The SEC voted on July 22nd to adopt amendments to rules governing proxy solicitations. These rules are designed to ensure that clients of proxy voting advice businesses have reasonable access to more transparent, accurate, and complete information. Timely access to such information is vital in making sound voting decisions. These amendments aim to facilitate the ability of those who use proxy voting advice (investors and others who vote on investors’ behalf) to make such informed voting decisions without creating situations where undue costs or delays adversely impact the timely provision of proxy voting advice.
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The SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA) recently released its analysis of custom tag usage in financial filings submitted to the SEC using the US GAAP financial reporting taxonomy. This analysis focuses on XBRL exhibits submitted by issuers complying with the 2009 Interactive Data rules pertaining to financial statements. The study covered exhibits submitted as part of Forms 10-K and 10-K/A filings from January 2017 to December 2019.
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On July 16th, the SEC, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced they will jointly host a virtual Compliance Outreach Program for Municipal Advisors. The webcast program will be held Thursday, August 13, 2020, from 1 pm to 3 pm ET.
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On July 10th, the SEC announced it is considering amendments to Form 13F that would update the reporting threshold for institutional investment managers and make other targeted changes. Form 13F was adopted pursuant to a 1975 statutory directive designed to provide the SEC with data from larger managers about their investment activities and holdings. This information permits the SEC to take these larger managers’ influence and impact into account in maintaining fair and orderly securities markets. Since that time, the reporting threshold has not been adjusted. Section 13(f) of the Securities Exchange Act gives the SEC broad rulemaking authority to determine the size of the institutions required to file reports and the authority to raise or lower this threshold. Increasing the threshold would allow the SEC to continue to monitor the holdings of larger investment managers while reducing compliance and other burdens on smaller managers.
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Version 5.4a of all applications in the GoFiler Suite has been released. This release corresponds to EDGAR 20.2 and contains a number of corrections and improvements for Page View, XDX View (both US GAAP and Risk Return), N-PORT View and Submission View. There have also been a number of improvements to the general application to improve the handling of large files or files with long lines.

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The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has released a written question-and-answer (Q&A) document discussing topics relevant to financial disclosure related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance and responses provided in the Q&A should not be extrapolated to other facts and circumstances not specifically discussed. Continue reading "FASB Releases Q&A on the Application of the..." »

On July 6th, the SEC announced that it has voted to adopt rule amendments that will establish an expedited review procedure for exemptive and other applications under the Investment Company Act that are substantially identical to recent precedent. It will also create a new informal internal procedure for applications that would not qualify for the new expedited process. These actions are intended to make the application process more efficient as well as to provide additional certainty and transparency regarding the process.
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The SEC has released an additional statement concerning paper filing requirements given the ongoing logistical difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance is aware of the troubles encountered in submitting certain forms (other than Forms 144) in paper given the spread of COVID-19.
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The staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, the Division of Investment Management, and the Division of Trading and Markets has issued a statement regarding Rule 302(b) of Regulation S-T. This statement pertains to concerns stemming from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The SEC has received inquiries from persons and entities subject to Regulation S-T concerning these authentication document retention mandates under Rule 302(b). These requirements can prove to be difficult to meet in light of health, transportation, and other logistical issues raised by the spread of coronavirus disease. This staff statement is temporary and remains in effect until the staff provides public notice that it no longer applies. Such notice will be published at least two weeks before the announced termination date.
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The SEC will be closed Friday, July 3 in observance of Independence Day. The EDGAR System will not receive, process or accept filings on this day. Filings with a due date of July 3 will be due the following business day. Continue reading "SEC Closed Friday, July 3" »

The SEC has indicated on July 2nd that there are ongoing technical difficulties with accessing the EDGAR system. Their EDGAR technical teams are actively working to resolve the issues, and updates will be provided as soon as they are available. UPDATE: The SEC has announced EDGAR will be unavailable to the public from approximately 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET today, July 2nd, for technical repair. Filers should ensure that they do not attempt to submit or have submissions in process during this time.
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On July 1st, Temporary Final Rule 10(c) expires. This rule was enacted by the SEC on March 26, 2020 to temporarily amend Rule 10 of Regulation S-T to provide relief from the notarization requirements for EDGAR access requests, subject to certain conditions. The rule was enacted as part of relief efforts due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. July 1st is the final day to rely on Temporary Final Rule 10(c) to apply for EDGAR access.
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The staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance states that the Division is aware of logistical difficulties of submitting Forms 144 in paper given the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given ongoing health and safety concerns related to COVID-19, the staff will not recommend enforcement action if Forms 144 filed in paper under Rules 101(b)(4) or 101(c)(6) of Regulation S-T are submitted via email in lieu of mailing or delivering the paper form to the SEC if the filer or submitter attaches a complete Form 144 as a PDF attachment to an email sent to PaperForms144@SEC.gov.
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On June 29th, the SEC issued an order to update the filing threshold for broker-dealers’ Form 17-H filings made pursuant to Exchange Act Rules 17h-1T and Rule 17h-2T. The threshold has not been updated in nearly 30 years. In 1992, the SEC adopted the 17h Rules, which set forth specified recordkeeping and reporting requirements for certain broker-dealers that are part of a holding company structure. This was pursuant to the Market Reform Act of 1990. Broker-dealers that do not hold customer funds or securities, owe money or securities to customers, or otherwise carry the accounts of or for customers are exempt from the 17h Rules. This exemption applied provided that these broker-dealers maintain capital, including subordinated debt, of less than $20 million.
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On June 25th, five federal agencies including the SEC finalized changes related to the Volcker rule’s prohibition on banking entities investing in or sponsoring hedge funds or private equity funds. These funds are typically known as covered funds. Generally the Volcker rule prohibits banking entities from engaging in proprietary trading and from acquiring or retaining ownership interests in, sponsoring, or having certain relationships with covered funds.
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