Sutherland has issued a legal alert summarizing selected sessions from “The SEC Speaks in 2013.” SEC Speaks is an annual conference featuring the Commissioners and senior SEC Staff discussing the SEC’s accomplishments in 2012 and its agenda for 2013. The legal alert summarizes the remarks of the Commissioners and participants in several of the panel sessions and workshops. Topics concerning mutual funds included:
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ETFs. The Division of Investment Management staff discussed how ETFs are becoming increasingly specialized and how many have substantial investments in derivatives. The staff noted that they are still seeing boilerplate disclosures regarding derivatives. In addition, Trading and Markets Division staff said they remain focused on exchange-traded products as they increase in number and become more complex.
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Compliance Issues. Enforcement staff “expressed concern that mutual fund managers were chasing yield and not necessarily abiding by investment strategies. The Staff also noted that it had filed a number of cases in 2012 relating to valuation issues, fee arrangements, conflicts of interest, and oversight against mutual funds.”
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Money Market Funds. The Investment Management Division “is currently analyzing data to identify money market funds that are not in compliance with Rule 2a-7.”
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Alternative Mutual Funds. Exam staff will be looking at how alternative mutual funds “are marketed to investors, how they are described, whether there are adequate disclosures, and whether they are suitable for investors.”