Supreme Court, and another recently decided by the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit—could change the manner in which the SEC brings enforcement actions against those accused of violating federal securities …

SEC Chair Gensler Testifies Before U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee

By Gary Gensler May 19, 2022 by renholding

Good morning, Chairman Quigley, Ranking Member Womack, and members of the Subcommittee. I’m honored to appear before you for the second time as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is good to be here alongside Federal Trade Commission

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The Causes and Consequences of Repurchasing Shares

By Alice A. Bonaime and Kathleen M. Kahle May 17, 2022 by renholding

Corporate payouts have reached record levels. Over the past half-century, publicly-held U.S. firms have more than tripled inflation-adjusted dividends, while real share repurchase values have ballooned from $5 billion in 1971 to almost $1 trillion in 2018 and become the …

SEC Enforcement Chief Speaks on Delays of Defense Counsel

By Gurbir Grewal May 17, 2022 by renholding

Ordinarily at an event like this one, I’d speak about all the ways in which we are working to protect investors, including our increased focus on the private fund space, the additional resources we’ve committed to our Crypto Assets and …

Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses SEC Guidance on Ukraine Disclosure Obligations

By Satish M. Kini, Paul M. Rodel, James C. Scoville, Robert T. Dura and Isabel Espinosa de los Reyes May 16, 2022 by renholding

On May 3, 2022, the Division of Corporation Finance (“CorpFin”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) provided guidance to companies of their disclosure obligations with respect to the direct or indirect impact that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and …

SEC Chair Gensler Talks Security-Based Swaps Market to ISDA

By Gary Gensler May 12, 2022 by renholding

Thank you for the kind introduction. It’s good to be back with the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) again.

As is customary, I’d like to note that I’m not speaking on behalf of my fellow Commissioners or the SEC

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