The SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting next Thursday, September 18, at 10 a.m. ET. (also to be webcast on the SEC website). The agenda includes two panels prompted by the SEC’s June 4 Concept Release on the definition of Foreign Private Issuer (FPI). The panels include speakers from UK regulators, CII, academia and law firms and will:

– Explore the evolving landscape of foreign private issuers in U.S. capital markets
– Evaluate potential regulatory responses to address emerging risks to investors and market integrity

The IAC will also consider the regulatory framework governing retail investors’ access to private market assets and vote on the recommendations of the Investor as Owner and Market Structure Subcommittees. Those recommendations conclude:

[I]n the Committee’s view, the optimal way for retail investors to access private market assets is through registered funds, which allow retail investors to invest in broadly diversified funds that benefit from Commission review, audited financials, professional fund management, various levels of liquidity, and the protections of the Investment Company Act.

The subcommittees also address ways to improve the suitability of these investments and suggestions for basic investor protection guardrails that could accompany any expansion of direct access to private market assets.

– Meredith Ervine