Capital Solutions: Five Surprising Takeaways

Healthcare M&A activity maintained steady momentum through Q2 2026, driven by physician practice consolidation, AI-enabled technology acquisitions, and strategic outpatient expansion. Private equity investment persisted despite intensifying regulatory scrutiny of MSO arrangements, while digital health buyers paid significant premiums for platforms demonstrating production-grade AI capabilities and proprietary data assets.

The SEC and CFTC have fundamentally shifted their enforcement approach in 2026, moving away from high-volume technical violations toward targeted actions addressing serious fraud and market manipulation. This mid-year update examines new leadership priorities, enhanced inter-agency coordination, revised cooperation policies, the elimination of "no-deny" settlement provisions, and a landmark Supreme Court ruling on disgorgement that collectively reshape the regulatory landscape for market participants.

On 30 September 2026, the SEC proposed rule amendments advancing Chairman Paul S. Atkins’ “responsible retailization” of private markets, expanding retail access to private-market strategies while adding key investor safeguards.

As we look ahead to 2025, the landscape of debt financing and M&A activity is poised for significant transformation.

Since its establishment by executive order by President Ford in 1975, the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, popularly referred to as "CFIUS," has monitored national security...

What Every Owner Needs to Know Before Signing on the Dotted Line

Law firms are one of the last major professional services segments without meaningful private equity (PE) penetration.

Simpson Thacher Sustainability And ESG: Regulatory Update – September 2026

The European Union's Cyber Resilience Act introduces mandatory cybersecurity requirements for software and connected hardware sold in the EU market, with vulnerability reporting obligations beginning September 2026...

SEC-registered investment advisers are subject to an array of reporting and compliance obligations in order to maintain registered investment adviser status.

On July 22, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) adopted a Third Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (covered separately here) in which the Commission advances its ongoing efforts to secure the U.S.

President Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, introducing unprecedented tariff authority that could impose duties up to 100% on goods from countries purchasing Russian energy or facilitating sanctions evasion. The legislation creates a novel framework where tariffs stack on top of existing duties while codifying Russia sanctions into statute...

On September 16, 2026, President Trump issued a presidential memorandum titled “Restoring Reciprocity in Government Procurement”, directing the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the United States Trade Representative, in coordination with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, to identify and take legally permitted steps to remove or restrict Canadian-origin items across the federal civil procurement system.

California's Legislature has unanimously passed SB 690, a landmark reform that could eliminate thousands of pending class action lawsuits based on website tracking technologies under the California Invasion of Privacy Act. The bill removes the private right of action for pen register claims arising from routine web analytics tools, potentially reshaping the data privacy litigation landscape while companion bills simultaneously expand substantive privacy obligations.

The European Union’s (EU) revamped sustainability reporting framework is now final. On September 21, 2026, the revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and a new Voluntary European Sustainability Reporting Standard (VS) were published in the Official Journal, marking yet another significant step toward more proportionate sustainability reporting in Europe. In addition to previously raising applicable financial thresholds triggering compliance under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the revised ESRS cut mandatory datapoints for in-scope companies (i.e., undertakings under CSRD) by more than 60% and total datapoints by more than 70%.

The SEC's Division of Examinations has identified six critical areas where investment advisers commonly fall short in their annual compliance reviews, from timing failures to inadequate documentation and unimplemented corrective actions. Understanding these deficiencies is essential for advisers seeking to strengthen their compliance infrastructure and avoid examination risks.

On September 30, 2026, Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee Chair Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) unveiled the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (BAAJA; S. 5653), a comprehensive permitting reform package aimed at accelerating approvals for energy, infrastructure, transmission, mining, manufacturing, and other major projects. The legislation represents the most significant bipartisan permitting reform effort in years and follows months of negotiations between Senate Republicans and Democrats.

On August 25, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or the Department) announced a $21.5 million settlement with Deloitte LLP and four affiliated entities (collectively, Deloitte), marking the second False Claims Act (FCA) settlement under the Department’s Civil Rights Fraud Initiative launched in May 2025.

The SEC Staff has issued new guidance addressing valuation challenges for private credit and other private assets held by public companies and registered investment companies. The statement emphasizes the need for robust valuation policies, market-based assumptions, and transparent disclosure practices as the private credit market continues to expand. Investment advisers managing private funds should carefully consider how these principles apply to their own valuation procedures and investor communications.

Over the last decade, investigation timelines for transactions subject to Second Requests soared. Before 2015, the average timelines for Second Request investigation regularly fell under eight months. By 2025, that average had climbed to over 12 months. Of course, these average timelines only cover time before the agency decides whether to challenge a transaction. For transactions subject to a complaint, the clock ran longer. And as dealmakers know, time is often the enemy of closing.