On April 9, 2021, the Division of Examinations (“Division” or “staff”) of the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued a risk alert that highlighted its observations from its recent examinations of investment advisers, registered investment companies and private funds offering ESG products and services. The risk alert also provides observations of effective practices.
Noting that…
On March 3, 2021, the Division of Examinations of the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced its 2021 examination priorities, which, as in previous years, provide insight into its risk-based approach for the year with respect to the entities it examines. In this Legal Update, we discuss the announced priorities applicable to investment advisers…
On February 26, 2021, the Division of Examinations (“Division”) of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published a risk alert regarding its continued focus on digital assets (“Risk Alert”). The term “digital asset,” as used in the Risk Alert, refers to an asset that is issued and/or transferred using distributed ledger or blockchain technology…
On July 22, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published supplementary guidance in the form of a policy statement regarding the proxy voting responsibilities of investment advisers under Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. This Legal Update provides further detail. Continue reading here.
Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to the proxy rules. The amendments amend the definition of “solicitation” in Exchange Act Rule 14a-1(l) in order to make clear, consistent with the SEC’s longstanding view, that it includes proxy voting advice, with certain exceptions. The amendments also revise Rules 14a-2(b)(1) and (b)(3), which provide exemptions…
On July 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission will hold an open meeting to consider whether to adopt proxy related amendments. The SEC will consider whether to adopt proxy rule amendments that would provide investors who use proxy voting advice with more transparent, accurate, and complete information on which to make voting decisions. The…
In this Lexis Practice Advisor Practice Note, we discuss two releases published by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 21, 2019. One release contains interpretation and guidance regarding the applicability of certain rules (Proxy Voting Advice Guidance) promulgated under Section 14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended to…
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…
At an open meeting today, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidance to assist investment advisers in fulfilling their proxy voting responsibilities in using the services of a proxy advisory firm, and provided guidance on proxy voting disclosures under Investment Company Act forms. The Commission also issued an interpretation of Exchange Act Rule 14a-1(l) that…
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced an open meeting for August 21st in order to consider: guidance regarding the proxy voting responsibilities of investment advisers under Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as well as to consider whether to publish an interpretation and related guidance regarding the applicability of certain rules, which…
