MFDF News Feed

August 7, 2024

The presenters emphasized the importance of shareholder participation, particularly because Closed-End Funds (CEFs) are required to hold an annual shareholder meeting. The podcast highlights that these meetings present an opportunity for activists to seize the advantage at meetings and advance their agenda rather than the agenda of a true majority of shareholders.

August 6, 2024

According to the press release, the goal of the ISC is to “strengthen the cohesion between federal, state, and local agencies, enhance opportunities to collaborate on cases to protect investors, provide insight and guidance across the ecosystem to those who may not frequently operate in this space, and create a forum for unified efforts in combatting financial fraud.”

August 1, 2024

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs released the Spring Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, which includes an update on rulemaking from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The agenda includes the previously mentioned proposal on fund fees, slating that proposal for April 2025.

July 31, 2024

In their conversation, they discuss the evolution of the mutual fund investment vehicle, and the opportunities the creation of mutual funds brought to retail investors. Jay and Carolyn highlight the importance of trust in an investment relationship and note that the role of the independent director increases investor confidence in registered products.

July 30, 2024

According to the report, “[a]ctive ETF assets under management reached $900 billion globally through the first half of 2024.” The study also found that ETFs are becoming the “wrapper of choice, expanding from 15% of total fund assets in 2013 to 31% in 2023.”

July 29, 2024

In this session, panelists will highlight the fundamentals of ETFs for fund board oversight. This session will be the first of several in a series specifically designed to tackle the growing space of ETF products.

July 25, 2024

Director Grewal stated the Enforcement Division has built out a crypto playbook that includes “robust enforcement – moving our investigations with a sense of urgency and addressing emerging risks; robust remedies – seeking penalties and remedies at levels adequate to both hold bad actors accountable and deter misconduct; and robust compliance – working with market participants and gatekeepers to create a culture of compliance and cooperation to prevent misconduct.”

July 24, 2024

The program will cover the basics of index construction, methodology, and recent trends in innovation.

July 23, 2024

MFDF's board director Lloyd Wennlund, independent director of Calamos Investment Trust and Datum One Series Trust, will be joined by Andy Konchan, Calamos Chief Technology Officer, to discuss what boards should consider in overseeing GenAI usage in the firm's operational departments and overall complex's AI framework.

July 22, 2024

EY panelists plan to discuss accounting and reporting updates, tax considerations, and a regulatory update on SEC activity.

July 18, 2024

MFDF provided an overview of circumstances in which a small fund size might be a concern, and ways to address potential issues.

July 17, 2024

The MPI study notes that the average total compensation for this year’s participants was $500,664, up 8.1% from last year’s average of $463,016. MPI found “37% of the CCOs reported supporting the board in ways beyond their CCO duties, which might include involvement in the 15(c) contract renewal process or monitoring soft dollar expenditures.

July 16, 2024

The proposed rules implement the Biden administration’s Executive Order 14105, which detailed a high-level framework to mitigate the risks to U.S. national security interests stemming from U.S. outbound investments in “countries of concern” which currently only includes China.

July 15, 2024

EY's Amy Snyder, tax principal in EY's Asset Management practice, and Ray Beeman, Principal and Leader, Washington Council, will provide a mid-year tax update for boards of registered investment companies.

July 11, 2024

The SEC alleged that the firm “failed to design effective disclosure controls and procedures to report relevant cybersecurity information to management with the responsibility for making disclosure decisions, and failed to carefully assess and respond to alerts of unusual activity in a timely manner.” R.R. Donnelly is required to pay $2.1 million as a condition of the settlement.

July 10, 2024

The panel discussed which investment strategies may benefit most from ETF conversions, considerations include the type of holdings, the transparency requirement of ETFs, and the distribution footprint.

July 9, 2024

The report notes “continued growth in the number of asset management clients, with 56.7 million clients in 2023, a 4.4% increase over last year.” Assets under management (AUM) also grew last year, matching a 2021 record high of $128.4 trillion.

July 8, 2024

In May, 21 Democratic members in both the House and Senate called for the SEC to finalize its outstanding proposal to enhance ESG disclosure for investment advisers and investment companies. In a June letter, 38 Congressional Democrats including House Financial Services Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) sent a letter to SEC Chair Gensler requesting the Commission “ensure robust enforcement of existing SEC climate disclosure-related guidance.”

July 3, 2024

In the decisions, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Department of Commerce, the Supreme Court held that the Chevron doctrine, which required federal courts to defer to administrative agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous or broad statutes, was inconsistent with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

July 2, 2024

The Supreme Court found that the Commission may not try a fraud case in an administrative proceeding, rather those cases must be heard by “Article III” courts. The Jarkesy decision will not only impact the Commission, but other agencies that use administrative proceedings to impose civil penalties.