ICOs

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Yesterday the SEC announced its enforcement results for FY 2019, accompanied by a report from the Co-Directors of its Division of Enforcement.  While the total number of actions increased slightly from 2018, the percentage of cases involving investment advisers or investment companies increased more dramatically, growing from 22% in 2018 to 36% in 2019, with a significant portion of the increase attributable to the SEC’s Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative. Investment advisory issues accounted for 191 standalone actions in the past year.

An increasingly sophisticated and active OCIE division, innovative market disruptors, a maturing credit cycle, and a philosophical change in how the private fund industry views and utilizes litigation are likely to lead to increased regulatory scrutiny and litigation risk for advisers (and their funds) in 2019.  With that backdrop, we are pleased to present our Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for Private Funds in 2019.

The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations has released its annual priorities publication for 2019.  Containing both a look back at the program’s accomplishments for fiscal year 2018 and a look forward into its initiatives for 2019, this annual report sets out important guidance for private fund managers in…

Proskauer’s Private Investment Funds Group today released its 2018 Annual Review and Outlook for Hedge Funds, Private Equity Funds and Other Private Funds.  This yearly publication provides a summary of some of the significant changes and developments that occurred in the past year in the private equity and hedge…

Fund managers take note – after over a year of warning, this month the SEC announced a pair of settlement orders with respect to registration requirements for a fund and broker dealer operating in the crypto and digital assets space. It was the agency’s first ever enforcement actions applying the investment company and broker-dealer registration provisions of the securities laws to businesses involved in digital securities. As we’ve written on Proskauer’s Blockchain and the Law blog, we expect to see the SEC continue to expand its oversight of digital assets as securities.

Last week, former CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler explained in remarks at M.I.T. that he believes the second and third most widely used virtual currencies—Ether and Ripple—may have been issued and traded in violation of securities regulations. This comes on the heels of a crackdown on cryptocurrency-related securities by the SEC, which is particularly focused on initial coin offerings (ICOs). For fund managers, we believe the increased regulatory pressure will be felt in some expected, and some not-so-expected, ways. 

In his recent remarks at the Securities Regulation Institute, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton had some stern words for market professionals, especially lawyers, involved in initial coin offerings (ICOs).  He expressed concern that lawyers in the space “can do better” in their role as gatekeepers to the securities markets, particularly in advising clients whether the “coin” being offered is a security requiring registration.

Last night, the SEC announced its enforcement results for the Fiscal Year 2017, accompanied by a report from the Co-Directors of its Division of Enforcement.  While the total number of actions was down slightly from 2016, the percentage of those cases involving investment advisers or investment companies –…