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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On June 22nd, the SEC and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division signed an interagency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU is intended to foster cooperation and communication between the agencies with the aim of enhancing competition in the securities industry. Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Antitrust Division announced this first-ever MOU between the Antitrust Division and the SEC, which was executed with SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, before a discussion on equity market structure hosted by MIT’s Golub Center for Finance and Policy.
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The SEC announced on June 19th that the conditional relief from the in-person voting requirements for fund boards will be extended. This relief was originally provided by the SEC in March 2020 and will now extend at least through December 31, 2020. The extension is designed to provide flexibility to boards of registered funds and business development companies, which may continue to face challenges meeting in person given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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On June 11th, the SEC’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub) announced it will be conducting virtual peer-to-peer meet-ups (P2Ps). FinHub previously engaged with FinTech communities across the country in 2019 by hosting in-person meetings. These meetings offered members of FinTech communities the opportunity to speak in person with FinHub staff to discuss general issues, specific questions, or make presentations about their work.
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The SEC’s New York Regional Office will host an educational telephone town hall about avoiding scams related to COVID-19. This event will occur on June 23, 2020 from 5 to 6 p.m. EDT. Free and open to all investors and those planning for their financial future, the town hall will allow callers to join high-ranking SEC officials who will share their insights. These officials will include the US Attorney for the District of New Jersey and the President of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Foundation.
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The SEC reminds filers who have taken advantage of temporary relief measures regarding access to the EDGAR system that the required notarized authentication document must be submitted within 90 days of submitting the access application. This temporary relief (Temporary Final Rule 10(c)) was enacted because of the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic which may have made it difficult for filers to obtain notarized documentation in a timely fashion.
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