MFDF News Feed

July 17, 2025

Morningstar highlights the landscape, flows, performance, and cost of semiliquid funds. The report details the expansion of private credit and highlights certain investors demand for greater returns, while also emphasizing the noteworthy risk associated with less liquid assets.

July 16, 2025

According to a Ropes & Gray client alert, the outcome of the Supreme Court case “will have broad implications for registered funds governed by the ICA (including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and closed-end funds), as the litigation door opened by the Second Circuit risks upending the long-established regulatory structure that is the fund industry’s bedrock.”

July 15, 2025

Morgan Lewis partners Elizabeth Herrington, James Nelson, Rishi Satia, Jaclyn Unis Whittaker, and Ezra Church plan to touch on current investigations by state attorneys general regulatory considerations, and other additional topics.

July 14, 2025

Donohue notes the responsibilities that fund officers and directors have under state law as well as the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, which can help to guide the management of potential conflicts relating to financial interests, personal interests, conflicting obligations or family interests.

July 10, 2025

Ropes & Gray partner Paulita Pike will highlight the top ETF conversion issues that fund boards should consider in their oversight roles.

July 9, 2025

Brian McCabe, partner at Ropes & Gray, will share updates and insights on key takeaways for boards to consider in mergers and acquisitions as well as consolidations in the asset management industry.

July 8, 2025

Mutual fund boards, hopefully, never will have to face Enron-like debacles or Kodak’s missed opportunities, however the essential lessons in Adapt or Fail may help boards improve their effectiveness in fund oversight, decision-making and governance. The authors are governance experts and adjunct professors with decades of experience in leadership.

July 7, 2025

EY's Amy Snyder, tax principal in EY's Asset Management practice, and Lisa Wolski, managing director of EY's Washington Council, will provide tax policy updates for boards of registered investment companies as well as an overview of the budget reconciliation package and potential impact on the fund industry.

July 3, 2025

Under Chair Atkins’ leadership, the Enforcement Division is likely to turn its focus to the “historical core mission” of the SEC, including investor protection (particularly vulnerable populations like seniors), while also focusing on classic fraud, market manipulation, and cases involving a breach of fiduciary duty.

July 2, 2025

MFDF Chair Buddy Donohue notes that accountants serving the fund industry may be faced with pressures relating to fee structures, cross-selling of services, and/or client retention that could impact their independence or judgment. Fund directors should remain mindful of the watchdog function that accountants perform and inquire about internal controls, as well as how any existing or potential conflicts are identified and mitigated.

July 1, 2025

The SEC has recently replaced its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit with the newly formed Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (CETU). This reorganization is in alignment with the SEC’s shift towards prioritizing enforcement actions involving fraud and misconduct relating to emerging technologies, particularly to the extent that they impact retail investors.

June 30, 2025

In the podcast, Carolyn McPhillips the President of MFDF, highlights the responsibilities of fund directors and outlines their duties with respect to the fund and the advisor, including fees, performance, and conflicts of interest, among others. Carolyn further highlights the rise of alternative assets in retail products and how fund directors may become more crucial as products become more complicated.

June 26, 2025

The SEC has recently eliminated its long-standing limit on investments in private funds by retail closed-end funds and business development companies. This shift is in alignment with the SEC’s stated goals of promoting financial innovation and expanding retail access to private markets.

June 25, 2025

The program will include conversations on ETF share class applications, closed-end funds, retailization of alternative strategies, and a litigation update.

June 24, 2025

The SEC formally withdrew 14 rule proposals issued under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, spanning the areas of cybersecurity/technology, digital assets, market fairness and ESG. Most directly applicable to fund boards are the proposed rules on Cybersecurity Risk Management for Advisers and Funds and Enhanced ESG Disclosures for Investment Advisers and Funds.

June 23, 2025

Mike Pappacena, Partner at ACA Group, and John de Freitas, Director at ACA Group, will walk through real-word scenarios and best practices in AI risk management, improve vendor due diligence, and elaborate on ways to reduce AI risk exposure.

June 18, 2025

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that Natasha Vij Greiner, Director of the Division of Investment Management, would be stepping down effective July 4. On June 13, Chairman Atkins announced Brian Daly would be leading the Division of Investment Management effective July 8.

June 17, 2025

Tom Westle, a partner at BlankRome, will discuss fund director independence and the factors required to meet SEC's requirements for registered investment companies.

June 16, 2025

Key concepts, terminology, mechanics of the process, roles and responsibilities of borrowers and lenders, and requirements specific to mutual funds in the security lending market will be covered in the webinar.

June 12, 2025

The amendments from May 29, instead require the advisor to provide an assessment to the board of the breached thresholds and then provide remediation recommendations for the board to consider. Additionally, the revised application removes some of the prescriptive information that the board would have to be given in what appears to be an attempt to better equip the board to exercise its oversight rather than management.