MFDF News Feed

June 20, 2024

K&L Gates Partners and Apex Group will discuss the current market forces that make this an interesting time to consider bringing alternative asset classes to retail clients in a registered fund wrapper.

June 18, 2024

The exchanges’ applications petitioned for SEC approval to change Rule 19b-4 forms to allow for the listing of Ether-based products. Even with this change, issuers need the SEC to approve fund registration statements detailing investor disclosures.

June 17, 2024

Dechert Partners Megan Johnson and Corey Rose will dive into the regional banking volatility of 2023 and discuss the regulatory response and overall impact on investment management.

June 13, 2024

Dechert Partners will cover emerging issues and interpretive questions under the amended Names Rule.

June 12, 2024

In his remarks, SEC Chair Gary Gensler detailed the various historical inflection points in securities regulation, and how laws were changed to respond to such events. He noted in the current markets “the world may be changing faster than Taylor’s wardrobe changes on tour,” and emphasized that areas such as “[a]rtificial intelligence, social media, influencers, and a global pandemic” may require similar amendments to securities regulation.

June 11, 2024

In the first of this two-part series, EY's Prashant Kher and Brendan Maher will discuss the digital asset trends in the fund industry and highlight what directors should know about these offerings.

June 10, 2024

The paper breaks down the basics of these closed-end fund products including how shares are offered, conditions for repurchase, types of investments allowed, liquidity restrictions, and other regulatory concerns.

June 6, 2024

The paper delves into the influence the firms have in shareholder elections and how they test the validity of those recommendations. The paper also has a section devoted to how proxy advisory firms assess board candidates, it focuses on corporate directors but has applications for fund directors.

June 5, 2024

The report, which will be updated annually, covers adviser activities, client composition, and detailed information on the types of funds offered.

June 4, 2024

The conference focused on trends in products and strategies, technology, and regulation. Former MFDF President Susan Wyderko spoke on issues related to registered funds noting that since the creation of the Commission, the basic issues have not materially changed. She added independent fund directors are equipped to handle conflicts of interest as well as understanding their role in overseeing technology changes and developments.

June 3, 2024

On May 16, the SEC adopted rule amendments that require registered funds, among other entities, to adopt written incident response procedures to address unauthorized access to customer information, including notification procedures that provide details about the incident designed to help facilitate timely and appropriate responses.

May 30, 2024

These steps include taking an inventory of the firm’s current AI use, assessing the risk, implementing controls around the use of AI, and a review AI-related disclosures.

May 29, 2024

Subcommittee Chairwoman Ann Wagner (R-MO) emphasized that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement policy must strike the right balance between deterring and punishing securities fraud, preserving due process rights, and protecting the interests of those who rely on U.S. markets.

May 28, 2024

FinCEN and the SEC jointly released a notice of proposed rulemaking on Customer Identification Programs (the “CIP Proposal”) that would require SEC-registered investment advisers (“RIAs”) and exempt reporting advisers (“ERAs”) to establish, document, and maintain written CIPs.

May 23, 2024

The AI Act sets forth comprehensive rules regarding AI transparency, data protection and oversight. The AI Act utilizes a risk-based approach that applies different requirements based on four categories of risk: unacceptable risk, high risk, limited risk and minimal risk.

May 22, 2024

The Risk Alert noted that key violations stemmed from overt violations of prohibitions in the marketing rule, including requirements relating to adopting and implementing policies and procedures, maintaining records, and adequately responding to Form ADV items relating to performance advertisements.

May 21, 2024

Several of these programs may be of interest to fund directors as they plan to discuss engaging with AI vendors, the use of AI in financial services, and SEC enforcement risks around data analytics and AI.

May 20, 2024

The webinar will highlight aggregated compensation data received through confidential questionnaires, as well as SEC filings submitted by all fund industry complexes.

May 16, 2024

The EY Center for Board Matters released an article titled, “Four Ways Boards Can Support the Effective Use of AI” which highlights how boards can work with management to support the effective implementation and use of AI.

May 15, 2024

Cboe’s application joins eight asset managers seeking to establish an ETF share class for certain open-end funds. Such relief would mimic the exemptive relief granted to Vanguard in 2000, which had been subject to a Vanguard patent that expired in 2023.