Investment Company Act of 1940 Archives

On Nov. 2, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final rules to simplify the exempt offering framework. The SEC’s goal with these amendments was to “simplify, harmonize, and improve certain aspects of the exempt offering framework to promote capital formation while preserving or enhancing important investor protections.”. More Specifically they aimed to:

Address the ability of issuers to move from one exemption to another;
Set clear and consistent rules governing offering communications between investors and issuers;
Address potential gaps and inconsistencies in their rules relating to offering and investment limits; and
Harmonize certain disclosure requirements and bad actor disqualification provisions.

The SEC recently adopted a rule change to allow for the use of electronic signatures for documents filed with the Commission. This rule change will apply to Regulation S-T, EDGAR Filer Manual, and certain other filings under the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. This long-awaited rule change was finally put into effect after the rise of COVID-19 and after the Commission received a rule making petition regarding the use of electronic signatures as the pandemic made it significantly more difficult to obtain “wet” signatures, as was originally required by Rule 302(b). Besides adding the option to use electronic signatures, the existing requirements of Rule 302(b) will be otherwise unchanged.

Tag: Investment Company Act of 1940

SEC Rule to Simplify Exempt Offering Framework for Small Firms

SEC Rule to Allow for the Use Electronic Signatures