MFDF News Feed

September 30, 2026

In a statement supporting the relief SEC Chair Paul Atkins stated “the Securities and Exchange Commission is taking a significant step forward, within its statutory authority, to bring America’s capital markets into the digital age by facilitating onchain trading of certain tokenized stocks through the ‘Innovation Exemption...”

September 29, 2026

The K&L team plan to discuss the trends, business considerations, and lessons emerging from today's retailization landscape. Understanding developments in this area will be key as managers look to expand access to private market strategies and sponsors are increasingly evaluating interval funds, tender offer funds, and BDCs as pathways to the private markets.

September 28, 2026

Panelists from Morgan Lewis will examine the latest legislative and regulatory developments, their implications for financial institutions, fintech companies, and gaming businesses, and what organizations should expect as new rules are implemented.

September 24, 2026

The ACA survey report states that 80% of firms have now formally adopted AI tools and 86% of respondents have acceptable use policies for those AI tools. Furthermore, 86% of survey respondents maintain an inventory of AI tools used by their firm.

September 23, 2026

The proposal would change registration and annual reporting requirements for transfer agents, modernize current rules in light of technological advancements, and establish new requirements related to turnaround, risk management, and inactive securityholders, among other changes.

September 22, 2026

MFDF’s letter applauds the SEC’s efforts to modernize shareholder communications by allowing funds the choice to communicate virtually all disclosure materials to their shareholders electronically, absent the affirmative choice of a shareholder to opt out of electronic disclosure.

September 21, 2026

364 new independent directors were appointed to S&P 500 boards in 2026 — the lowest number of new directors since 2016. Board diversity held steady in 2026; 49% of S&P 500 directors identify as diverse, as defined by the former Nasdaq Board Diversity Rule, down marginally from 49.6% in 2025 to 49.3%.

September 17, 2026

Among several practice points and recommendations, the Fried Frank attorneys stated that companies should monitor the evolution of the law in this area as more cases are decided and inform and train directors, management, and employees with respect to AI use on legal-related matters and issues. 

September 16, 2026

The report highlights that in April 2026, “sponsors filed registration statements with the SEC for additional prediction market ETFs on other topics such as the price of cryptocurrencies and oil next year and whether there will be a recession in the future, and ETFs investing in contracts related to sports outcomes are also in registration.”

September 15, 2026

In a statement supporting the proposal, SEC Chair Paul Atkins noted “the proposed rules include tailored offering exemptions, as well as a safe harbor that would provide clarity for issuers, investors and other market participants as to when the related investment contract ceases to exist.” He also emphasized that while the proposal is a step toward clarity, “legislation remains indispensable to enacting “future-proofed” rules of the road that are durable enough to protect the work we are undertaking today from being unwound by a future rogue regulator.”

September 14, 2026

The panel discussion will explore how boards can better understand quantum risk, strengthen oversight, and prepare their organizations for a future that may arrive sooner than expected. Key discussion topics will include a changing risk environment, potential governance gaps, and board preparedness.

September 10, 2026

In this webinar, moderated by IAA President & CEO Karen Barr, authors Jon Fulkerson and Timothy B. Riley will discuss the study’s methodology and review its findings. The study argues that the SPIVA U.S. Scorecard “consistently and substantially” understates the performance of actively managed funds due to certain “empirical choices” in its methodology.

September 9, 2026

In late July, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Investment Management issued a no-action relief letter to an industry trade association confirming that the Commission staff would not recommend an enforcement action against an ETF issuer that exceeds its disclosed industry concentration policy so long as certain conditions are met.

September 8, 2026

Barrington Partners will share key insights from its latest Intermediary Fee Survey to help independent directors understand how current market trends may inform effective fee oversight.

September 3, 2026

Stradley partners Jamie Gershkow and Jesse Kanach will outline practical frameworks to help independent fund directors understand the fundamentals of tokenization and key considerations related to oversight of tokenized products.

September 2, 2026

MFDF’s comment letter encouraged the Commission to better delineate what types of traded vehicles are eligible for RIC status under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and which fall under other regulatory schemes. Clarity for investors also would be enhanced by limiting the vehicles that can call themselves “ETFs” only to funds that are registered under the Investment Company Act.

September 1, 2026

The program will provide an overview of Section 351 exchanges, which allow investors to contribute diversified assets into a newly formed ETF.

August 27, 2026

K&L partners Thoreau Bartmann, Jennifer Klass, Pablo Man, and Fatima Sulaiman, will provide the fund director community practical guidance on how board members might use AI appropriately, while navigating both obvious pitfalls — like hallucinations and quality concerns — and subtler risks around confidentiality, legal privilege, and recordkeeping.

August 26, 2026

The survey found, for example, that 42% and 47% of respondents across private and public companies, respectively, reported that their companies do not expressly support AI/GenAI use in board and committee work; 25% at public companies responded that use of AI/Gen AI was permitted but no standardized tools were provided by management; and 8% at public companies responded that company-sanctioned tools were available for board/committee work.

August 25, 2026

In July, at a meeting of the Wall Street Tax Association, IRS and Treasury officials discussed transactions involving ETFs, particularly the tax treatment of those transactions that take advantage of section 852(b)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). During the discussion, Treasury and IRS officials encouraged industry participants to provide input about these transactions.