As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the SEC published the Chair's agenda of rulemaking actions identifying rules the agency "expects to consider in the next 12 months that are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities." The information in the agenda is current as of September 27, 2021.
The agenda includes individual agenda entries for the (i) Division of Corporate Finance, (ii) Division of Investment Management and (iii) Division of Trading and Markets. The individual agenda entries are divided by the proposed rule stage, final rule stage, long-term actions, and completed actions.
The proposed rule stage and the final rule stage for the Division of Corporate Finance include the following topics:
- Listing Standards for Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation (Proposed);
- Pay versus Performance (Proposed);
- Mandated Electronic Filings (Proposed);
- Rule 144 Holding Period and Form 144 Filings (Proposed);
- Universal Proxy (Final); and
- Filing Fee Disclosure and Payment Methods Modernization (Final).
The proposed and final rule stages for the Division of Investment Management are:
- Reporting of Proxy Votes on Executive Compensation and Other Matters (Proposed); and
- Tailored Shareholder Reports, Treatment of Annual Prospectus Updates for Existing Investors, and Improved Fee and Risk Disclosure for Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds; Fee Information in Investment Company Ads (Final).
The long-term actions for the Division of Investment Management include entries concerning separate amendments of the Custody Rules for Investment Advisers and for Investment Companies, as well as amendments to include Proxy Fund Rules.
Lastly, the agenda lists certain rules under the proposed rule stage for the Trading and Markets Division. The individual entry includes Removal of References to Credit Ratings from Regulation M.
Questions and public comments on the agenda and individual agenda entries are due by March 2, 2022.
Commentary Steven Lofchie
As a practical matter, this agenda is wholly outdated as the SEC has proposed a number of very major rules since September 21, including rules relating to securities lending, reports of proxy voting, expanded regulation of Alternative Trading Systems, employee compensation, and more.
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