The MSRB requested public comment on a proposal to establish, for the first time, explicit requirements for municipal securities dealers to seek the most favorable price possible when executing transactions for retail investors. According to the MSRB, if approved, the proposed "best-execution" standard would "provide benefits for investors, promote competition among dealers and enhance market efficiency." The proposed rule, which was modeled after FINRA's best-execution rule for the equity and corporate fixed income markets, would require municipal securities dealers to seek to obtain for

The SEC issued no-action relief permitting an SEC-registered investment company to maintain custody of its precious metals in a vault or other secure custody facility owned and operated by the Brink's Company ("Brink's") in the U.S. or UK. The no-action relief was granted provided that a majority of the investment company's board members determined that Brink's custody services for precious metals were in the best interest of the company and its shareholders. YouTube documentary on Brink's. See: SEC No-Action Letter.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") approved final amendments to Regulation YY to implement certain of the enhanced prudential standards required to be established under Dodd-Frank Section 165 ("Enhanced Supervision and Prudential Standards for Nonbank Financial Companies Supervised by the Board of Governors and Certain Bank Holding Companies"). The enhanced prudential standards include risk-based and leverage capital requirements, liquidity standards, requirements for overall risk management, stress-test requirements, and a 15-to-1 debt-to-equity limit for companies

The Managed Funds Association ("MFA") submitted comments to the Australian Treasury regarding the most recent draft of the Investment Manager Regime legislation ("IMR 3"). MFA noted that, while the revised draft contains some positive changes, it continues to have provisions that make the achievement of its objective to encourage foreign funds to invest in Australia unlikely. In particular, MFA expressed concerns regarding the draft's (i) limits on the amount of any individual's participation in a fund, which could exclude many funds as a result of standard performance allocations; (ii)

The FDIC extended the comment period for the Single Point of Entry ("SPOE") strategy for the Resolution of Systemically Important Financial Institutions until March 20, 2014. The SPOE strategy was published in the Federal Register on December 18, 2013. See : FDIC Release; Extension Notice. See also: 78 FR 76614.