News & Insights

Help
25 News Results
Commentary by Steven Lofchie

The SEC Divisions of Corporation Finance and Economic and Risk Analysis analyzed various approaches for modifying the definition of an "accredited investor." Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC must review this definition as it applies to natural persons every four years. The Divisions' recommendations for methods to revise the definition included: The SEC should revise the financial thresholds requirements and the list-based approach for entities as follows: leave the current income and net worth thresholds in place, subject to investment limitations; add new inflation-adjusted income and net

The SEC issued interpretive guidance clarifying how it will interpret the terms "spouse" and "marriage" in light of the Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Windsor . The interpretive guidance was published in the Federal Register. The interpretive guidance stated that the SEC will read the terms "spouse" and "marriage" to include, respectively: (i) "an individual married to a person of the same sex if the couple is lawfully married under state law, regardless of the individual's domicile," and (ii) "such a marriage between individuals of the same sex." This interpretive guidance became

The CFTC's proposed amendments to the trade option exemption for end users were published in the Federal Register. The trade option exemption pertains to reporting requirements for trade option counterparties that are not swap dealers or major swap participants, as well as to recordkeeping requirements for trade option counterparties that are not swap dealers or major swap participants. The CFTC proposed the elimination of the Form TO annual notice reporting requirement for otherwise unreported trade options in CFTC Rule 32.3(b). Under the proposal, a counterparty that is not a swap dealer (

CFTC Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo delivered a speech before the Commodity Markets Council titled, "End-Users Were Not the Source of the Financial Crisis: Stop Treating Them Like They Were." Commissioner Giancarlo said he is a proponent of what he considers to be the three "key pillars" of Dodd-Frank: (i) central counterparty clearing; (ii) swap data reporting; and (iii) regulated swaps execution. He stated that his opinions are founded on the view that well-regulated markets are good for business and job creation. He explained, however, that end-users, unfortunately, have become

The SEC Division of Investment Management issued a no-action letter to the Managed Funds Association ("MFA") updating the SEC guidance on the definition of "knowledgeable employees" under Investment Company Act Rule 3c-5 ("Beneficial Ownership by Knowledgeable Employees and Certain Other Persons"). According to an MFA press release, the MFA Investor Adviser Committee worked with the SEC staff on the letter. The no-action letter includes updated guidance on a number of areas covered by the definition of "knowledgeable employees", including that: (i) the principal status of an adviser's unit