Articles Posted in SEC

Cryptocurrency proponents tout the technology’s potentially “transformative” nature and its position as an arguably more stable store of value when compared with fiat money. [1] Yet SEC Chairman Gary Gensler cautioned crypto investors against an overly rosy view of the technology during a speech at the Penn Law Capital Markets Association Annual Conference this week.…

On Wednesday, March 30th, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced newly proposed rules and rule amendments governing Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), shell companies, and the projections that these companies make. The aggregate proposed rule is aimed at heightening investor protections for those who choose to invest in SPACs and shell companies, where such…

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s much-anticipated rules on climate-related disclosures are finally here. [1] On Monday, March 21, 2022, the federal securities regulator announced the release of a proposed rule, broadly referred by the SEC as “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.” [2] The proposed rule comes to the delight of activist…

Electric automaker, Tesla, and its CEO, Elon Musk, made headlines once again this week in connection with a 2018 Twitter post. The tweet in question, posted by Elon Musk, read simply: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.”[1] At the time the tweet was posted in 2018, the SEC swiftly charged both Tesla…

The SEC is attempting to broaden the scope of liability under federal insider trading laws, and it just secured its first incremental victory along the way. The win comes as a newly formulated legal theory offered by the SEC survived a motion to dismiss in SEC v. Panuwat, a case proceeding in the U.S. District…

While the dust settles on the recent trial of Elizabeth Holmes, former CEO of Silicon Valley startup Theranos, attention is building around the Securities and Exchange Commission’s current and future role in regulating private firms. Under existing federal law, private firms with less than 2,000 shareholders are not required to register with the SEC nor…

As 2021 draws to a close, it is a fitting time to revisit some of the main enforcement actions taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through fiscal year (FY) 2021, which ended on September 30th, 2021. In total, the number of new enforcement actions filed by the SEC in FY 2021 increased by…

While investors should always be alert and even skeptical of unsolicited communications about their investments, an SEC investor alert from November 19, 2021, further highlights how important this vigilance is. According to the alert provided by the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (“OIEA”), the SEC has received reports of several individuals receiving communications…

In the SEC’s pursuit of their mission to “protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation,” access to information about potential unlawful activity is of unique importance and interest. [1] Without access to such information, the SEC faces a much steeper battle in holding bad actors accountable and protecting both investors…

In today’s ever-interconnected society, protecting the stability and security of cyber infrastructure and the personal information stored therein has never been of greater importance. Recognizing this need, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has taken marked steps to protect the security of investor records and information that broker-dealer firms possess. In fact, the…