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Welcome to the latest edition of our quarterly disputes newsletter, which covers key developments in the dispute resolution world over the last three months or so.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") has recently adopted new rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) (together, the “New Rules”), based on a set of proposals originally set out in February 2022 (the “Original Proposals”).

In October 2022, we issued our briefing Strengthening the Financial Promotion Rules | Travers Smith, discussing the FCA's new rules on financial promotions, with a particular focus on the promotion of higher risk investments to retail investors. The FCA indicated at the time that such a category would include cryptoassets; however, at that point the legislation extending the FCA's remit to those financial promotions was not in force.

The Court of Appeal has recently determined an appeal in the FX CPO proceedings, against a first instance decision of the CAT.

Read and listen to "What’s Happening in Pensions", our regular news briefing covering topical pensions law developments.

This article was first published by the Pensions Expert.

Welcome to the thirteenth episode of our Travelling. Seamlessly. global mobility podcast series.

The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier ("CSSF") recently published its observations and recommendations on the implementation of sustainability-related provisions in the investment fund industry as part of its supervisory work in the area of sustainable finance.

The Upper Tribunal in GE Financial Investments Ltd v HMRC allowed the taxpayer’s appeal, holding that the treaty’s purpose of preventing double taxation was a key factor in the interpretation of who benefitted from its protections and that HMRC was wrong to suggest that a direct connection to the taxing state was required in addition to worldwide taxation. It upheld the First-tier Tribunal’s decision that the taxpayer did not carry on a business in the US, finding that it was open to the tribunal to come to that conclusion on the basis that the taxpayer was effectively a conduit.

The speed of developments in the world of sustainability reporting over the last 12 months has been unprecedented, and this trend shows no signs of abating. Over the last five weeks alone, two "global baseline" sustainability reporting standards have been adopted and endorsed for use in capital markets, twelve European Sustainability Reporting Standards have been finalised, and the UK has committed to develop "Sustainability Disclosure Standards", based on the international standards, by July 2024.

Following Brexit, the UK Government is keen to boost trade with countries outside the EU. Our interactive maps show the extent of the UK's global network of free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties.

The Supreme Court held that the Quincecare duty does not extend to so-called "authorised push payment" (APP) fraud, whereby the victim is induced by fraudulent means to authorise their bank to send a payment to a bank account controlled by the fraudster. Pursuant to the first principles of banking law, it is a basic duty under a bank's contract with a customer to make payments from the credited account in compliance with the customer's instructions.

Tax knowledge counsel Laura Hodgson, and senior associate Silvana Van der Velde discuss green tax incentives.

In their expert analysis chapter for the latest edition of the International Comparative Legal Guides for Alternative Investment Funds, Travers Smith Funds Partner Jeremy Elmore and Associate Rory Page discuss the opportunities that effective ESG engagement may provide for asset managers, existing ESG regulations and the basis on which it can provide a competitive advantage to GPs. 

Travers Smith Funds Partner Jeremy Elmore and Head of Asset Management Emily Clark have produced the England & Wales chapter for the latest edition of the International Comparative Legal Guides for Alternative Investment Funds.

In our new Talking. Secondaries. series, we will seek to demystify the secondaries and synthetic secondaries markets and provide insights into the variety of tools available to GPs when looking to provide liquidity to their limited partners and their portfolios.

Audit clauses can be a useful tool for verifying compliance with contractual obligations, especially on compliance, pricing and payment issues. But what are the key drafting considerations?

Our round-up of recent and forthcoming developments in UK law and practice for our international stakeholders.

In the first warranty & indemnity insurance ("W&I") claim to be decided by the Commercial Court, the Defendant insurers succeeded on every issue, with the Court finding that there had not been a breach of the relevant warranties and indeed no loss as the buyer would have paid the full purchase price in any event.

The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act (REUL Act) has recently received Royal Assent. Here we consider the impact of the REUL Act on employment law, including a range of employment rights derived from EU law, and the impact on equality law.