| Exchange-Traded Funds |
| Exchange-traded funds are open-ended registered investment companies regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Securities and Exchange Commission has exempted exchange-traded funds from regulatory requirements in order to allow secondary trading on national exchanges of shares in exchange-traded funds. More... |
| Independent Director Requirements for Nasdaq Listed Companies |
| The Nasdaq Stock Exchange, Inc., has adopted Rule 4350(c)(1), which requires that every company listed on Nasdaq must have independent directors as the majority of the company's board of directors. Each listed company must publicly disclose which of its directors are considered independent by identifying the independent directors in the company's annual meeting proxy statement or in the company's annual report on Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K. More... |
| Failing Company Defense |
| A merger or acquisition that has the potential to lessen competition significantly may violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C.S. § 18. However, a "failing company" defense has emerged from case law and legislative history of an amendment to Section 7 that allows an acquisition or merger to proceed if the company being acquired is subject to imminent bankruptcy or liquidation, and the acquiring company is the only prospective purchaser of the failing company. More... |
| Breakpoints in Mutual Fund Charges |
| Mutual funds may offer "breakpoints" in their front-end sales load. Thus, a fund that charges a fee of five percent for investments up to $25,000 may charge only four percent for investments from $25,000 to $50,000 and three percent for investments over $50,000. The fund has breakpoints at $25,000 and $50,000.More... |
| Mediation of Securities Disputes |
| Broker-dealer members of the National Association of Securities Dealers are required to arbitrate their disputes with investors. Also, the agreement signed by investors to trade through broker-dealers normally contains a provision requiring the investors to arbitrate their disputes with the broker-dealers rather than litigate such disputes. However, mediation is an additional method for resolving disputes that may be used prior to or in addition to mediation. More... |


