SEC’s Office of the Investor Advocate to Hold Evidence Summit, Launch Investor Research Initiative

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Investor Advocate today announced it will host an Evidence Summit to discuss strategies for raising retail investors’ understanding of key investment characteristics such as fees, risks, returns, and conflicts of interest. The March 10 Evidence Summit will mark the official launch of the SEC’s new investor research initiative led by the SEC’s Office of the Investor Advocate, dubbed ‘POSITIER’, also known as Policy Oriented Stakeholder and Investor Testing for Innovative and Effective Regulation. POSITIER seeks to inform the rulemaking process with evidence obtained from surveys and specific testing projects. Under this initiative, the SEC’s Office of the Investor Advocate has launched a specific study program to examine the to... Read More

SEC Posts Notice of Availability of IFRS Taxonomy

The Securities and Exchange Commission today published a taxonomy on its website so that foreign private issuers that prepare their financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) may submit those reports using XBRL. XBRL is a machine readable data format that allows investors and other data users to more easily access, analyze and compare financial information across reporting periods and across companies. Foreign private issuers that prepare their financial statements in accordance with IFRS as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board may begin immediately to submit their financial statements in XBRL.  Otherwise, all such foreign private issuers must submit their financial statements in XBRL for fiscal periods ending on or af... Read More

SEC Proposes Rule Amendments to Improve Municipal Securities Disclosures

The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted to propose rule amendments to improve investor protection and enhance transparency in the municipal securities market. 

Rule 15c2-12 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers that are acting as underwriters in primary offerings of municipal securities subject to the Rule, to reasonably determine, among other things, that the issuer or obligated person has agreed to provide to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) timely notice of certain events.  The amendments proposed by the SEC today would add two new event notices:

- Incurrence of a financial obligation of the issuer or obligated person, if material, or ag... Read More

SEC Proposes Inline XBRL Filing of Tagged Data

The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted to propose amendments intended to improve the quality and accessibility of data submitted by public companies and mutual funds using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). The proposals would require the use of Inline XBRL, which has the potential to benefit investors and other market participants while decreasing, over time, the cost of preparing information for submission to the SEC.  The recommendations are part of the SEC’s disclosure modernization initiative. “While XBRL technology has made disclosures easier to access for investors, there are legitimate concerns about the burdens smaller companies face when preparing their filings,” said SEC Acting Chairman Michael Piwowar. “Today, the SEC is asking comment on a way ... Read More

SEC Approves Rules to Ease Investor Access to Exhibits in Company Filings

The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted to adopt rule and form amendments to make it easier for investors and other market participants to find and access exhibits in registration statements and periodic reports that were originally provided in previous filings. The amendments will require issuers to include a hyperlink to each exhibit in the filing’s exhibit index.  Currently, someone seeking to retrieve and access an exhibit that has been incorporated by reference must review the exhibit index to determine the filing in which the exhibit is included, and then must search through the registrant’s filings to locate the relevant filing. “As the SEC looks for new ways to modernize financial disclosures, one of the easiest things we can do is add hyperlinks that automatica... Read More

SEC Votes to Seek Public Input on Possible Change to Industry Guide 3

The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted to publish a request for public comment on disclosures called for by Industry Guide 3 - Statistical Disclosure by Bank Holding Companies. Specifically, the Commission is soliciting public input on whether Guide 3 continues to elicit the information that investors need for informed investment and voting decisions.  The Commission also seeks comment on whether there are new types of disclosures about the activities of bank holding companies that investors would find important. “As an agency designed to serve the American people, it is imperative to constantly look back on the SEC’s rules and engage the public on ways to improve,” said SEC Acting Chairman Michael Piwowar. “Today, we are asking for public comment on whether Industry G... Read More

SEC Posts Notice of Availability of IFRS Taxonomy