On October 10, 2023, the SEC announced that it was adopting amendments governing beneficial ownership reporting under Sections 13(d) and 13(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The amendments update Regulation 13D-G to require market participants to provide more timely information on their positions to meet the needs of investors in today’s financial markets.
Among other things, today’s amendments: shorten the deadline for initial Schedule 13D filings (Form SC 13D) from 10 days to five business days and require that Schedule 13D amendments be filed within two business days; generally accelerate the filing deadlines for Schedule 13G (Form SC 13G) beneficial ownership reports (the filing deadlines differ based on the type of filer); clarify the Schedule 13D disclosure requirements with respect to derivative securities; and require that Schedule 13D and 13G filings be made using a structured, machine-readable data language.
Further, the adopting release provides guidance regarding the current legal standard governing when two or more persons may be considered a group for the purposes of determining whether the beneficial ownership threshold has been met, as well as how, under the current beneficial ownership reporting rules, an investor’s use of certain cash-settled derivative securities may result in the person being treated as a beneficial owner of the class of the reference equity securities.
Effectiveness dates
The adopting release is published on SEC.gov and will be published in the Federal Register, and the amendments will become effective 90 days after publication in the Federal Register. Compliance with the revised Schedule 13G filing deadlines will be required beginning on Sept. 30, 2024. Compliance with the structured data requirement for Schedules 13D and 13G will be required on Dec. 18, 2024. Compliance with the other rule amendments will be required upon their effectiveness.
Filing solutions
To this end, EFA is converting their currently existing SC 13G Online Workstation to comply with these amendments. This OLWS is now setup to allow self-service filing of the new SCHEDULE 13D and SCHEDULE 13G XML EDGAR forms. Simply fill out the applicable form and our system generates the document and submits it to the SEC.