The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the withdrawal of a policy that granted the Director of Enforcement the authority to initiate new investigations and approve the issuance of subpoenas. The former policy was created in 2009, which essentially allowed the Director to legally permit the SEC staff to open an Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the rescission of guidelines, established during Gary Gensler’s tenure as Chair of the agency, that governed the exclusion of certain shareholder proposals from proxy statements, marking a shift that favors companies in shareholder proposal exclusions. The SEC announced its decision in a Staff Legal Read More
Securities and Exchange Commission Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda launched a “Crypto Task Force” dedicated to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrency assets. The task force will dedicate itself to developing a “comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets.” The task force’s focus will be to assist Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it has approved a Nasdaq proposal to remove a rule that requires companies to disclose board diversity data. This announcement follows a ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in which the court found such disclosure requirements unlawful. Under the original board Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had filed 200 total enforcement actions in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ran from October through December 2024, including 118 standalone enforcement proceedings. The SEC filed a total of 75 enforcement actions in October 2024 alone. Those numbers represent Read More
A U.S. Court of Appeals court ruled that Nasdaq can no longer enforce its board diversity rules, vacating the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of a rule that requires disclosure of each board member’s racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ identification. The court found that the SEC went beyond the scope of Read More
T he Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it filed 583 total enforcement actions in fiscal year 2024, while obtaining orders for $8.2 billion in financial remedies, the highest amount in SEC history. That record amount consisted of $6.1 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest, also the highest amount on Read More
I nvesco Advisers is paying the price for misleading clients and investors about how much of its assets were truly aligned with environmental, social, and governance principles. The Atlanta-based investment firm has agreed to pay a $17.5 million civil penalty to settle the Securities and Exchange Commission’s charges that it Read More
T he Securities and Exchange Commission has charged four public companies with making materially misleading disclosures regarding cybersecurity risks and intrusions. The charges against the four companies—Unisys, Avaya, Check Point Software, and Mimecast—result from an investigation involving public companies impacted by the compromise of SolarWinds’ Orion software. The SEC also Read More
T he Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations has released its 2025 examination priorities. This year’s examinations will prioritize perennial and emerging risk areas, such as fiduciary duty, standards of conduct, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. For fiscal year 2025, in addition to conducting examinations in core areas such as Read More
