SEC Archives - Page 8 of 20 - Americans for Financial Reform

Letter to Regulators: SEC Should Withdraw Proposed “Finders” Exemption to Broker-Dealer Regulation

By creating a blanket exemption for a broadly defined group of “finders” to effectively act as solicitors and brokers in private investment markets without being subject to any of the requirements on registered broker-dealers as regards disclosure, qualifications, obligations to customers, pricing, record-keeping, business conduct, financial resources, or compliance with FINRA rules, the Commission would abrogate its responsibilities to protect investors and to maintain fair and orderly markets.

Policy Memo: SPAC-tacular for Wall Street, For the Rest of Us, Less So

The folk legend Robin Hood was, as every child knows, the legendary outlaw who robbed from the rich to give to the poor. But in a reincarnation of a long-running Wall Street scheme, it is the wily financiers who rob from the ordinary folk holding investment accounts at Robinhood.

Letter to Regulator: Letter to the SEC Cautioning Against Raising Quarterly Investor Reporting Thresholds by Thirty-Five Times

The Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund is strongly urging the SEC against raising the quarterly reporting requirements for institutional investors 35-fold that would take away up to 90% of the existing reporting that is vital to market participants and researchers alike.

Statement: Statement on SEC Rule on Shareholder Proposals

With this new rule, the SEC is undermining the ability of investors to use the shareholder proposal process to call companies to task on their failures to behave responsibly. Now, it will be much more expensive for small investors to submit shareholder proposals. It will be harder for them to resubmit proposals — a frequent practice — because of higher resubmission thresholds. It’s a gift of new power to irresponsible management and a blow to the cause of corporate accountability.

News Release: SEC Must Go Further to Improve Pandemic-Related Risk Disclosures

The SEC has released new guidance on corporate disclosures in light of COVID, which includes a recommendation that companies disclose more information about health and safety policies. We see this as a positive first step toward requiring the disclosures requested in a letter sent to the SEC last week by Americans for Financial Reform and nearly 100 other organizations.

Wall Street sign and a stoplight turned red - Photo by Roberto Júnior on Unsplash

Statement: SEC Exams Show Private Fund Managers Overcharge Investors

The problems the SEC identified include fund managers’ failure to make full and fair disclosure of conflicts of interest, charging improper fees, and failure to implement policies to prevent staff from trading on material non-public information. In other words, the SEC’s examinations have shown that private equity and hedge fund managers are consistently engaged in self-dealing and overcharging investors, like pension funds that provide for the retirement security of millions of Americans.

News Release: SEC Should Mandate Disclosures on COVID-19 Risks and Responses

The Securities and Exchange Commission should create new disclosure requirements that would allow investors to analyze how companies are acting to protect workers, prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, and responsibly use any federal aid they receive, according to a letter signed by more than 98 investors, state treasurers, public interest groups, labor unions, asset managers and securities law experts.

Letter to Regulators: Don’t Fuel the Growth of Non-Transparent, Unaccountable Private Markets

AFR Education Fund sent the letter below to the Securities and Exchange Commission opposing changes to rules governing how corporations can raise investment capital. These rules would make it easier for companies to raise capital without doing basic disclosures about their business or following other

Letter to Regulators: AFR Ed Fund urges SEC to withdraw misguided proposed rules on proxy advisors and resubmission thresholds for shareholder proposals

Read or download the full PDF version of the letter. The AFR Education Fund sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission opposing proposed changes to rules concerning proxy voting advisors and resubmission thresholds for shareholder proposals. Taken together, the changes will dramatically reduce

Joint Letter: Coalition Urges Intuit to Reject Proposal on Forced Shareholder Arbitration

The measure, which is scheduled for a vote at the company’s annual meeting next week, would block investors harmed by securities fraud or other corporate legal violations from bringing their claims as a class in a court of law, before a judge and jury. This would effectively end most shareholders’ ability to recover their losses in such cases, as they cannot affordably be brought individually in arbitration by any but the very largest institutional investors.