FINANCIAL INDUSTRY AND REGULATION 

ADISA Board President Grady Comments on Important SEC Letter: AltsWire published ADISA Board President John Grady’s comments on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s issuance of a recent interpretive letter, effectively relaxing certain verification requirements for accredited investors, possibly signaling a move toward a more pragmatic regulatory framework.

SEC Votes to Stop Defending Biden Climate Rule: The Hill reports that the SEC last week voted to no longer defend regulations requiring some of the world's largest corporations to publicly disclose the impact that climate change could have on their businesses, walking away from an Eighth Circuit challenge to the rules that the agency's acting chair called "unnecessarily intrusive."

SEC Shakes Up its Enforcement and Exams Divisions: Reuters reports that the SEC told staff on Wednesday it plans to shake up its enforcement and exams divisions by having them report under new deputy directors, the latest in a series of changes at the agency under Republican leadership.

States Sound Alarm on DEI, ESG: Fox Business reports that two dozen state financial officers sent a letter last week to the Department of Labor and the SEC, sounding the alarm on the financial risk of prioritizing a political agenda, like DEI and ESG, over financial returns.

BlackRock Pledges to Open Private Markets to Millions: ThinkAdvisor reports that BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink pledged to open up private markets to millions of everyday investors, not just the wealthy few, contending individuals should share more of the gains from economic growth.

 NASAA Seeks Public Comments on Non-Traded REIT Proposal: AltsWire reports that the North American Securities Administrators Association is requesting public comment on proposed amendments to its latest proposed revisions to its Non-Traded REIT Guidelines 

Appeals Court Sets Aside Firm’s $93 Million SEC Penalty: ThinkAdvisor reports that a federal appeals court has reversed a ruling that required Commonwealth Financial Network to pay $93 million to the SEC for failing to tell clients that some mutual fund share classes generated millions of dollars in revenue-sharing payments for the firm.

Stanger Says Private Placement Growing Alts Market Segment: AltsWire reports that private placement business development companies had a record-breaking year in 2024, raising over $20 billion and more than doubling the 2023 total, Kevin T. Gannon, Stanger’s chairman and chief executive officer, told ADISA’s 2025 Spring Conference this week.

POLICY AND LEGISLATION

Coalition Launches Fight to Protect Carried Interest: Politico reports that a coalition of trade groups representing real estate is warning congressional tax writers that making tweaks to the current treatment of carried interest and capital gains taxes would be detrimental to efforts to address housing supply and affordability.

Sweeping Deregulation Drive Under Way: The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump is following through on his pledge to usher in one of the most sweeping deregulatory drives in modern U.S. history, moving swiftly to slash environmental rules and bank oversight, remove barriers to cryptocurrencies, and reverse the Biden administration’s restrictions on energy production.

SEC Chair Nominee Pledges Rational Crypto Approach: Axios reports that Paul Atkins, President Trump's SEC chair nominee, testified before the Senate Banking Committee last week, pledging to establishing a "rational, coherent, and principled" regulatory framework for digital assets.