United States (US) – Global Investment Law Watch

United States: The SEC Finally Admits It, The No-Admit/No-Deny Policy Is Gone

May 19 2026

By: Thoreau Bartmann, Meghan Flinn, Ted Kornobis, Hayley Trahan-Liptak, and Neil Smith

On 18 May 2026, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rescinded the rule barring settling defendants from publicly denying the agency’s allegations. The policy, in place since 1972, effectively silenced settling defendants on pain of having their cases reopened. Now, defendants can publicly dispute SEC allegations, including under existing consent judgments.

United States: Keeping Up Tradition: Director Woodcock’s Signals a Continuation of Recent Enforcement Priorities

May 18 2026

By: Meghan E. Flinn, Hayley Trahan-Liptak, Thoreau A. Bartmann, and Steve G. Topetzes

One week into the role, new Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Enforcement Director David Woodcock used his first public remarks to reinforce the enforcement tone set by Chairman Atkins: “quality over quantity” and “back to basics.”

United States: Private Equity Sunshine Act (SB 1319)

May 04 2026

By: Sasha Burstein, Ami R. Jani, Andrew J. Feucht III, Mark T. Heine, Daniel F.C. Crowley, Karishma S. Page, J. Matthew Mangan, and Ruth E. Delaney

California legislators are advancing the proposed Private Equity Sunshine Act (SB 1319) amending the California Public Records Act to require expanded disclosure by California public investment funds, including state and local pension systems, regarding their alternative investments. The bill would affect both public pension investors and fund managers with California public pension plans as investors.

United States: What a Relief! Sec Staff Extends Co-Investment Orders to Open-End Funds and Allows Delegation to Board Committee

Apr 28 2026

By: Jon-Luc Dupuy, Jennifer R. Gonzalez, Mark P. Goshko, Jordan A. Knight, Pablo J. Man, Keri E. Riemer, Tristen Rodgers, and George Zornada

On 27 April 2026, the staff (Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a no-action letter that extends to open-end funds, subject to certain conditions, exemptive relief that permits business development companies (BDCs) and registered closed-end funds to co-invest alongside affiliates in transactions otherwise prohibited under Sections 17(d) and 57(a)(4) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. This relief opens the door for open-end funds to participate, subject to their 15% liquidity restrictions, in co-investment transactions that were previously unavailable to these funds.

United States: Form PFffft: SEC and CFTC Propose Rolling Back Reporting Burdens for Private Fund Managers

Apr 21 2026

By: Thoreau A. Bartmann, Richard W. Burnett, Ruth E. Delaney, Lance C. Dial, Pablo J. Man, and Sarah V. Riddell

On 20 April 2026, the SEC and CFTC jointly proposed yet another round of amendments to Form PF to eliminate filing obligations for many private fund advisers and reduce burdens for many of those who remain subject to the form.

United States: New Sheriff, New Stats: Reading Between the Lines of the SEC’s Enforcement Report

Apr 09 2026

By: Thoreau A. Bartmann, Meghan E. Flinn, Theodore L. Kornobis, and Neil T. Smith

On 7 April 2026, the SEC announced its fiscal year 2025 enforcement results, speaking not only to key actions from the past year but also to its vision for enforcement going forward. The results were the first from the commission under Chairman Atkins, and featured several notable elements:

United States: The Last Leg: SEC Extends Trading Relief to Share Class ETFs

Apr 03 2026

By: Thoreau A. Bartmann, Jessica D. Cohn, and Kevin R. Gustafson

With this fourth SEC approval, share class ETFs are now ready to go live.

United States: Did you Predict This? Why Prediction Markets may be Your Next Compliance Headache

Apr 03 2026

By: Thoreau A. Bartmann, Lance C. Dial, Todd S. Fishman, Pablo J. Man, and Sarah V. Riddell

Prediction markets and event contracts have gone mainstream. Prediction market platforms offer contracts on virtually any event you can imagine, and increasingly advisers and their personnel, including portfolio managers, are signing up. If your compliance program hasn’t caught up to the issues that prediction markets raise, you may have a problem you don’t know about yet.

United States: 401(k) Plan Access to Alternative Investments–DOL Seeks to Clarify Fiduciary Duties and Proposes “Safe Harbor”

Mar 31 2026

By: Sasha Burstein, Ruth E. Delaney, Pablo J. Man, Robert L. Sichel

On 30 March 2026, Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule, in response to President Trump’s August 2025 executive order, that seeks to clarify DOL’s position on fiduciary duties in connection with the selection of investment options for participant-directed individual account plans (e.g. 401(k) plans) – including investment options that feature exposure to alternative assets – and would establish a “safe harbor” for fiduciaries who follow a prudent process in making available such investment options to plan participants. Comments on the proposal are due on or before 60 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.

United States: A Place for Every Token and Every Token in its Place: The SEC “Airdrops” Its New Crypto Taxonomy

Mar 18 2026

By: Thoreau A. Bartmann, Lance C. Dial, and Sarah V. Riddell

On 17 March 2026, the SEC and CFTC issued a joint interpretive release establishing a formal taxonomy for crypto assets and when such assets are securities under federal law, which is a critical analytical point in determining if regulations apply. While the release is an interpretation of existing laws, and not a final rulemaking, it is a major step toward a durable crypto regulatory regime.

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