Introduction In a statement with the Business Roundtable (BRT), 181 major American CEOs recently proclaimed their desire to serve a variety of stakeholder interests beyond merely those of shareholders.1 However, stakeholder maximization is nearly impossible today for public corporations due to the rise of activist hedge funds; such funds, which exercise unprecedented control over public…
Tag: securities regulation
Security Regulations: When in Rome, Use a Trebuchet
Thanks to the meticulous work of Pythagoras, humans have known for two and half millennia that a line is the shortest distance between two points.1 Despite this knowledge and a general desire for efficiency, societies have often failed to incorporate this principle into systems. Take, for example, last century BC Rome, home of the milliarium…
One Constant in a Series of Changes: State Courts Retain Jurisdiction over Securities Act Claims after Cyan v. Beaver County
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 brought about significant financial market reform. One of those reforms still in effect today is the Securities Act of 1933 (“1933 Act” or “the Act”). The Act aims to force companies offering public securities to provide “full and fair disclosure” of pertinent information.1 To foster compliance, it also provides…
Foreign-listed Chinese Tech Giants May Come Back to Home Stock Market Soon
A securities regulation reform is taking place in China. The Chinese regulators are trying to entice its foreign-listed tech giants back to the home stock exchanges—the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Many Chinese tech companies, such as Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu, have earned a place alongside the most powerful tech giants in the…
Green Finance to Fuel Sustainable Development
Nations around the world have taken action to address climate change. The Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 set goals for participating member states to reduce their impact on climate change and keep global temperatures below a certain threshold.1 Governments have enacted various regulations taking environmental effects into account, such as the Clean Air Act and…
New Insider Trading Law Means Little Hope for Defendants in Future Cases
A recent series of court decisions blurred the distinction between legal and illegal insider trading. These decisions will ultimately lead to worse outcomes for those charged with insider trading violations. What is insider trading? This conduct occurs when a person with access to non-public, material information takes that information and uses it to either buy…
Investment Modernization Act of 2016: Part 1 of 2
PART I: What Is The Investment Modernization Act of 2016? The Investment Modernization Act of 2016 is a bi-partisan bill that would amend the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 and update selected Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules to “modernize certain requirements relating to investment advisers.”1 The bill passed the House on September…
A Market of Milliseconds: Unraveling the Tangled Future of High-Frequency Trading
In an increasingly digital society, innovative technology that yields speed and efficiency can serve to spark industry-wide trends and influence future practice for years, even decades, thereafter. When Steve Jobs introduced the first iPod in 2001, for example, Apple earned worldwide acclaim and provoked an incredible proliferation of similar devices.1 What, then, can be made…