What lies ahead for the global investment industry in 2025? From navigating the post-Tailored Shareholder Reports (TSR) world to charting new territories on AI — both alternative investments and artificial intelligence — to measuring the impact and influence of new global requirements, we can expect more change with greater momentum. In this article, Eric Johnson, DFIN’s president of Global Investment Companies, addresses the top questions facing fund and asset companies heading into 2025.

I recently had the opportunity to share my thoughts on leadership and investor relations in IR Update, a quarterly magazine published by the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI). As a CEO, I believe that strong Investor Relations (IR) is the cornerstone of success for publicly traded companies. IR is not just a function; it's the bridge connecting companies with the capital markets, ensuring that vision, strategy, and value proposition are clearly communicated.

The SEC has amended the 2001 fund “Names Rule” and the resulting changes likely affect a fund’s investment policy, disclosures and reporting obligations. The original rule addressed certain broad categories of investment company names that can mislead investors about the company’s investments and risks. The recent amendment significantly expands the scope of the original ruling.

Struggling with complex Annual Consolidated Financial Reports, (ACFR), Budgeting, and other reporting tasks? Cut through the tangle of financial reporting with effective government financial reporting software. Expect to find practical insights into cloud-based innovations and collaborative techniques that bring simplicity and precision to your ACFR, Budget and other reporting process, meeting the pressing demand for compliance and accuracy in financial and other disclosure.

Last Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 to adopt rules that make SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) deals similar to traditional IPOs. 

On June 5, 2024, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (Fifth Circuit) issued an opinion that vacated the SEC's Private Fund Adviser Rules, holding that the SEC exceeded its statutory authority in adopting the Rule. The SEC has several options:

Appealing to the Fifth Circuit 

DFIN CISO, Dannie Combs, talks with Katie Kuehner-Hebert of StrategicCIO360 about how IT professionals can best protect their organizations. 

In a Q&A, they discuss risk management strategies, how organizations can get better visibility into their data, why managing identities is such an important part of an organization’s cybersecurity strategy, and the latest data regulations companies need to be aware of.

As we reflect on 2023 and look toward 2024, it’s clear that the fintech industry is experiencing an unprecedented period of change in terms of regulatory proposals, technology and data. In this article, Eric Johnson, DFIN’s president of Global Investment Companies, shares his view on the key factors shaping the industry now.

SEC regulations and the rise of structured data

During the last few years, we’ve seen both the volume and the pace of SEC regulations increase exponentially, with no slowdown in the immediate future.

Listed closed-end fund shareholder reports dated June 30, 2024, may have to comply with more than one XBRL mandate

Currently, Form N-2 registrations that are filed pursuant to General Instruction A.2 must tag applicable prospectus disclosure items using inline XBRL (iXBRL), which are included in Form N-CSR using the Closed-End Fund (CEF) taxonomy.

In his new SecurityInfoWatch article, Craig Clay discusses the exponential growth in cyberthreats and how a partnership between the CEO and CISO holds the key to defeating those threats. Working together, they can master two essential components of an effective cybersecurity strategy, data management and risk mitigation, to defend the company’s critical assets.