Mutual Fund Minute

Are state-chartered trust companies "banks" that can custody digital assets for investment advisers and funds? In this episode of Mutual Fund Minute , Sidley Investment Funds partner Chuck Daly and host Jay Baris examine SEC staff guidance interpreting the definition of a "bank" in the Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act. Tune in to find out what the guidance...

In this episode of Mutual Fund Minute , Sidley Investment Funds partner Matthew Kutner joins host Jay Baris to tell you what you need to know about regulatory developments that will allow mutual funds to issue ETF share classes. Matt and Jay explore what ETF share classes are, how they work, potential risks for investment advisers and fund directors, how ETF share classes could transform fund inve...

In this episode of Mutual Fund Minute , Leonard Ng, head of the firm’s UK/EU Financial Services Regulatory group, joins host Jay Baris to discuss developments in asset management in the UK and EU. Jay and Leonard discuss how the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority hopes to make the UK more competitive with the EU in the post-Brexit environment.

In this episode of Mutual Fund Minute , Nathan Greene, Sidley partner and leading regulatory lawyer , joins host Jay Baris to discuss how the Securities and Exchange Commission eased restrictions on co-investments involving closed-end funds and business development companies (BDCs). Jay and Nathan discuss how the SEC’s action changes the regulatory landscape for these funds by providing more flexi...

In this episode of Mutual Fund Minute , Paul Cellupica, the General Counsel of the Investment Company Institute, and host Jay Baris continue to analyze the ICI’s proposals to revisit the Investment Company Act of 1940.  They discuss the “retailization” phenomenon, revising the annual shareholder meeting requirement for closed-end funds, easing restrictions on co-investments among affiliated funds,...

In this episode of Mutual Fund Minute ,  Paul Cellupica, the General Counsel of the Investment Company Institute, joins Sidley’s Jay Baris to discuss the ICI’s proposals to modernize the Investment Company Act of 1940.  The ICI’s report, called “Reimagining the 1940 Act: Key Recommendations for Innovation and Investor Protection,” outlines specific proposals to modernize regulations governing mutu...

This week on Mutual Fund Minute , Sidley partner Jay Baris continues his conversation with William Long, the global co-chair of Sidley’s Privacy and Cybersecurity practice who also heads Sidley’s EU Data Protection group. Together, they discuss the application of AI and related risks involving investment managers arising out of the EU’s AI Act.  This episode is part of an ongoing Mutual Fund Minut...

This week on Mutual Fund Minute , Sidley partner Jay Baris talks with William Long,  the global co-chair of Sidley’s Privacy and Cybersecurity practice who also heads Sidley’s EU Data Protection group. William summarizes the world’s first artificial intelligence adopted by the European Union and its implications in Europe and the U.S.  This episode is part of an ongoing Mutual Fund Minute series f...

This week on Mutual Fund Minute , Sidley partner Jay Baris and Carolyn McPhillips, President at the Mutual Fund Directors Forum, continue celebrating the 100th anniversary of the American mutual fund. Carolyn shares her views on the oversight by fund directors, the SEC’s proposed mandatory swing pricing rule, issues relating to fund chief compliance officers, and the role that artificial intellige...

This week on Mutual Fund Minute , Carolyn McPhillips, President at the Mutual Fund Directors Forum, joins Sidley partner Jay Baris to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the American mutual fund.

This week on Mutual Fund Minute , Jay Baris continues his conversation about the growing interest in artificial intelligence for investment managers with Sidley’s Hardy Callcott and Nathan Greene. Hardy is a San Francisco-based partner in Sidley’s Securities Enforcement and Regulatory practice who focuses on securities and regulatory issues for broker-dealers, investment advisers, and mutual funds...

This week on Mutual Fund Minute , Jay Baris talks about the growing interest in artificial intelligence with Sidley’s Hardy Callcott and Nathan Greene. Hardy is a San Francisco-based partner in Sidley’s Securities Enforcement and Regulatory practice who focuses on securities and regulatory issues for broker-dealers, investment advisers, and mutual funds. Nathan, based in New York, heads Sidley’s R...

In this episode of the Mutual Fund Minute , Sidley partner Jay Baris and Eric Pan, President and CEO of the Investment Company Institute, celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first American mutual fund. Eric shares his views on topics, including the SEC’s regulatory agenda, the role of AI in asset management, and ideas to modernize the Investment Company Act of 1940. Part 2 of 2 episodes.

In this episode of the Mutual Fund Minute , Sidley partner Jay Baris and Eric Pan, President and CEO of the Investment Company Institute, celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first American mutual fund. Eric shares his views on the challenges that funds, independent directors, and investors face in the current regulatory environment. Part 1 of 2 episodes. 

In this episode of Mutual Fund Minute , host and Sidley partner, Jay Baris, and Leonard Ng, head of Sidley's UK/EU Financial Services Regulatory group, discuss fund regulation in the United Kingdom and the European Union in a post-Brexit world.

SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce sat down with Sidley partner Jay Baris to share her views on a wide range of topics concerning mutual funds and investment management. In this episode of the Mutual Fund Minute, Commissioner Peirce discusses the SEC’s proposed safeguarding rule, the Supreme Court’s Howey test, CCO liability and the future of crypto regulation, regulation of non-bank financial inst...

SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce met with Sidley partner Jay Baris in Washington, D.C. to share her views on a wide range of topics concerning mutual funds and investment management. In this episode of the Mutual Fund Minute, Commissioner Peirce discusses the SEC’s approval of 11 exchange-traded products that will trade in bitcoin, the SEC’s regulatory agenda, proposed rules regulating predictive...

Are you now a securities dealer? The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) blurred the distinction between who is an investor or mere trader and who is a “dealer” for purposes of the Federal Securities Laws when it adopted final rules on February 6, 2024, defining activities that require someone to register as a “dealer” or a “government securities dealer.” By a 3-to-2 vote, the SEC approved ru...

A divided U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cautiously heralded a new crypto era, on January 10, 2024, when it approved by a 3 to 2 vote multiple exchange-traded products that invest directly in bitcoin for listing and trading. To get to this point, the Commission followed a long and rocky road. While the Commission’s approval was a cause for celebration in crypto world, and, of course, with...

On Halloween 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor spooked the investment adviser world when it proposed rules that would redefine who is a fiduciary when someone provides investment advice for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act of 1974 (ERISA).  If adopted as proposed, these rules would greatly expand the categories of investment advice that would be subject to ERISA’s fiducia...

The Financial Stability Board, or FSB, is laser-focused on money market funds, mutual funds, and private funds. Specifically, the FSB is concerned that leverage in these funds and other so-called nonbank financial institutions could lead to market volatility, and, worse, could destabilize the global financial system.  In this episode of the Mutual Fund Minute , host and Sidley partner Jay Baris is...

Why me? And why now? That is usually the first thing an investment adviser asks when the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations comes knocking on the door. Understanding why the SEC chooses advisers for examinations at any given time could help the adviser better prepare for the inevitable. In this episode of the Mutual Fund Minute, host and Sidley partner Jay Baris speaks w...

Naming a registered investment company will become more challenging now that the Securities and Exchange Commission has significantly broadened the scope of the rule governing fund names. Moreover, the SEC estimates that when the Names Rule goes into effect, three out of four registered funds will be subject to the new requirements. In this episode of the Mutual Fund Minute , host and Sidley partn...

Federal regulators propose to make it easier to designate a nonbank financial company as a systemically important financial institution that could threaten the financial stability of the economy if it were to fail. In this episode of the Mutual Fund Minute , host and Sidley partner Jay Baris speaks with Joel Feinberg – co-leader of Sidley’s Banking and Financial Services practice, head of the firm...

The recent collapse of several high-profile banks has amplified concerns among money managers and fund directors about counterparty risk. What should advisers and fund directors know about counterparty risk? How can they identify and manage the potential pitfalls, while simultaneously satisfying their oversight responsibilities? In this episode of the Mutual Fund Minute , host and Sidley partner J...