The “Liberation Day” tariffs and associated countermeasures have created significant market volatility, prompting renewed scrutiny of private fund managers’ compliance with longstanding SEC focus areas such as valuation, investor communications, liquidity, borrowing and related disclosures. Sponsors should document any changes to valuation practices, maintain transparent and timely communications with investors about strategy shifts, and ensure
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Confirmation Hearing for SEC Chair Nominee Atkins — Takeaways for Fund Managers
Paul Atkins, the nominee for SEC Chair, recently testified before the Senate Banking Committee in a hearing that covered how he could reshape the agency’s priorities. The alert below examines Atkins’ testimony on issues affecting the funds industry, including the rulemaking agenda, disclosure practices, cryptocurrency, and other key issues. We also explore how his confirmation…
Unrepresentative Returns: SEC Sanctions Hedge Fund Manager for Misleading Marketing Practices
On June 14, 2024, the SEC announced an enforcement action settlement with a Pennsylvania-based hedge fund manager for violating the Marketing Rule under the Investment Advisers Act. The SEC found that the adviser had misled investors by advertising a hedge fund’s investment performance based on the investment performance of a single investor in the fund. …
How Governmental Carrots and Sticks Impact Private Investment in Defense Tech and the Security Ecosystem
By Margaret A. Dale, Michael R. Hackett, Stephen Hibbard, William Komaroff, Timothy W. Mungovan, Dorothy Murray, Joshua M. Newville, Todd J. Ohlms, Robert Pommer, Seetha Ramachandran, Jonathan M. Weiss, Julia Alonzo, William D. Dalsen, Isaiah D. Anderson, James Anderson, Julia M. Ansanelli, Adam L. Deming, Adam Farbiarz, Reut N. Samuels & Hena M. Vora
In response to rising geopolitical tensions – from the Middle East to the Taiwan Strait to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine –the Biden Administration is increasingly using economic incentives and sanctions to assist the United States’ foreign policy objectives or mitigate the risk of increased conflict.…
The Macro-Economic Environment: What It Means for VC Firms
By Margaret A. Dale, Michael R. Hackett, Stephen Hibbard, William Komaroff, Timothy W. Mungovan, Dorothy Murray, Joshua M. Newville, Todd J. Ohlms, Robert Pommer, Seetha Ramachandran, Jonathan M. Weiss, Julia Alonzo, William D. Dalsen, Isaiah D. Anderson, James Anderson, Julia M. Ansanelli, Adam L. Deming, Adam Farbiarz, Reut N. Samuels & Hena M. Vora
Hope for a resurgence during 2024 in Venture Capital fundraising, investment, and returns was strong at the beginning of this year, with optimism fueled by the recovery in 2023 of U.S. stock markets (lead by the performance of large tech companies) and anticipation about how AI might transform industries. Market observers were optimistic then that U.S.…
Is Artificial Intelligence Inflating a Valuation Bubble?
By Margaret A. Dale, Michael R. Hackett, Stephen Hibbard, William Komaroff, Timothy W. Mungovan, Dorothy Murray, Joshua M. Newville, Todd J. Ohlms, Robert Pommer, Seetha Ramachandran, Jonathan M. Weiss, Julia Alonzo, William D. Dalsen, Isaiah D. Anderson, James Anderson, Julia M. Ansanelli, Adam L. Deming, Adam Farbiarz, Reut N. Samuels & Hena M. Vora
Big fund-raising rounds and high valuations have some wondering whether the AI sector is in a bubble in the nature of the dotcom boom. As of this writing, OpenAI is valued at over $80 billion; Amazon added another $2.75 billion to its investment in Anthropic; and even some very early-stage startups, like France-based Mistral AI, have…
Cybersecurity Continues to be a Focal Point for Regulators in 2024
By Margaret A. Dale, Michael R. Hackett, Stephen Hibbard, William Komaroff, Timothy W. Mungovan, Joshua M. Newville, Todd J. Ohlms, Robert Pommer, Seetha Ramachandran, Jonathan M. Weiss, Julia Alonzo, William D. Dalsen, Kelly McMullon, Isaiah D. Anderson, James Anderson, Julia M. Ansanelli, Adam L. Deming, Adam Farbiarz, Reut N. Samuels & Hena M. Vora
The SEC’s new and proposed rules on cybersecurity and cyber-incident reporting will have a dual impact on private investment advisers and funds.
First, the proposal by the SEC will impose cybersecurity related obligations on investment advisers, registered investment companies and business development companies, with a final rule in this sector (the “adviser cybersecurity rule”) expected…
Not Off the Hook: The SEC Addresses its Position on Exculpation And Indemnification For Private Fund Advisers
By Margaret A. Dale, Michael R. Hackett, Stephen Hibbard, William Komaroff, Timothy W. Mungovan, Dorothy Murray, Joshua M. Newville, Todd J. Ohlms, Robert Pommer, Seetha Ramachandran, Jonathan M. Weiss, Julia Alonzo, William D. Dalsen, Isaiah D. Anderson, James Anderson, Julia M. Ansanelli, Adam L. Deming, Adam Farbiarz, Reut N. Samuels & Hena M. Vora
In its final Private Fund Adviser Rules adopted last year, the SEC dropped one of the more controversial proposed rules—the proposal to prohibit contractual exculpation or indemnification provisions that would shield or indemnify the adviser in matters involving the adviser’s negligence or breach of fiduciary duty. On its face, this was a concession to the…
SEC Focus on Adviser-Led Secondaries Continues
By Margaret A. Dale, Michael R. Hackett, Stephen Hibbard, William Komaroff, Timothy W. Mungovan, Dorothy Murray, Joshua M. Newville, Todd J. Ohlms, Robert Pommer, Seetha Ramachandran, Robert Sutton, Jonathan M. Weiss, Julia Alonzo, William D. Dalsen, Julia M. Ansanelli, Isaiah D. Anderson, James Anderson, Adam L. Deming, Adam Farbiarz, Reut N. Samuels & Hena M. Vora
Adviser-led secondary transactions have seen explosive growth over the last five years. That growth has brought increased regulatory concerns over the conflicts of interests inherent in these transactions and a perceived lack of transparency into this market. New SEC rules adopted in 2023 will arm regulators with additional tools to identify, exam and investigate market…
A Tale of Two Regulators: The SEC and FCA Address AI Regulation for Private Funds
By Margaret A. Dale, Michael R. Hackett, Stephen Hibbard, William Komaroff, Timothy W. Mungovan, Dorothy Murray, Joshua M. Newville, Todd J. Ohlms, Robert Pommer, Seetha Ramachandran, Robert Sutton, Jonathan M. Weiss, Julia Alonzo, William D. Dalsen, Isaiah D. Anderson, James Anderson, Julia M. Ansanelli, Adam L. Deming, Adam Farbiarz, Reut N. Samuels & Hena M. Vora
2023’s excitement for generative artificial intelligence (AI) prompted the SEC to respond on multiple fronts – stump speeches, rulemaking, new exam priorities and sweeps and previewing potential enforcement actions. SEC Chair Gary Gensler raised concerns regarding potential conflicts and investor harm resulting from the proliferation of AI and warned that an AI-caused financial crisis is nearly unavoidable…