MFDF News Feed

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.

May 13, 2024

MFDF has partnered with FUSE Research to collect data from fund boards on their practices around committee structures. All fund directors are encouraged to participate to provide for a representative data set that can serve as a basis for a report for boards on committee practices.

May 9, 2024

The paper highlights the various structures that managers use to package liquid alternatives into retail products such as mutual funds, listed closed-end funds, tender offer and interval funds, as well as non-traded funds such as BDCs.

May 8, 2024

According to the FUSE data, the average age of independent directors is 65.8 years. A little over 40% of boards have “at least one independent director aged 75 years or older” while 25% of independent directors are aged 60 or younger.

May 7, 2024

The report found that in 2023, certain financial institutions provided $6.5 billion to 63 Chinese companies that the U.S. government either blacklisted or red-flagged because they advance China’s military capabilities or support China’s human rights abuses.

May 6, 2024

Ropes & Gray plans to host a webinar titled “Use of AI In Investment Decisions.” The program will examine how asset managers utilize artificial intelligence in investment activities.

May 2, 2024

The conference, started in 2023 by former IM Director William Birdthistle, will feature remarks from SEC Chair Gary Gensler, Division Director Natasha Vij Greiner, as well as a state securities commissioner, the Chair of the PCAOB, and a member of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, among other panelists.

May 1, 2024

The Department of Labor released a new set of rules for fiduciary investment advice titled, the “Retirement Security Rule.” Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security Lisa M. Gomez stated, “The investment landscape has changed, the retirement landscape has changed, and it is critical that our regulations are responsive to those changes so that workers can reach the secure retirement that they work for decades to finally achieve.”

April 30, 2024

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a new report titled “Registered Fund Statistics" which is set be published quarterly, and will cover industry statistics such as “portfolio holdings, flows and returns, interest rate risk, and other exposures.”

April 29, 2024

MFDF President Carolyn McPhillips will host a virtual fireside chat with former SEC Investment Management Director William Birdthistle to discuss his tenure at the Commission and other fund industry-related topics.

April 25, 2024

During the hearing, which heard testimony from several witnesses including former acting SEC Chair Elad Roisman, Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) stated the Commission’s final climate rule exceeds the statutory authority because Congress “never authorized the Commission to be a climate regulator.” Some Members noted that the materiality standard should already cover key climate disclosures by publicly listed companies.

April 24, 2024

The SEC’s sweep of off-channel communications enforcement actions over the past several years has now extended to a stand-alone private fund investment adviser for the first time. In the latest enforcement action, the SEC order found that employees throughout the advisory firm communicated about firm-related business internally and externally using personal texting platforms and other electronic communication services that were not retained.

April 23, 2024

PWC recently released their “2023 Mutual Fund Governance Survey” which highlights how investor expectations, regulatory deluge, and technology are impacting the oversight for fund directors. Interestingly, the survey found that over 70% of fund directors believe the outsized regulatory agenda is “expected to have the most significant impact on the mutual fund industry over the next three years—with fee pressure, movement to passive products, and technology transformation closely following.”

April 22, 2024

The SEC announced that it had settled charges against five registered investment advisers for violations of the Marketing Rule, including hypothetical performance presentations that were inapt and reflected deficient policies and procedures, among other violations. Additionally, on April 18, the SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert regarding the staff’s observations from its Marketing Rule examinations to date.

April 18, 2024

Among the highlights of the sessions, Chair Gensler offered a historical overview of securities laws and discussed the importance of clearinghouses and best execution duties. Commissioner Peirce offered several suggestions to increase public engagement with the SEC, and Commissioner Uyeda reviewed weaknesses in the SEC’s recent climate rule.

April 17, 2024

In his annual letter to JP Morgan Chase & Co. shareholders, Chairman & CEO Jamie Dimon warned of several issues impacting the asset management industry and JP Morgan itself. Dimon noted that many asset managers have stewardship experts that review proxies, “the reality is that many of these committees default large portions of what they do to proxy advisors and, more troubling, make it harder for actual portfolio managers to override this decision making.”

April 16, 2024

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it would voluntarily stay the implementation of its new climate disclosure rule pending the completion of judicial review by the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The Commission stated, however, that it will “continue vigorously defending the Final Rules’ validity in court and looks forward to expeditious resolution of the litigation.”

April 15, 2024

The webinar will highlight the latest from the MPI Annual Survey of Investment Firm Profitability and implications for fund director oversight.

April 11, 2024

In early April, MFDF published an Investment Lawyer article titled, “Artificial Intelligence Oversight: Implications for Mutual Fund Boards,” which provides an overview of artificial intelligence and the current regulatory environment, as well as key oversight considerations for fund directors.

April 10, 2024

The article notes that to fulfill their role, boards need to stay abreast of new developments and continue their intellectual curiosity. Additionally, the article states that “[e]ach person at the table has a duty to contribute to discussions by asking questions and, when necessary, challenging groupthink.”