The SEC proposed on February 14th to modernize the infrastructure for the collection, consolidation, and dissemination of market data for exchange-listed market system (NMS) stocks. The proposal would update and expand the content of NMS market data, which would better suit the diverse needs of investors in today’s equity markets. The rules that govern the content and dissemination of NMS market data have not been significantly updated since their initial implementation in the late 1970s. In addition, the proposal seeks to introduce competitive forces into the national market system for the first time. The introduction of and competition among these new data consolidators could, in turn, allow all market participants, including investors, to access and benefit from the expanded content of NMS market data.
Continue reading "SEC Proposes to Modernize Key Market..." »Tuesday, March 10. 2020
SEC Proposes to Modernize Key Market Infrastructure Responsible for Managing Securities Market Data
Monday, March 09. 2020
New Release (5.3a) for the GoFiler Family of Products
Version 5.3a of all applications in the GoFiler Suite has been released. This release corresponds to EDGAR 20.1.1 and contains support for the 2020 XBRL taxonomies. Additionally, changes and improvements have been made to Page View, XBRL validation and XDX processing.
Continue reading "New Release (5.3a) for the GoFiler Family of..." »SEC Postpones Conference on Municipal Securities Disclosure
SEC Releases EDGAR 20.1.1
Wednesday, March 04. 2020
Fee Rate Advisory #3 for Fiscal Year 2020
On February 28, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the third fee rate advisory for fiscal year 2020. Pursuant to Section 31(j)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the SEC has determined that a mid-year adjustment to the Section 31 fee rate for fiscal year 2020 is not required.
Continue reading "Fee Rate Advisory #3 for Fiscal Year 2020" »Monday, March 02. 2020
SEC to Hold National Compliance Outreach Seminar for Investment Companies and Investment Advisers
On February 25th, the SEC announced it would be opening registration for its compliance outreach program’s national seminar for investment companies and investment advisers. This event is intended to aid chief compliance officers (CCOs) and other senior personnel at investment companies and advisory firms in enhancing their programs to benefit the protection of investors. The compliance outreach program is jointly sponsored by the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, the Division of Investment Management, and the Asset Management Unit of the Division of Enforcement.
Continue reading "SEC to Hold National Compliance Outreach..." »Friday, February 28. 2020
LDC #167: A Quick Web Link Builder Part II
Last month I described a tool I built to create and insert web news links in my blog, “A Quick Web Link Builder”. I recently expanded the functionality to load the web page and extract information to load link information into the dialog, thus making linking an even quicker process.
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Thursday, February 27. 2020
SEC Updates PAUSE List of Firms Using Inaccurate Information to Solicit Investors
On February 24th, the SEC updated its Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities (PAUSE) list, which contains entities that have been subject of investor complaints. This list of entities falsely claim to be registered, licensed, and/or located in the United States, impersonate genuine registered securities firms, and claim to be fictitious regulators, government agencies, or organizations. The goal of the PAUSE list is to better inform investors so that they can avoid becoming the victim of fraud.
Continue reading "SEC Updates PAUSE List of Firms Using..." »Monday, February 17. 2020
Removal of Investment Schedule (INVEST) Taxonomies
The SEC Office of Structured Disclosure has announced that the 2012 and 2013 INVEST taxonomies will no longer be supported by EDGAR as of the EDGAR release currently scheduled for March 9, 2020. These taxonomies were intended for use in the voluntary filing program. The voluntary filing program has ended, so support for these taxonomies will be removed.
Continue reading "Removal of Investment Schedule (INVEST) Taxonomies" »Friday, February 07. 2020
LDC #166: Forcing a Subject Company Name Lookup For 13D/G Filings
This week, we’re taking a look at automating the subject company lookup on SC13D/G filings. This is another request from a client, but I think it provides a good opportunity to look at automation of a pretty simple task that otherwise might be forgotten and overlooked by a busy operator. This script will trigger when a user opens a project file (a .GFP file), if and only if the project being opened is of document type SC 13D or SC 13G. These are the best kinds of tasks to automate, because they are specific, and easily forgotten by an operator. If the document opened meets these criteria, the CIK of the subject company will be looked up, and the name of the subject company will be looked up on the EDGAR system and entered into the name field. This is very useful if you have an automated system that is creating .GFP files (not very hard, it’s a pretty simple file format), but you cannot guarantee that system has access to the most current names of companies. For example, if the system generating the GFP files has an outdated database of names, you would want to make sure that the subject company is replaced with current information on file open. This is where our script comes in.
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Wednesday, February 05. 2020
Interim Release of GoFiler (5.2ab)
An interim release (version 5.2ab) of all applications in the GoFiler Suite has been released. This interim release addresses issues that have arisen due to the latest Windows 10 Feature Update 1909. Because this is an interim release that is not part of our regular updates, you will need to use the Updater.exe file within the application installation directory in order to update the software. Users who are working with IFRS inline XBRL are also encouraged to download this release.
Continue reading "Interim Release of GoFiler (5.2ab)" »Tuesday, February 04. 2020
SEC Proposes to Modernize and Enhance Financial Disclosures
On January 30th, the SEC proposed amendments to modernize, simplify, and enhance particular financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K. These amendments would eliminate duplicative disclosures and update and enhance Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) information, which would benefit investors while simplifying compliance efforts for companies. In addition, the SEC announced it is providing guidance on key performance indicators and metrics in MD&A disclosures.
Continue reading "SEC Proposes to Modernize and Enhance Financial..." »Saturday, February 01. 2020
Agencies Propose Modifications to "Covered Funds" Restrictions of Volcker Rule
Five federal agencies voted on January 30th to invite public comment on a proposal that would modify regulations that govern the implementation of the Volcker rule’s general prohibition on banking entities investing in or sponsoring hedge funds or private equity funds (known as “covered funds”). Since the regulations implementing the Volcker rule were finalized in 2013, the rule has created some compliance uncertainty and also imposed limits on certain banking services and activities that the rule was not intended to restrict.
Continue reading "Agencies Propose Modifications to "Covered..." »Friday, January 31. 2020
SEC to Hold Conference on Municipal Securities Disclosure
On January 23rd, the SEC announced that it will host a conference that will focus on municipal securities, which are predominantly owned by Main Street investors and help finance important public projects, including schools, roads, and utilities. This conference, scheduled for March 10th, is entitled “Spotlight on Transparency: A Discussion of Secondary Market Municipal Securities Disclosure Practices”.
Continue reading "SEC to Hold Conference on Municipal Securities..." »Thursday, January 30. 2020
SEC Announces 2020 Examination Priorities
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) announced on January 7th its 2020 examination priorities. OCIE publishes its priorities on an annual basis to enhance the transparency of its examination program and to provide insights into its risk-based approach, including the areas it believes present potential risks to investors and the integrity of the US capital markets. Developing the annual examination priorities is a collaborative effort that begins with feedback from examination staff (who are uniquely positioned to identify the practices, products, services, and other factors that may pose risk to investors or markets) and other sources of input and advice from the SEC Chairman, other Commissioners, other SEC divisions and departments, and other federal financial regulatory agencies.
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