Funds Talk: December 2017

Topics covered in this issue include:

• Tax Reform Bills Seek Largest Restructuring of Tax Code in More Than a Generation
  The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would overhaul the U.S. tax code, which could have significant effects on the investment management industry.  
  
  

• SEC Investor Advisory Committee Discusses Blockchain’s Effect on Markets
  SEC Chairman Jay Clayton recently discussed the SEC’s approach to applying securities law to technology-based offerings and the importance of developing a regulatory framework while still benefitting from new methods of raising capital.
  
  

• Trump Administration Issues Guidance on Asset Management and Insurance Regulation
  The Trump Administration released guidance, including a list of seven “core principles” underlying the Federal government’s regulatory efforts in the financial sector, that will have wide-ranging effects on various aspects of the asset management and insurance industries.
  
  
• Court of Appeals Ruling Eases the Way for Shareholders to Bring Derivative Suits Against Cayman Islands Companies in the New York Courts
  

  A recent decision from the New York Court of Appeals determined a Cayman Islands rule was procedural, not substantive. As a result, the rule does not apply to derivative actions brought in New York, removing a hurdle for shareholders of Cayman Islands-based firms.
  
  

• Interval Alts and Insurance-Linked Securities
  As natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires become more frequent, insurers are increasingly using alternative funds for risk protection, with benefits to both sponsors and clients.
  
  
• Replacing LIBOR in Indentures
  In July 2017, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), announced that it will discontinue the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) at the end of 2021. A phaseout of LIBOR will be a major undertaking raising many issues, including the treatment of existing floating rate indentures with maturities past 2021 and preparation of new indentures that will be executed prior to the phaseout of LIBOR.