Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a new statistics and data visualization page that includes statistics and interactive graphics on key elements of the capital markets, based on the following...more
8/18/2025
/ Capital Markets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investors ,
Portal ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Conference Board recently reported that the number of Russell 3000 companies issuing sustainability reports in the first half of 2025 fell 52% compared to the first half of 2024. ...more
7/29/2025
/ Asia Pacific ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Investors ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Stock Exchange ,
Sustainability
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) controversial climate disclosure rules have been essentially dead since last March, when the SEC voted to end its defense of the rules. ...more
7/25/2025
/ Appeals ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Judicial Review ,
Pending Litigation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statutory Authority
Companies doing business in Texas and California should be aware of the following state law developments, which could affect them....more
7/21/2025
/ CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Legislation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Shareholders
The SEC is reportedly in discussions with Nasdaq and NYSE about ways to ease the burden of becoming—and remaining—a public company....more
On July 11, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance amended 18 Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations relating to Regulation 13D-G, which pertains to beneficial ownership reporting rules.
These amendments bring the...more
Keep in mind the following risk factor and MD&A considerations for upcoming Form 10-Q filings...more
7/15/2025
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Foreign Currency ,
Form 10-Q ,
International Trade ,
MD&A Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Management ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Policy ,
Tax Reform ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies
Petition for Rulemaking with Respect to Cybersecurity Incident Disclosure -
A group of financial services industry trade associations submitted a joint petition for rulemaking requesting that the SEC amend the...more
6/20/2025
/ Bitcoin ,
Crowdfunding ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Nasdaq ,
Petition for Rulemaking ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation A ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trade Associations
On May 19, 2025, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill No. 1057 (SB 1057) into law....more
5/21/2025
/ Business Entities ,
Commerce Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporations Code ,
Governor Abbott ,
Internal Affairs Doctrine ,
New Legislation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
On May 14, 2025, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the much-anticipated Senate Bill No. 29 (SB 29) into law....more
The New York Stock Exchange (Exchange) has recently adopted two rule changes, one to reduce fees for the initial period of a company’s listing on the Exchange and another to formally expand the universe of holders that will...more
The SEC recently approved Nasdaq’s proposed changes to the initial listing requirements related to liquidity. Nasdaq proposed to change Listing Rules 5405 and 5505 to...more
On April 24, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ordered that the litigation challenging the validity of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) climate disclosure rule be “held in abeyance pending...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the registration of the first U.S. “green” stock exchange—Green Impact Exchange (GIX)—with trading to begin in 2026....more
Acting SEC Chair Mark T. Uyeda outlined potential regulatory changes to make IPOs more attractive and to scale public company disclosures at the Florida Bar’s 41st Annual Federal Securities Institute and M&A Conference. ...more
On March 27, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to end its defense of the climate disclosure rules it adopted last year that would have required publicly traded companies disclose climate-related risks and...more
Welcome to the latest edition of Fenwick’s Securities Law Update. This issue contains updates and important reminders on...more
2/10/2025
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Nasdaq ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Activism
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as expected, has approved Nasdaq's recent proposal to remove the board diversity rule from its Listing Rules....more
Corporate governance practices vary significantly among public companies. This reflects many factors, including:
..Differences in their stage of development, including the relative importance placed on various business...more
Welcome to the latest edition of Fenwick’s Securities Law Update. This issue contains updates and important reminders on...more
1/2/2025
/ Benchmarks ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Nasdaq ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Transparency ,
Voting Shares
In August 2021, the SEC approved new board diversity rules requiring Nasdaq-listed companies (i) to include a board diversity matrix in their proxy statement or on their website and (ii) to disclose whether they have one...more
12/16/2024
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
LGBTQ ,
Minorities ,
Nasdaq ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Statutory Authority ,
Woman Board Members
Over the last five years, stockholder activism has undergone significant transformation, shaped by changing market conditions, regulatory developments, and evolving societal expectations. Activism has continued to spread...more
Welcome to the latest edition of Fenwick’s Securities Law Update....more
11/26/2024
/ Audit Committee ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Filing Requirements ,
Form 10-K ,
Glass Lewis ,
Independent Directors ,
PCAOB ,
Proxy Statements ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recently reported on trends in corporate political activity disclosures and related shareholder proposals over the past decade, noting that “[o]ver the past decade, shareholder...more
11/22/2024
/ Citizens United ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Lobbying ,
Political Contributions ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Transparency
Last Thursday, proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis released its 2025 Proxy Voting Policy Guidelines 2025 U.S. Benchmark Policy Guidelines, including guidelines for shareholder proposals and ESG-related issues. The guidelines...more
11/20/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Board of Directors ,
Change in Control ,
Corporate Governance ,
Executive Compensation ,
Glass Lewis ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Shareholder Proposals