
Series
Financial Professional Standards
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) formally adopted four regulatory measures intended to enhance the protection of retail investors while preserving existing investment industry business models and the ability of investors to choose among different types of providers. Specifically, the SEC adopted: (1) new Regulation Best Interest; (2) new Form CRS; (3) an interpretation of an investment adviser’s fiduciary duties; and (4) an interpretation of the “solely incidental” prong of the broker-dealer exclusion from the definition of an “investment adviser” under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The materials on this webpage include, among other things, our detailed analyses of each of the above items.
Thought Leadership
On 3 July 2025, the House passed the Senate’s version of H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation bill formerly known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”.
On 30 June 2025, both the US Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced revisions to their respective National Environmental Policy Act procedures to speed up the permitting process for energy infrastructure.
On 23 April 2025, the European Commission has issued its first ever fines under the Digital Markets Act (DMA): a €500 million fine on Apple for violation of the DMA’s prohibition of anti-steering provisions for app stores, and a €200 million for Meta’s “pay or consent” model that was found to be a violation of the DMA’s requirement of seeking user consent for gatekeepers before combining user data between their different services.
In May 2025, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed into law several bills that will impact both individual and business taxpayers.