Doug Cornelius on compliance for private equity real estate
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network published an analysis and an alert to financial institutions to be vigilant to digital asset investment scams and detailed the massive scope. Digital asset investment scams fall into a few categories of fraud operations such as “pig butchering,” “romance baiting,” or “cryptocurrency confidence schemes.” The fraudsters use fake personas…
The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a proposal to rescind its “pay-to-play” rule that prohibits investment advisers from making certain political contributions. “The Commission has determined that the political contribution rule, since its adoption in 2010, has led to significant unintended consequences, such as prohibitions by some advisers on political contributions at the state and…
The charges against Mark D. Hanf and Hoai-Nam Chu Phan at the California-based Pacific Private Money Group LLC looked liked a fairly regular investment scheme gone bad, turned into a Ponzi-scheme. They raised capital with the intent of making real estate loans. They got hit by the rise in interest rates in 2022 and became…
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged 38 firms with filing material misrepresentations in their Forms ADV. The SEC alleges that the goal was to falsely portray themselves as legitimate advisory firms to U.S. investors. There were a similar half-dozen of these cases at the end of 2025. In the Bluesky Case, the SEC went to…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is continuing its quest to bend over backwards to get crypto assets to the masses. Paul Atkin’s run SEC has sent a new custody rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, part of the Office of Management and Budget, for review before publication. The proposed rule would “improve…
Are you new here? The Howey case on the definition of security was about an orange farm in Florida. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against TKO Farms and James Brian Blaylock caught my attention because of this mirror of the Howey case. I missed this case back in 2022 when the complaint was filed….
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network published a final rule that removes the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act. Additionally, FinCEN will delete from its database information previously reported by US persons. This final rule makes the interim final rule, finally final. At…
On July 7, the SEC released its latest regulatory flexibility agenda. Browsing through the agenda, its a clear sign of de-regulation of financial services. Of the 38 items on the agenda, I highlight some that are most applicable to private funds. Pay-to-Play Reform The SES is considering “recommending that the Commission propose “amendments to rule…
The Institutional Limited Partners Association issued new guidance on the longstanding practice of limited partners bearing the cost of fund formation legal expenses. “What once made economic sense—requiring LPs to cover organizational expenses when the industry was nascent and GPs lacked sufficient capital—has become an outdated practice that now enables systematic cost-shifting by highly profitable…
I’ve periodically taken a look at the Private Equity Real Estate’s list of the top firms, based on fundraising. The 2026 edition was published today. I took a swing at the analysis again (with a little help). The 2026 PERE manager rankings are based on the amount of private real estate direct investment capital raised…