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The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently finalised new rules reversing the 2018 MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) ban on bundling fees for trade execution and investment research. Under these new guidelines, asset managers are now permitted to make joint payments for third-party research and execution services, provided certain conditions are met.
The UK is ushering in a new era for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) on the London Stock Exchange with sweeping regulatory changes set to take effect on July 29, 2024, marking a significant step toward revitalising its financial market. This overhaul comes as part of an effort to align the UK more closely with leading global exchanges such as NASDAQ and NYSE, where many UK companies have opted to go public in recent years. By easing certain regulatory requirements and introducing more flexible listing options, the UK hopes to reinvigorate its market, fostering economic growth and increasing its appeal to both domestic and international businesses.
Complying with rules and regulations is part of the daily routine for Investor Relations (IR) professionals. Those responsible for ensuring that a company meets its regulatory standards recognize the risks of not meeting them. For example, in 2022, the SEC brought 760 enforcement actions, a nine percent increase over 2021, and it leveled $6.4 billion in civil penalties, disgorgement, and pre-judgment interest against issuers and individuals for violating SEC rules.
Q4 IR Director Samantha Senna, co-authors with our Surveillance Director Jamie Stanton to provide a comprehensive guide to understanding the amendments to SEC Regulation 13D-G, highlighting key implications for IR professionals.
Last week, IR professionals at 50,000 companies worldwide were left with many questions after news broke that the European Commission voted to adopt the recently introduced European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which requires companies to embed environmental disclosures in annual reports beginning in 2024. While legislated in the EU, it impacts all IR professionals with large operations in the European Union.
Last Monday, a Nasdaq-100 special rebalance took effect to remain properly diversified. Typically, the Nasdaq-100 rebalances once a year in December. Still, an early rebalance was warranted, given that the cumulative weight of constituents worth more than 4.5% of the index had risen to 50.9% as of July 3rd. The benchmark’s methodology states that this number should not exceed 48%.
It’s wonderful to see the continuous evolution occurring at the New York Stock Exchange to meet the needs of corporate issuers. Q4 takes great pride in having an expanded presence in the new enhanced NYSE Issuer Services program for NYSE-listed companies. This program offers new and existing listed companies access to a suite of complementary products and services that serve as best-of-breed IR solutions and services and truly represent the essential components of an innovative and effective IR program.
Global equities began the year continuing recovery trends seen in a volatile 2020. Mass vaccine distribution and subdued lockdown restrictions drove economic renormalization momentum, however exposure of previously unknown Covid-19 variants delayed recovery paths. These headwinds aside, the global gross domestic product grew, demonstrating cyclical economic progression through from recovery to expansion and ultimately outperforming its pre-pandemic peak.
The Russell indices are some of the most widely followed for investment managers and index funds. The indices can range from mega-cap to microcap stocks and are tracked by more than $9 trillion in assets by investment managers. The Russell 3000 index includes the largest 3,000 U.S. public companies by market cap, which represents roughly 98% of all U.S. public companies and $47.7 trillion in equity (up 52% from 2020). Moving in or out of an index can have a big impact on a company’s shareholder base and potential stock performance. That is why many people pay close attention to the annual Russell Rebalance which is set to take place this Friday, June 25th.
It is quite rare for a company’s stock price to double in a single day. Even more unusual is a doubling after being up over 1500% in the past 5 months. When that happens, a lot of investor and media attention is focused on the company. That has been the case for AMC and the company is really taking advantage of the trend in their own shares. The share price trend shown below has pushed their market cap from ~$1B at the start of the year to over $30B yesterday.