Private Funds In Focus (Winter 2014)

On September 30, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued two rule proposals and five notices aimed at expanding investors’ access to private markets. The package would add ways to qualify as an accredited investor, including passing a new exam administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), broaden performance-based compensation and modernize regulated funds, including interval funds and business development companies (BDCs).

The SEC has approved new NYSE and NYSE American listing rules establishing a $0.25 minimum trading price, effective July 1, 2027. A single closing price below this threshold triggers immediate trading suspension and delisting proceedings with no cure period. Companies trading at low share prices must act now during the transition period to implement reverse stock splits and establish monitoring procedures before this hard floor takes effect.

The SEC and CFTC have issued coordinated regulatory relief measures that significantly advance crypto-based trading infrastructure in US markets, bypassing Congressional gridlock on the CLARITY Act. These orders establish new frameworks for tokenized securities venues and passive software providers, potentially reshaping how digital assets are traded and accessed in regulated markets.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, introducing two new exemptions from registration requirements and a safe harbor provision for investment contracts involving crypto assets. How will these tailored frameworks—the Startup Exemption for offerings up to $5M and the Fundraising Exemption for larger capital raises—reshape the regulatory landscape for digital asset issuers while preserving investor protections?

Moore & Van Allen's Derivatives & Trading team provides comprehensive analysis of recent CFTC and SEC enforcement actions, proposed regulations on crypto assets...

As AI infrastructure spending surges toward $697 billion in 2026, hyperscalers and compute providers are increasingly turning to debt, structured financing, and GPU-backed collateral to fund expansion. While demand projections remain bullish, a critical timing gap is emerging between capital deployment and cash flow generation, creating significant risks for lenders, sponsors, and operators across the ecosystem.

The SEC has issued a groundbreaking Innovation Exemption allowing tokenized securities venues to facilitate trading of tokenized NMS stocks using automated market makers and liquidity pools. This temporary five-year exemption from exchange and dealer registration requirements establishes conditions for permissioned blockchain-based trading while granting public companies a 30-day window to object to third-party tokenization of their securities.

On March 19, 2026, the federal banking agencies issued a package of proposed changes to the regulatory capital requirements for banking institutions of all sizes, from the largest GSIBs and super-regional banks to community banks (the “Proposed Rules”). This package of proposals is a second full attempt at implementing the 2017 “Basel III Endgame” international framework—following the agencies’ initial package of proposals in July 2023 (the “2023 NPR”)—to better reflect credit, trading and operational risk in the calculation of minimum regulatory capital ratios.

The Health Resources and Services Administration has announced a revised 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program for drugs subject to Medicare's Maximum Fair Price, expanding eligibility to manufacturers with selected drugs for 2026 and 2027. The program introduces new data requirements, dispute resolution mechanisms, and stricter compliance monitoring while addressing stakeholder concerns about administrative burden and program integrity.

Medicare Advantage faces unprecedented regulatory scrutiny as federal agencies deploy aggressive audit strategies, Congress investigates alleged fraud schemes, and courts challenge CMS's authority over payment structures.

On September 30, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued two rule proposals and five notices aimed at expanding investors’ access to private markets. The package would add ways to qualify as an accredited investor, including passing a new exam administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), broaden performance-based compensation and modernize regulated funds, including interval funds and business development companies (BDCs).

Medicare Advantage faces unprecedented regulatory scrutiny as federal agencies deploy aggressive audit strategies, Congress investigates alleged fraud schemes, and courts challenge CMS's authority over payment structures.

In a landmark decision, a nine judge bench of the Supreme Court of India ruled today that privacy is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution of India.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has withdrawn its controversial proposal to remove nine parts of longstanding Fair Labor Standards Act interpretive guidance from the Code of Federal Regulations. What does this reversal mean for employers who have relied on these decades-old interpretations, and how does the Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision reshape the legal weight of agency guidance going forward?

The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs has adopted its position on the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation reform, establishing key divergences with the European Commission and Council on professional investor exemptions and fossil fuel investment criteria. With trilogue negotiations set to begin in October 2026, private markets managers face critical decisions about how to position their funds under the new three-category framework expected to take effect in early 2029.

Recent California and federal court decisions address critical employment law issues including the extraterritorial application of California labor statutes, mass joinder in workplace harassment cases...

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected the NLRB's Tesla standard for evaluating workplace dress code policies, finding it fails to properly balance worker and employer interests. The court vacated the Board's decision against Starbucks and suggested a new three-factor test rooted in the traditional "special circumstances" framework.

The Department of Justice has operationalized its fraud-enforcement architecture through data analytics, targeting healthcare providers with multi-district strike forces, Medicare Advantage risk-adjustment actions, and accelerated qui tam review processes. How are federal and state agencies using publicly available data to drive False Claims Act enforcement, and what proactive steps should healthcare organizations take to identify and remediate potential exposure before becoming the focus of government atte

The August 2026 Section 7520 rate remains at 5.20% for estate planning techniques. Treasury Decision 10051 targets CRAT abuse schemes as listed transactions requiring disclosure. New guidance addresses Trump Account contributions, charitable LLC arrangements face IRS scrutiny, and Florida introduces streamlined trustee discharge procedures.

A California Court of Appeal examined whether an arbitration agreement signed during employee onboarding was enforceable when paired with a confidentiality agreement that created a one-sided dispute resolution structure. The court analyzed both procedural and substantive unconscionability, focusing on how the combined documents favored the employer's ability to litigate certain claims while forcing the employee into arbitration for wage-and-hour disputes.