MFDF News Feed

October 23, 2024

In a White Paper from the Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence titled “Navigating the Cybersecurity Disclosure Conundrum” the authors highlight the major challenges in cybersecurity oversight, including where to draw the line between management’s role and the board’s role.

October 22, 2024

The program will focus on key considerations for adopting AI that can streamline governance processes and enhance decision-making.

October 21, 2024

The program will discuss the most impactful cybersecurity incidents of 2024 as well as insight on how to manage or respond to an incident, should it happen.

October 17, 2024

Chair Gensler noted that the U.S. transition to T+1 for equities, corporate bonds, and municipal securities was a “win” for investors. He noted that industry participants “worked, along with SEC staff, to make the transition happen smoothly.”

October 16, 2024

The report emphasizes that while private credit is here to stay, “careful monitoring of short-term risks is still necessary, particularly in the event of an economic downturn in which a range of loans may become stressed or distressed.”

October 15, 2024

Included under the stated “Regulatory Oversight” bullet point are priorities that reduce the burden of agency action and ensure that each agency the Committee has oversight of is acting within the bounds of their statutory authority.

October 10, 2024

The complaint highlighted that Mr. Craigie had a personal relationship with a member of the Church & Dwight executive team including frequent vacations which the executive paid for, as well as attempts to conceal the personal nature of the relationship from other board members. Mark Cave, Associate Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement stated, “By concealing his relationship with a company executive, Mr. Craigie undermined the board’s director independence process and compromised the company’s disclosures.”

October 9, 2024

The hearing covered a variety of topics including closed-end funds, crypto assets and custody, the pace of rulemaking, Treasury clearing rules, short selling, access to capital, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, among other issues. In his opening remarks, House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-NC) noted, “It’s not just the courts that have taken issue with Chair Gensler’s reckless agenda. More than 250 Members of Congress from both parties have signed dozens of letters opposing actions taken by the SEC.”

October 8, 2024

Sidley Austin’s Jay Baris and MFDF President Carolyn McPhillips recently discussed the 100th anniversary of the mutual fund and detailed the important oversight function independent directors have within the registered investment company space. On swing pricing, Ms. McPhillips noted an overwhelming number of industry participants opposed the SEC’s proposal and noted that the reasoning for the proposal lacked a clear connection to the problem the SEC attempted to solve for.

October 7, 2024

MFDF will be joined by Fran Cashman, independent trustee the Morgan Stanley Funds' board, and John Krieg, CFA, CAIA, formerly the Managing Director of North American Distribution for UBS Asset Management as they plan to discuss the fundamentals of distribution that fund directors need to know to fulfil their oversight duties.

October 3, 2024

The program, part of the SEC’s Compliance Outreach Program, is intended to “help Chief Compliance Officers and other senior personnel at investment companies and investment advisory firms enhance their compliance programs for the protection of investors.”

October 2, 2024

Macquarie settled the charges and will pay over $79 million in penalties, disgorgement, and pre-trial interest. Eric I. Bustillo, Director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office noted that “utilizing a third-party pricing service does not negate an investment adviser’s obligation to value assets accurately.”

October 1, 2024

During this session, Hubbard Garber and Jeffrey Christian will focus their insights for ETF board directors on a range of new products, drivers of strategy, and how to best think about peers.

September 30, 2024

Ward and Ira will discuss active ETFs relative to mutual funds, why the active ETF market is growing, the portfolio management mechanics of active ETFs, distribution of active ETFs, key questions boards should ask as well as a few common questions they tend to hear on ETFs.

September 27, 2024

Part 1 of the 15(c) White Paper provides a concise and comprehensive background of regulatory requirements and judicial caselaw relating to the 15(c) process.

September 26, 2024

The program will discuss the requirements fund directors must assess when analyzing whether to approve a fund’s advisory agreement.

September 25, 2024

Reportedly, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has disbanded the “Climate and ESG Enforcement Task Force” created in March 2021. The Task Force brought actions against a variety of financial entities, including BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, for omissions and failure to follow established policies and procedures related to ESG investments.

September 24, 2024

In August, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the two Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s (PCAOB) proposed audit standards as well as an amendment to PCAOB’s contributory liability rule.

September 23, 2024

The hearing focused on the role proxy advisory firms play in making recommendations to shareholders on ESG-based policies. At the opening of the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) noted proxy advisory firms’ “heightened influence is increasingly concerning when considering the fact that the two largest proxy advisory firms control an estimated 97 percent of the market.”

September 19, 2024

The letter urged Treasury to take a “sectorial” approach that “ensures primary regulators, who understand their respective markets and AI use cases within those markets, retain the regulatory authority to proceed in a technology-neutral manner.”