The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged California-based Abra and a related firm in the Philippines for offering and selling security-based swaps to retail investors without registration and for failing to transact those swaps on a registered national exchange.

According to the SEC’s order, Abra developed and owns an app that enabled users to bet on price movements of U.S.-listed equity securities.  Using the app, individuals were able to enter into contracts that provide synthetic exposure to price movements of stocks and exchange-traded fund (ETF) shares trading in the U.S. through blockchain-based financial transactions with Abra or with related company Plutus Technologies Philippines Corp.  The order finds that Abra told users they could choose securities whose performance they wanted to mirror, and the value of their contract would go up or down the same amount as the price of the underlying security.  The order further finds that these...

The Securities and Exchange Commission today released the agenda for the virtual July 16 special meeting of the Asset Management Advisory Committee (AMAC). AMAC was formed to provide the Commission with a range of perspectives on asset management and related advice and recommendations.

The meeting will feature discussions on improving diversity and inclusion in the asset management industry, including issues relating to diverse asset managers, as well as issues relating to data privacy and the impact of technology on investment advice.

"AMAC set diversity and inclusion as a top priority at its inaugural meeting," said AMAC Chairman Ed Bernard.  “The committee will hear from six thought leaders who will provide understanding and insights to serve as the foundation of the committee's work on this important issue. We’ll also begin to explore emerging issues relating to data privacy and ownership and the impact of technology on investment advice, guided...

The Securities and Exchange Commission today released the agenda for the virtual July 16 special meeting of the Asset Management Advisory Committee (AMAC). AMAC was formed to provide the Commission with a range of perspectives on asset management and related advice and recommendations.

The meeting will feature discussions on improving diversity and inclusion in the asset management industry, including issues relating to diverse asset managers, as well as issues relating to data privacy and the impact of technology on investment advice.

"AMAC set diversity and inclusion as a top priority at its inaugural meeting," said AMAC Chairman Ed Bernard.  “The committee will hear from six thought leaders who will provide understanding and insights to serve as the foundation of the committee's work on this important issue. We’ll also begin to explore emerging issues relating to data privacy and ownership and the impact of technology on investment advice, guided...

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has proposed to amend Form 13F to update the reporting threshold for institutional investment managers and make other targeted changes. The threshold has not been adjusted since the Commission adopted Form 13F over 40 years ago.

Form 13F was adopted pursuant to a 1975 statutory directive designed to provide the Commission with data from larger managers about their investment activities and holdings, so that their influence and impact could be considered in maintaining fair and orderly securities markets.

“Monitoring equity holdings of large institutional investment managers is an important part of our regulation and oversight of the securities markets,” said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. “Today’s proposal will update, for the first time in over 40 years, the 13F reporting threshold to a level that furthers the statutory goal of enabling the SEC to monitor holdings of larger investment managers while...

Viewing SEC live and archived webcasts may require free Adobe Flash Player software as a fallback if the user's browser can't accommodate HTML5 video. The latest version of Flash can be downloaded from the following link if needed:

Viewing SEC live and archived webcasts may require free Adobe Flash Player software as a fallback if the user's browser can't accommodate HTML5 video. The latest version of Flash can be downloaded from the following link if needed:

Good morning and welcome to the SEC’s Emerging Markets Roundtable.  We have a packed agenda today so I will truncate my opening remarks and refer you to the citations in the online version for more detail.

In recent years, U.S. investors and our capital markets have increased exposure to companies with significant operations in emerging markets, including China.[1]  Today’s Roundtable is the latest in a series of efforts to highlight and discuss the various risks to investors—including inspection for compliance with, and enforcement of, U.S. laws and other risks relating to disclosure and financial reporting—that have accompanied this increased exposure.  I want to thank all of the panelists we have here today for helping us think about how we can continue to raise investor awareness of this shift and the steps that can be taken to mitigate the attendant risks.  As we discuss these issues, my focus, and the focus of the SEC staff, has been and will...

The SEC staff will host a virtual roundtable event to hear the views of investors, other market participants, regulators, and industry experts on the risks of investing in emerging markets, including China. The roundtable will be held by remote means, will be open to the public via live webcast on SEC.gov, and will be archived for later viewing. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission today released the agenda for the virtual July 16 special meeting of the Asset Management Advisory Committee (AMAC). AMAC was formed to provide the Commission with a range of perspectives on asset management and related advice and recommendations.

The meeting will feature discussions on improving diversity and inclusion in the asset management industry, including issues relating to diverse asset managers, as well as issues relating to data privacy and the impact of technology on investment advice.

"AMAC set diversity and inclusion as a top priority at its inaugural meeting," said AMAC Chairman Ed Bernard.  “The committee will hear from six thought leaders who will provide understanding and insights to serve as the foundation of the committee's work on this important issue. We’ll also begin to explore emerging issues relating to data privacy and ownership and the impact of technology on investment advice, guided...

The Securities and Exchange Commission today released the agenda for the virtual July 16 special meeting of the Asset Management Advisory Committee (AMAC). AMAC was formed to provide the Commission with a range of perspectives on asset management and related advice and recommendations.

The meeting will feature discussions on improving diversity and inclusion in the asset management industry, including issues relating to diverse asset managers, as well as issues relating to data privacy and the impact of technology on investment advice.

"AMAC set diversity and inclusion as a top priority at its inaugural meeting," said AMAC Chairman Ed Bernard.  “The committee will hear from six thought leaders who will provide understanding and insights to serve as the foundation of the committee's work on this important issue. We’ll also begin to explore emerging issues relating to data privacy and ownership and the impact of technology on investment advice, guided...

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will host a virtual event regarding the SEC’s temporary conditional exemption from broker registration requirements for certain municipal advisor activities. The webcast program will be held from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET at www.sec.gov.

Staff from the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets and Office of Municipal Securities will discuss the requirements and conditions of the order. A representative of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) will join to discuss MSRB rules relevant to the order.

Please register for the virtual event here. The SEC and MSRB staff will answer questions from the public regarding the order submitted prior to the event to MAWebinar@sec.gov.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the agenda and panelists for the July 9, 2020 staff roundtable on investing in emerging markets, including China.  Further information, including prior statements and actions in this area, are available here.

The virtual roundtable, announced in May, will be webcast live on SEC.gov starting at 9:30 a.m. ET.  Members of the public who wish to provide views on the risks of investing in emerging markets, including China, may submit their views electronically to EmergingMarkets@SEC.gov or use the . Comments may be submitted either in advance of or after the roundtable.

Agenda and Panelist

9:30     Opening Statements by Chairman Clayton and Commissioners

10:00     Panel One:  Investments in Emerging Markets by U.S. Retail Investors

Panelists

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has voted to adopt rule amendments to establish an expedited review procedure for exemptive and other applications under the Investment Company Act that are substantially identical to recent precedent, as well as a new informal internal procedure for applications that would not qualify for the new expedited process. These actions are intended to make the application process more efficient as well as to provide additional certainty and transparency regarding the process.

“The application process under the Investment Company Act is an important component of our regulatory structure. The process provides economic benefits to fund shareholders, expands investor choice, and facilitates innovation in the asset management industry, all with a steadfast commitment to transparency and investor protection,” said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. “The changes approved today will modernize and streamline this process, resulting...