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Acting IM Director David Grim Tapped to Lead Division
Last Friday, the SEC named David Grim the Director of the Division of Investment Management. Grim had been serving as acting director of the Division since February. Grim originally joined the SEC in...
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OFR Laments Lack of Securities Lending, Repo Data
A new report from the Office of Financial Research offers a brief overview of the repo and securities lending markets and identifies current gaps in available data on the markets. Researchers suggest...
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Commissioner Gallagher to Step Down
SEC Commissioner Dan Gallagher will soon resign, according to a report from Bloomberg. The article notes that Gallagher will remain on the Commission until his seat is filled, though the...
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Facing Mounting Criticism, Enforcement Division Issues Forum Selection Guidance
Last week, the SEC released guidance detailing the Division of Enforcement’s approach in selecting a forum for contested actions. The guidance states that “the Division recommends the forum that will...
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SEC Approves Tick Pilot
Last week, the SEC approved a proposal with modifications for a two-year program to study the effect of a change in tick size that will begin May 6, 2016. The release noted that, while “these changes...
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Nationwide Settles Late Pricing Charges
The SEC announced yesterday that it settled charges against Nationwide Life Insurance Company over allegations related to “routinely violating pricing rules in its daily processing of purchase and...
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Former SEC Chair Pitt Predicts Future of Exchanges
Harvey Pitt, former SEC Chair, takes a stab at forecasting the future of stock exchanges in a somewhat serious, somewhat tongue-in-cheek recent piece for the Wall Street Journal. Pitt first notes the...
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Chair of Senate Banking Committee Seeks to Reform FSOC
Senator Richard Shelby, Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs released a discussion draft of a bill that would, among other things, impose greater transparency...
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Morningstar Study Shows Fees Trending Down
A new study from Morningstar shows that expense ratios are dropping. The study shows that asset-weighted expense ratios dropped to 0.64% in 2014 from 0.65% the year before and 0.76% in 2009. Over the...
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SEC Proposes Rules to “Modernize and Enhance” Reporting
This week, the SEC unanimously proposed amendments to certain reporting requirements for investment companies and investment advisers. The SEC explains that “as assets under management and complexity...
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MFDF Webinar: Board Oversight of Fund Profitability
Fund-by-fund review of adviser profitability remains a pillar of the “Gartenberg” contract renewal process; its importance was reinforced a few years ago by the Supreme Court decision in Jones V....
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Under Pressure, DOL Gives Short Extension on Fiduciary Comments
The Department of Labor recently announced that it would extend the comment period for the controversial fiduciary rule 15 days, originally set to end on July 6. The move represents an about face...
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DOJ Offers View into FSOC’s Reasoning on MetLife
The Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss in MetLife's court challenge to its SIFI designation. MetLife filed the suit in January, but to prevail must show that the FSOC's decision was...
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Donohue Named SEC Chief of Staff
The SEC announced today that Andrew “Buddy” Donohue will serve as the Commission’s Chief of Staff where he will advise Chair Mary Jo White on policy, management and regulatory issues. In the...
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Among Unanimous Support for Reporting Proposal, Several Concerns
In his statement on last week’s proposed rules relating to reporting requirements for investment companies and advisers, Commissioner Daniel Gallagher argued that the SEC “cannot assume that our...
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FINRA CEO Criticizes DOL Proposal
FINRA CEO Richard Ketchum took issue with the characterization of the current broker-dealer landscape as “caveat emptor.” He said that such narratives are false and not “an accurate starting point to...
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Hensarling Letter Pushes FSOC on Transparency
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Representative Jeb Hensarling, Chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, criticized the FSOC for a “marked lack of transparency” on the four SIFIs...
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CFTC Commissioner Wetjen Uses History to Suggest a Path Forward
“What really matters is an awareness of how greed and fear can drive rational people to behave in strange ways when they gather in the marketplace.” In a recent speech, CFTC Commissioner Mark Wetjen...
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BlackRock Pushes Back on Fed Official’s Securities Lending Concerns
In a recent white paper, BlackRock argued that “common misunderstandings” have underpinned recent policy discussions regarding the asset management industry generally and its business specifically....
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An Argument for Exchange Exclusivity
Jonathan Macey, a Yale law professor, and David Swensen, Yale’s Chief Investment Officer, acknowledge issues presented by today’s fragmented markets, payment for order flow, and high frequency...
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