Though many, if not most, of the measures implemented to address the COVID pandemic have since been rolled back, the transition from fully in-person to remote and hybrid work environments appears to be here to stay.
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
Last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released its 2021 regulatory agenda that included the affirmative defense provisions of Rule 10b5-1 among the areas in which the agency may take additional rulemaking action.
1 This release followed an announcement by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler (“Gensler”) on June 7, 2021, that he had directed SEC staff to consider both tougher restrictions on securities trading by corporate insiders pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 trading plans and increased transparency for such trading. Gensler expressed his concern that abuse of Rule 10b5-1 plans has led to a gap in insider trading laws and undermines investor confidence in the markets.
Repairing A Crack in Insider Trading Regulation: SEC Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans Face Increased Scrutiny | King & Spalding jdsupra.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jdsupra.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
SEC Enforcement and Exams Likely to Focus More on Private Funds in the New Administration
For the next several weeks and months, intense focus will be trained on determining the priorities of the Biden administration. We believe that at the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the new administration will ramp up examinations and investigations of investment advisers, and specifically advisers to private funds.
The industry has certainly been in growth mode. By the SEC’s own calculations, the number of private funds increased by nearly one third during the past four years (from 26,840 funds in the first quarter of 2016 to 34,858 in the first quarter of 2020), and the aggregate net asset value increased likewise (from $6.9 trillion in the first quarter of 2016 to $9.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2020).