The SEC will be closed Monday, January 18 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. The EDGAR System will not receive, process, or accept filings on this day. Filings with a due date of January 18 will be due the following business day, which is Tuesday, January 19. Continue reading "Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr." »

On January 13, 2021, the SEC released a statement concerning Form 13H and filing issues due to Adobe Flash Player’s End of Life. Adobe officially discontinued support for Flash Player on December 31, 2020. Because of this, filers have been experiencing issues with filing Form 13H (and its variants). SEC staff are working on a technical fix. They expect to implement this fix no later than January 31, 2021.
Continue reading "SEC Releases Information about Form 13H Filing..." »

The SEC has indicated that the EDGAR System will function as it usually does on Inauguration Day (Wednesday, January 20, 2021). There will be no disruption of service, as is the case on any normal business day.
Continue reading "SEC States that the EDGAR System Will Operate..." »

On December 22, 2020, the SEC voted to adopt amendments pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, revising rules that regulate investment adviser advertising and payments to solicitors. Drawing from and replacing the current advertising rule (Rule 206(4)-1) and cash solicitation rule (Rule 206(4)-3) is an amalgamated rule established by the amendments. The objective of the amendment is to enhance the SEC’s ability to effectively oversee investment advisers’ marketing communications. Continue reading "SEC Approves Revised Marketing Rule for..." »

The SEC voted on December 22, 2020 to take measures to further the enactment of security-based swap regulation pursuant to Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. These actions reflect the latest in the SEC’s continuous efforts to engage with multiple agencies and non-US counterparts and prepare for the registration of security-based swap dealers in 2021. Continue reading "SEC Issues Various Compliance Orders for France..." »

The SEC will be closed Friday, January 1 in observance of New Year’s Day. The EDGAR System will not receive, process, or accept filings on this day. Filings with a due date of January 1 will be due the following business day, which is Monday, January 4.

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The SEC released a statement and request for comment on December 23, 2020 that concerns the custody of digital asset securities by broker-dealers. This action was undertaken in order to encourage innovation around applying Securities Exchange Act Rule 15c3-3 to digital asset securities. Continue reading "SEC Releases Statement on the Custody of..." »

On December 18, 2020, the SEC published the Annual Report on Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs) and the 2020 Summary Report of SEC Staff’s Examinations of Each Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization. The report, which generally concentrates on the period from June 26, 2019 to June 25, 2020, features a thorough summary of the Office of Credit Rating’s (OCR) assessments of the NRSROs, including the staff’s key findings and suggestions. Continue reading "SEC Publishes 2020 Office of Credit Rating Reports" »

On December 22, 2020, the SEC proposed an amendment to Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933 that would revise the holding period determination for securities acquired upon the conversion or exchange of certain “market-adjustable securities”. This change should decrease the risk of unregistered distributions in connection with sales of those securities. In addition, the SEC is proposing updates and simplifications to the Form 144 filing requirements. Continue reading "SEC Requests Comment on Changes to Rule 144 and..." »

The SEC will be closed Thursday, December 24 and Friday, December 25 due to the closure of the federal government on these two days. The EDGAR System will not receive, process, or accept filings on either of these days. Filings with a due date of December 24 or December 25 will be considered timely if filed on or before December 28, which is the SEC’s next business day.
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On December 17, 2020, the SEC voted to approve the 2021 budget of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the associated annual accounting support fee. The PCAOB monitors the audits and auditors of the financial statements that are submitted by registered broker-dealers and issuers. Section 109 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires the PCAOB to establish, with SEC approval, a reasonable accounting support fee to fund its operations. Continue reading "SEC Releases PCAOB Budget and Accounting..." »

On December 22, 2020, the SEC and the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU concerns consultation, cooperation, and the exchange of information between the two agencies regarding the supervision of regulated entities that conduct financial services business in the United States, Italy, or both countries. Continue reading "SEC Establishes New Supervisory Cooperation..." »

The SEC announced on December 18, 2020 that it is creating a new collaborative venture called the Security-Based Swaps (SBS) Joint Venture. This venture joins several SEC divisions and offices and will be responsible for coordinating functions related to the regulation of security-based swaps and oversight of certain entities that will be required to register with the SEC (SBS entities). The SBS Joint Venture will be an important part of the SEC’s efforts to oversee the SBS market and better monitor SBS transaction data. Continue reading "SEC Announces the Creation of the..." »

On December 18, 2020, the SEC’s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation issued its Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2020. This report contains comprehensive data on the state of small business capital formation, as well as a summary of the office’s activities in supporting small business and their investors. The report also includes policy recommendations. This year the report features a discussion of the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on small businesses and small business capital formation. Continue reading "SEC’s Small Business Advocate Releases Its..." »

On December 16, 2020, the SEC adopted rules intended to achieve the statutory objective of increasing the transparency of payments to governments for the purpose of the commercial development of their oil, natural gas, and minerals by enforcing Section 13(q) of the Exchange Act. Added to the Exchange Act in 2010 by Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Section 13(q) instructed the SEC to issue final rules that require resource extraction issuers (entities such as oil, natural gas, and mining companies that are required to file reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) annually to file a Form SD that includes information about payments that are made to the federal government or a foreign government related to the commercial development of oil, natural gas, or minerals. Continue reading "SEC Approves Final Rules for the Disclosure of..." »