Change Overview and Rationale
Does meaningful proxy voting transparency reveal too much? On November 2, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finalized the first of its market data rule proposals. The amendments to form N-PX bring greater detail, consistency, and usability to the proxy voting information reported by mutual funds. These changes came in response to investors, who […]
“The common domain model is a natural starting place for DLT-based smart contracts” The Common Domain Model (CDM), the International Securities Lending Association’s (ISLA) ambitious securities lending standardization project, is a step closer to reality. And industry leaders already see opportunities for application. In a report jointly produced with Linklaters, ISLA outlined the project’s progress […]
Disclosures Could be a Real Challenge for Managers and Brokers In February of 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed new disclosures to provide more transparency into institutional investors’ short-selling activity. According to Chairman Gensler, collecting more granular data from large short sellers “would help us to better oversee the markets and understand the role […]
The Industry Reacts to a Compressed Settlement Plan In moving to shorten the U.S. securities settlement cycle by one day to T+1, the Securities and Exchange Commission appears to have hit on something upon which virtually everyone can agree. Judging by the comments to the SEC’s T+1 proposal, everyone from State Street to the Cornell […]
Rogue Trader’s Behavior Yields Lessons for Risk Management The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil lawsuit against Archegos Capital Management, its founder, and several other individuals in April 2022. The SEC alleges that Archegos engaged in a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the market for the securities of the issuers that represented Archegos’s top […]
BRIEFING GUIDE to the SEC’s Aggressive Agenda to Head off the Next “Big Squeeze” On Friday, February 25, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed its latest round of GameStop rule proposals. In addition to enhanced public disclosures of short sales by institutional investors, the Commission announced a 30-day extension of the comment period […]
The SEC Boldly Sets Course for T+1 and T+0 While real-time settlement is still something that may happen far in the future, perhaps on the Starship Enterprise, T+1 is now imminent. On February 9, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed to make T+1 a reality. The proposal aimed at reducing risks in clearance and […]
World Bank, BIS and SWIFT weigh in on CBDCs Widespread adoption of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) could revolutionize cross-border payments by reducing friction and making it possible for T+1 or even T+0 settlement of cross-border trades. The Fed’s Digital Currency discussion paper is the central bank’s first step in a public discussion with stakeholders […]
Vast Cross-border Implications for Central Bank Digital Currencies A discussion paper published on January 20th invites the public to explore with the U.S. Federal Reserve Board the creation of a digital version of the U.S. dollar. A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) backed by the Federal Reserve would be designed, according to the Fed’s paper, […]
The U.S. Labor Department (DOL) has proposed regulations that would greatly expand how retirement and pension plans can invest in ESG strategies and clarify the scope of ERISA plans’ responsibility for proxy voting. If adopted, the DOL’s proposal, drafted by the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), will reverse the former administration’s regulations on ESG factors in retirement portfolios and ERISA fiduciaries’ use of proxy voting powers in favor of social or political goals.