In its final Private Fund Adviser Rules adopted last year, the SEC dropped one of the more controversial proposed rules—the proposal to prohibit contractual exculpation or indemnification provisions that would shield or indemnify the adviser in matters involving the adviser’s negligence or breach of fiduciary duty.  On its face, this was a concession to the fund management industry. However, the Rule’s Adopting Release asserted that the SEC believed the provision was not needed because the antifraud provisions of the Advisers Act already prohibited certain provisions that would ..read more

Adviser-led secondary transactions have seen explosive growth over the last five years.  That growth has brought increased regulatory concerns over the conflicts of interests inherent in these transactions and a perceived lack of transparency into this market.  New SEC rules adopted in 2023 will arm regulators with additional tools to identify, exam and investigate market practices.  It is therefore critical for managers running an adviser-led secondary transaction to not only comply with the new rules as they become effective but to structure any such transaction with the SEC ..read more

2023’s excitement for generative artificial intelligence (AI) prompted the SEC to respond on multiple fronts – stump speeches, rulemaking, new exam priorities and sweeps and previewing potential enforcement actions. SEC Chair Gary Gensler raised concerns regarding potential conflicts and investor harm resulting from the proliferation of AI and warned that an AI-caused financial crisis is nearly unavoidable absent regulation. The SEC adopted a number of initiatives in 2023 to respond to these perceived risks.  In the UK, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA) will be wat ..read more

ESG continues to be a hot topic for 2024 for investors and regulators alike. The specific concerns investors and regulators have – and what they expect to develop over the coming months – differ, however, across jurisdictions, including because of the different maturity of existing regulation between the EU/UK and the US. ESG Concerns in The United States In the United States, although the highly politicized term “ESG” is falling out of favor, the substance of ESG related concerns and disclosure obligations are alive and well. For one thing, companies should expect an overhaul of how they tre ..read more

Economic headwinds and the interest rate environment that developed over the course of 2023 increased financial stress on portfolio companies and portend heightened litigation risk in 2024 for portfolio companies and their private fund sponsors. Specifically, interest rate increases that accelerated through 2022 continued in 2023, and compounded existing economic stressors including tight liquidity and inflation coming out of 2020 and 2021, as well as increased cost and other burdens related to ESG and regulatory compliance. These pressures put portfolio companies in often unsustain ..read more

In a wave of SEC rulemaking this past year, representing a “new world order” event akin to Dodd-Frank, the SEC has provided itself with a fresh set of tools to increase regulatory and enforcement scrutiny on private funds. Among other things, certain of the rules could result in fundamental changes to market practices and greater disclosure to LPs. While ongoing litigation will determine the fates of the Private Fund Adviser Rules, the Short Sale Disclosure Rule, and the Securities Lending Rule, and while other rules are awaiting final adoption, the SEC concerns underlying the rulemaking ..read more

To understand the litigation and regulatory risks that are coming in 2024 for private capital, it is helpful to look back briefly on recent events. Arguably, the single most important event over the last 18 months was the rapid increase in interest rates by the central banks in the United States, England, and Europe. From March 2022 to August 2023, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates at the fastest clip in more than 40 years, to break inflation that had reached the highest levels since the 1970s. These actions had a profound impact on the private capital markets. Activity declined acr ..read more

The SEC’s recent enforcement settlement involving a fund manager highlights the SEC’s focus on an investor’s “control purpose” triggering the requirement to file on a Schedule 13D as opposed to a short-form 13G. At issue was HG Vora Capital Management’s 5% interest in a public company, and whether it had complied with its obligations to supersede its existing filing with a long-form Schedule 13D filing within 10 days of no longer being “passive.” Read the full post on the Regulatory & Compliance blog ..read more

The SEC issued an order approving the applications of 11 different spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products to each list and trade their shares on a national securities exchange. This order represents the first time that the SEC has permitted the listing of an exchange-traded product that invests directly in a cryptocurrency – here, Bitcoin. Read the full client alert here ..read more

On November 14, 2023, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement announced its Enforcement Results for Fiscal Year 2023.  Below are some key takeaways for fund managers: The Commission brought 760 total enforcement actions in FY 2023, which represents a 3% increase over FY 2022. The SEC also filed 501 new standalone enforcement actions, representing an 8% increase over the prior year. The SEC obtained orders and judgments for over $4.9 billion in disgorgement and penalties, the second highest amount in its history. This number was second only to last year’s $6.4 billion (which notably included se ..read more