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Financial Services & Investments

Asset Management ADVocate

The Asset Management ADVocate provides unique analysis and insight into legal developments affecting asset managers in the United States.

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September 1, 2020

SEC Adopts Amendments to Expand Accredited Investor Definition

On August 26, 2020, the SEC adopted amendments to update the definition of "accredited investor" in Rule 501(a) of the Securities Act, adding new categories of individuals who may qualify as accredited investors based on measures of knowledge, experience, or certifications, and expanding the list of entities that can qualify as accredited investors.

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August 20, 2020

As Pandemic Lingers, SEC Has Not Forgotten About Advisers’ Share Class Selection and Compensation Practices

In an October 2019 update, we highlighted that the SEC's attention to Rule 12b-1 fees for over 40 years, along with more recent initiatives, enforcement activities, and FAQs suggested that the Commission would likely continue to closely scrutinize investment advisers' share class selection and related compensation practices at least for the foreseeable future.

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August 17, 2020

FINRA Issues Guidance on Virtual Business Entertainment

With the influx of virtual business meetings resulting from the pandemic, FINRA recently issued an FAQ on how non-in-person events should be treated pursuant to entertainment, gifts, and noncash compensation rules.

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July 27, 2020

Re-Proposed Rule 18f-4: Commitment Agreements—Putting it all Together

This post ends our series critiquing the proposed definition of "unfunded commitment agreement" in re-proposed Rule 18f-4.

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July 23, 2020

Re-Proposed Rule 18f-4: Features of Loan Commitments that May Prevent “Leveraging Effects"

In a previous post, we compared loan commitments, which re-proposed Rule 18f-4 would treat as "

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July 22, 2020

Re-Proposed Rule 18f-4: What Features of Loan Commitments May Preclude “Leveraging Effects”—Prepayments

Our last post used a comparison of loan commitments, which re-proposed Rule 18f-4 would trea

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July 21, 2020

Re-Proposed Rule 18f-4: Using Morphology to Delineate Commitment Agreements

Our last post began to consider why some firm and standby commitments entered into by investment companies (including business development companies) may have "leveraging effects" while others do not.

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July 14, 2020

Re-Proposed Rule 18f-4: Unfunded Loan Commitments

This post continues our consideration of a carveout from the proposed Value at Risk ("VaR") limitations of Rule 18f-4 for unfunded commitment agreements "

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July 8, 2020

Re-Proposed Rule 18f-4: Why Some Commitment Agreements may not have “Leveraging Effects”

Having completed our detour into regulations and interpretations other than re-proposed Rule 18f-4, this post returns to considering possible justifications for carving out "unfunded commitment agreements" from the proposed Value at Risk limitations of Rule 18f-4.

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July 7, 2020

Re-Proposed Rule 18f-4: Not Reinventing the Derivatives Wheel

Not content with Steve's detour into the relationship between Rule 2a-7 and re-proposed Rule 18f-4, we would als

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July 1, 2020

OCIE Issues Risk Alert on LIBOR Transition Preparedness

Earlier this year, the staff of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") published its annual list of examination priorities, which included firms' preparation for the transition away from LIBOR as a widely used reference rate for various financial instruments.

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June 5, 2020

FINRA and CFTC Staff Issue COVID-19 Advisories on Commodity-Linked ETPs and Funds

FINRA and the CFTC each issued recent advisories on commodity-linked exchange traded products. Directed at retail investors and broker-dealers, the advisories each highlighted certain issues unique to commodity-linked exchange traded products that were recently demonstrated by market reactions to fluctuating oil prices caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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May 26, 2020

New York State Proposes to Regulate “Finders” as Broker-Dealers

The Investor Protection Bureau of the New York Attorney General's Office ("IPB") recently proposed a series of changes to its rules regulating broker-dealers. The proposal would require "finders" in New York to register as broker-dealers and pass broker-dealer examinations.

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May 21, 2020

SEC to Amend National Market System Plan Governing Consolidated Audit Trail

On May 15, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to the national market system plan governing the consolidated audit trail.

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May 8, 2020

SEC Orders Equity Exchanges and FINRA to Modernize Consolidated Market Data

On May 6, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") issued an order that required equity exchanges and FINRA to submit a new National Market System ("NMS") plan with a modernized governance structure for the production of public consolidated equity market data and the dissemination of trade and quote data.