The SEC announced on February 9, 2021 that, after consulting with Division of Enforcement Acting Director Melissa Hodgman, SEC Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee has reinstated a critical tool to the enforcement program – the delegation of authority to the division’s senior officers.
Continue reading "SEC Chair Empowers Enforcement to Improve..." »

On February 4, 2021, the SEC published a request for public comment concerning potential reform measures to enhance the resilience of money market funds, which are utilized by both large institutions and individual retail investors and play a substantial role in short-term funding markets. This topic is given special attention in a report of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets published in December 2020. The SEC expects that comments received will help the agency and other relevant financial regulators in further analysis of potential reforms. Continue reading "SEC Seeks Comment on Potential Money Market..." »

On February 2, 2021, the SEC published “Administration of the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System” in the Federal Register as a result of rule changes previously approved. Rule 15 under Regulation S-T establishes measures the SEC may take in governing EDGAR and promoting the integrity and reliability of EDGAR submissions. The SEC adopted the new rule to provide transparency and further substantiate the system by which it expeditiously informs filers and other relevant individuals of its activities under the rule. Pursuant to Regulation S-T, the SEC also adopted amendments that authorize the Director of the agency’s EDGAR Business Office to take actions under the new rule and under (i) Rule 13(b) concerning setting the terms of continuing hardship exemption and (ii) Rule 202 regarding the adjustment of a filing date for an electronic filing. Continue reading "SEC Publishes Regulation S-T Rule in Federal..." »

The SEC has announced that technical issues with Form 13H (and its variants) resulting from the end of life of Adobe Flash software has been resolved. Filers who were unable to file Form 13H (or variant) because of the issue should submit their filings as soon as possible. Continue reading "Form 13H Issues Caused by Adobe Flash Player..." »

On January 21, 2021, the SEC announced that it has amended its list of unregistered entities that use inaccurate data to solicit mainly non-US investors, adding 28 soliciting entities, six bogus regulators, and three impersonators of real firms. By revising the list of soliciting entities that have been the subject of investor complaints (referred to as the Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities (PAUSE) list), the agency can provide to the public information learned by reviewing tips, referrals, complaints, and other sources, so investors may be cautioned about potential fraud before they invest. Continue reading "SEC Updates List of Entities Using Inaccurate..." »

On January 11, 2021, the SEC announced that its Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee will hold a remote meeting on Friday, January 29, 2021. The event will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET and will be presented live via webcast on sec.gov for public viewing. The video conference will also be archived on the SEC’s webpage for later viewing. Members of the Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee will review matters related to Release Nos. 33-10919 and 34-90882 and File No. 265-32 concerning rules and regulations affecting small and emerging companies and their investors under the federal securities laws. Continue reading "SEC Announces January 29 Virtual Meeting of the..." »

On January 15, 2021, the SEC issued the required notice concerning new fee rates under Section 31 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The agency announced that starting on February 25, 2021, the fee rates related to most securities transactions will be set at $5.10 per million dollars. Fee rate advisories must be published within 30 days of the date on which an act making a regular appropriation for the applicable fiscal year is adopted. On December 27, 2020, the President enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021, which includes total appropriations of $1,926,162,000 to the SEC for fiscal year 2021. Continue reading "Second Fee Rate Advisory for Fiscal Year 2021" »

On January 15, 2021, the SEC’s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation announced that it will host its second annual Capital Call on Feb. 4, 2020, at 1 p.m. ET. The call, which is entitled “What’s Happening from Startup to Small Cap”, is freely open to the public and will explore current issues that impact small businesses and their investors. Continue reading "SEC’s Small Business Advocate to Hold Capital..." »

The SEC will be closed Monday, January 18 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. The EDGAR System will not receive, process, or accept filings on this day. Filings with a due date of January 18 will be due the following business day, which is Tuesday, January 19. Continue reading "Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr." »

On January 13, 2021, the SEC released a statement concerning Form 13H and filing issues due to Adobe Flash Player’s End of Life. Adobe officially discontinued support for Flash Player on December 31, 2020. Because of this, filers have been experiencing issues with filing Form 13H (and its variants). SEC staff are working on a technical fix. They expect to implement this fix no later than January 31, 2021.
Continue reading "SEC Releases Information about Form 13H Filing..." »

The SEC has indicated that the EDGAR System will function as it usually does on Inauguration Day (Wednesday, January 20, 2021). There will be no disruption of service, as is the case on any normal business day.
Continue reading "SEC States that the EDGAR System Will Operate..." »

On December 22, 2020, the SEC voted to adopt amendments pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, revising rules that regulate investment adviser advertising and payments to solicitors. Drawing from and replacing the current advertising rule (Rule 206(4)-1) and cash solicitation rule (Rule 206(4)-3) is an amalgamated rule established by the amendments. The objective of the amendment is to enhance the SEC’s ability to effectively oversee investment advisers’ marketing communications. Continue reading "SEC Approves Revised Marketing Rule for..." »

The SEC voted on December 22, 2020 to take measures to further the enactment of security-based swap regulation pursuant to Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. These actions reflect the latest in the SEC’s continuous efforts to engage with multiple agencies and non-US counterparts and prepare for the registration of security-based swap dealers in 2021. Continue reading "SEC Issues Various Compliance Orders for France..." »

The SEC will be closed Friday, January 1 in observance of New Year’s Day. The EDGAR System will not receive, process, or accept filings on this day. Filings with a due date of January 1 will be due the following business day, which is Monday, January 4.

Continue reading "New Year’s Hours" »

The SEC released a statement and request for comment on December 23, 2020 that concerns the custody of digital asset securities by broker-dealers. This action was undertaken in order to encourage innovation around applying Securities Exchange Act Rule 15c3-3 to digital asset securities. Continue reading "SEC Releases Statement on the Custody of..." »