Ropes & Gray's memorandum summarizing the 2015 ICI Mutual Funds and Investment Management Conference sponsored by the ICI and the FBA is available here. The Conference included sessions that discussed the following regulatory developments, among others:
- Near-term initiatives of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") include potentially bringing one or more enforcement actions in connection with its "distribution in guise" sweep examination, compiling additional research regarding the impact of exchange traded funds on the financial stability of the markets, and issuing a set of FAQs regarding money market fund reform.
- The Department of Labor is expected to reissue proposed regulations in the coming months that are expected to redefine and significantly expand the categories of persons treated as "fiduciaries" under ERISA, potentially including advisers to ERISA plans.
- U.S. regulators are expected to issue rules regarding mandatory minimum margin requirements for un-cleared swaps.
- The current priorities of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations include payments to financial intermediaries by mutual funds and their sponsors, "alternative" mutual funds (with a focus on liquidity, leverage and procedures and controls), fixed income funds (with a focus on liquidity, stress testing and related board oversight), and cybersecurity.
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