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Aggregated Risks in Mutual Fund Disclosures
No full textScholars have roundly criticized compulsory consumer disclosure over the past decade for good reason. Disclosures, whether describing the terms of a loan or the risks of investing, purport to inform consumers. But who actually reads disclosures? We argue that mutual fund disclosures are different. Unlike other consumer-facing disclosures, mutual fund disclosures are dynamic and, therefore, informative. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires funds to report changing market conditions that affect a fund’s investments. As a result, aggregated risk statements provide information about new and evolving risks over and above insights from any single risk disclosure. But disclosures’ utility comes not from their superior ability to inform the ordinary investor. Rather, we propose that fund disclosures’ true value lies in what they can tell regulators about funds’ perception of market risks in the aggregate. We evaluate our thesis through an analysis of all U.S. mutual funds’ narrative risk disclosures from 2011 through 2022. We leverage social science theories of risk and uncertainty to conceptualize and operationalize the choices funds make in depicting changing market conditions. We locate these risks and uncertainties along a distribution from common and manageable to uncommon and catastrophic. We then assess funds’ disclosure of changing market conditions using a “most likely” case design by examining funds’ disclosure of increasing inflation, public health crises, and severe weather events resulting from climate change. Each case study presents either a risk—meaning that the universe of bad outcomes is known and can be accounted for—or uncertainty—meaning that the universe of outcomes is unknown and cannot be meaningfully estimated. We find that, in the aggregate, funds reconceptualize and adjust their disclosures in response to external events. Disclosure topics and language move in predictable and statistically significant ways. Changes in disclosure language are, in fact, meaningful. Such a response, when taken as a whole, provides insight into funds’ perception of risk. Our findings suggest that quantitative text analysis can help the SEC assess overall fund compliance with disclosure mandates. But it can also help regulators, market participants, and researchers better understand changing risk environments
Public Good Through Charter Schools?
Get PDFShould nonprofit charter schools be considered “charitable” under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and be entitled to the benefits that go with that designation (income tax exemption, charitable contribution deduction, etc.)? Current tax law treats them as such; the question is whether there is a good rationale for this treatment. In addition to efficiency and equity, I consider political justice as a value in evaluating tax policy. By political justice, I mean a democratic system that prioritizes the opportunity for more people to have a voice in collective decisions (political voice equality or PVE). Thus, a tax policy that decreases PVE violates the value of political justice. Efficiency theory and equity provide modest help in evaluating the charter question, but the tool of political justice provides important value. When viewed in its entirety, granting tax exemption to charter organizations violates the norm of political justice. The charter movement takes decision-making regarding community education away from a community and gives it to private parties. Instead of the community controlling major educational decisions, charter management organizations control those decisions. Still, valid democratic authorities across the country have chosen to provide some education through charter vehicles. Given the strong interest in keeping tax policy in harmony with democratically chosen policies, the most ideal solution to this conflict would be to maintain tax exemption. However, to be charitable, a charter school and its management organization ought to be democratically operated in some broad sense. The Article thus suggests some ways to increase the democratic accountability of charters
When Does a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Become a Security?
Get PDFNon-fungible tokens (NFTs) gained prominence in the news cycle during March 2021 when $69 million was paid in a cryptocurrency known as Ether for a unique digital art piece titled Everydays: The First 5000 Days. Regulating NFTs is complicated because the technology encompasses varied applications. Therefore, it is the particular use of a given NFT that will determine its appropriate regulatory regime. For example, NFTs may take the form of collectibles, data associated with a physical item, financial instruments, or permanent records associated with a person, such as marriage licenses or property deeds. Just like digital art in the form of NFTs, our laws and regulations are in a constant struggle to keep pace with rapid introduction and diffusion of technological changes. Unlike digital or cryptocurrencies which are fungible, NFTs are not. The effective regulation of United States securities markets has a significant impact on capital formation, job creation, economic security, and growth of both the American and global economies. In recent years, the advent of the internet has created novel regulatory challenges for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The focus of our Article is how and when an NFT becomes a security for purposes of U.S. securities law. We proceed in six parts. First, we briefly explain the evolution of the digital world and emergence of virtual economies within. Second, we describe blockchain technology and the growth in virtual currencies. Third, we provide an explanation of NFTs along with some examples of their various uses. Fourth, we discuss when an NFT is a security. Fifth, we explore SEC interpretations of when a crypto-asset is a regulatable security. And last, we conclude. Given the importance of U.S. securities markets in fostering job creation and global economic growth, we believe this work contributes to the understanding of this new technology and is of considerable interest to securities issuers, investors, and the regulatory community
SB 129 - Amendments Regarding Time Off for Advance Voting
Get PDFThe Act amends several Code sections pertaining to voting, including broadening the individuals eligible to serve on an independent performance review board; allowing for employees to request time off for advance in person voting; specifying which elections may be audited; and providing election superintendents more time to report required election information
Wills, Trusts, Guardianships, and Fiduciary Administration: “Georgia Appellate Courts Continue to Protect the Rights of Minors and Beneficiaries”
No full textThis Survey Article discusses significant cases decided by the Georgia appellate courts during the period of June 1, 2022 through May 31, 2023, and significant Georgia legislation enacted in that same period that relate to Georgia probate and trust law, guardianship, and estate planning. Two of the cases described herein, Slosberg v. Giller and Hall v. Davis Lawn Services, Inc., are decisions of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Effective July 1, 2017, the Georgia General Assembly enacted O.C.G.A. § 15-3-3.1, which provides that the Georgia Court of Appeals has appellate jurisdiction over cases relating to wills and trusts. However, the Georgia Constitution provides that the Supreme Court of Georgia “may review by certiorari cases in the Court of Appeals which are of gravity or great public importance.” The Slosberg and Hall cases are cases in which the supreme court reviewed and reversed the decisions of the court of appeals
Land Use Planning and Development Regulation Law
No full textThis Hornbook introduces the fundamentals of land use planning and control law. Subjects covered include the planning process, zoning, development permission, subdivision control law, and building and housing codes. Discusses constitutional limitations and the environmental aspects of land use controls. Explores aesthetic regulation, historic preservation, and agricultural land protection
Lincoln as Political Philosopher
No full textThis is the ninth volume of Oxford Studies in Political Philosophy. Since its revival in the 1970s political philosophy has been a vibrant field in philosophy, one that intersects with jurisprudence, normative economics, political theory in political science departments, and just war theory. OSPP aims to publish some of the best contemporary work in political philosophy and these closely related subfields
