This Lexis Practice Advisor® Market Trends article discusses the Securities and Exchange Commission’s pay ratio rulemaking, which was mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and provides recent pay ratio disclosure examples.
Michael L. Hermsen
Legal Update: Testing the Waters for All – New Rule 163B Expands TTW to All Issuers
On September 26, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission extended the ability to test the waters to all issuers by adopting the highly anticipated new Rule 163B under the Securities Act of 1933 (the Securities Act). The new rule allows any issuer, or any person acting on the issuer’s behalf, to engage in test…
SEC Announces Significant Changes to Shareholder Proposal Process
On September 6, 2019, the Division of Corporation Finance of the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced a significant change to its process with respect to reviewing no-action requests submitted to the Division pursuant to Rule 14a-8 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. This Legal Update discusses the change and related…
SEC Increases Filing Fees for Fiscal Year 2020
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced an increase in the filing fees to be paid by public companies and other issuers during the SEC’s 2020 fiscal year. Effective October 1, 2019, the filing fee rate will increase approximately 7.1 percent from the current rate of $121.20 per million dollars to $129.80 per…
Legal Update: SEC Issues Guidance on the Application of the Proxy Rules to Voting Advice
With the increased concentration of share ownership by institutional investors over the past several decades, the influence of proxy advisory firms on shareholder votes has grown dramatically, all while the proxy regulatory process has become more complex. Against this background, the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued two interpretive releases on August 21, 2019. This…
SEC Proposes to Modernize Business, Legal Proceedings and Risk Factor Disclosures
On August 8, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to Regulation S-K that are intended to modernize business, legal proceedings and risk factor disclosures. According to the SEC, the proposed amendments are designed to update rules to account for developments since they were first adopted or last amended and to improve the…
SEC Issues Concept Release on Harmonization of Securities Offering Exemptions
On June 18, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a concept release soliciting “comment on possible ways to simplify, harmonize, and improve the exempt offering framework to promote capital formation and expand investment opportunities while maintaining appropriate investor protections.” Under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), every offer and…
Legal Update: Testing the Waters for All? Proposed New Rule Would Expand Accommodation to All Issuers
Since the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act was enacted in 2012, emerging growth companies (EGCs) have benefited from the opportunity to test the waters with investors and gauge interest in a potential offering. Title I of the JOBS Act amended Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 (the Securities Act) in order to…
Disclosure of Board Self-Identified Diversity Characteristics
On February 6, 2019, the Staff of the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued two identical Regulation S-K compliance and disclosure interpretations (C&DIs), which address the extent to which a director’s self-identified diversity characteristics need to be disclosed as director background or in connection with the discussion of a company’s policy with regard to the…