Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized Issue 10 2023

Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized | Issue 10 | 2023 13 QUICK LINKS CBDC DIVERSITY & INCLUSION FINTECH FUND LIQUIDITY OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE SUSTAINABLEFINANCE/ESG ASIA EUROPE LUXEMBOURG NORTH AMERICA UNITED KINGDOM The SEC last updated its Privacy Act rules in 2011. The revisions will codify current practices for processing requests made by the public under the Privacy Act. This provides greater clarity regarding the SEC’s process for how individuals can access information pertaining to themselves. Due to the scope of the revisions, the final rule replaces the SEC’s current Privacy Act regulations in their entirety. The final rule is published on SEC.gov and will be published in the Federal Register. The final rule becomes effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. Link to Proposed Rule here Link to Statement by SEC Chair Gary Gensler here SEC Adopts Rule Enhancements to Prevent Misleading or Deceptive Investment Fund Names On 20 September 2023 the SEC adopted amendments to the Investment Company Act “Names Rule,” which addresses fund names that are likely to mislead investors about a fund’s investments and risks. The amendments modernise and enhance the Names Rule and other names- related regulatory requirements to further the SEC’s investor protection goals and to address developments in the fund industry in the approximately 20 years since the rule was adopted. Typically, a fund’s name is the first piece of information that investors receive about a fund, and fund names offer important signalling for investors in assessing their investment options. The Names Rule currently requires registered investment companies whose names suggest a focus in a particular type of investment to adopt a policy to invest at least 80% of the value of their assets in those investments (an “80% investment policy”). The amendments to the Names Rule will enhance the rule’s protections by requiring more funds to adopt an 80% investment policy, including funds with names suggesting a focus in investments with particular characteristics, for example, terms such as “growth” or “value,” or certain terms that reference a thematic investment focus. The amendments will also include a new requirement that a fund review its portfolio assets’ treatment under its 80% investment policy at least quarterly and will include specific time frames – generally 90 days – for getting back into compliance if a fund departs from its 80% investment policy. The amendments will include enhanced prospectus disclosure requirements for terminology used in fund names, including a requirement that any terms used in the fund’s name that suggest an investment focus must be consistent with those terms’ plain English meaning or established industry use. The amendments will also include additional reporting and recordkeeping requirements for funds regarding compliance with the names-related regulatory requirements. The amendments will become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Fund groups with net assets of $1 billion or more will have 24 months to comply with the amendments, and fund groups with net assets of less than $1 billion will have 30 months to comply. Link to Final Rule here Link to Fact Sheet here Link to Statement by SEC Chair Gary Gensler here Link to Statement by SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce here Link to Statement by SEC Commissioner Jaime Lizarraga here Link to Statement by SEC Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda here Link to Statement by SEC Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw here