Doug Cornelius on compliance for private equity real estate
Real estate related fraud cases with the Securities and Exchange Commission catch my attention. Two real estate-ish cases popped up in a flurry of cases filed before Labor Day weekend. One was for timber and the other for mobile home parks. Timber operates in a gray area between real estate and extraction. Clearly, the land … Read more »
Hopefully, if this form filing is applicable to your firm, you’ve already sent it in. It’s due on August 30. The penalty for failing to submit the form is a civil penalty of not less than $2,500 and not more than $25,000. The form is required if your firm was the recipient of a mailing … Read more »
“The compliance associate had no trading experience and no formal training to conduct the review required by the rule, such as training related to the analysis of financial statements and other information.” Rule 15c2-11 of the Exchange Act requires broker-dealers to obtain, review and maintain information about the issuer before initiating or resuming the publication … Read more »
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Woodstock 50th and Succession Planning in Complianceby Tom FoxFCPA Compliance & Ethics The Woodstock music festival informs today’s topic of succession planning from the compliance perspective and is another area where compliance can play a key role. A.G. Lafley and Noel M. Tichy, in … Read more »
Frost Management Company was what seems like a typical venture capital fund complex that had raised five private funds and invested the capital in a portfolio of start-up companies. The SEC says it found undisclosed affiliate payments and brought a suit against Frost. Frost was an “exempt reporting adviser” with a filing from 2017. It … Read more »
Regulatory actions against compliance officers catch my attention. I don’t think compliance should be the target unless compliance engaged in the wrongdoing. I saw the action against Joseph Storms, identified as a “compliance associate” and dove in. Mr. Storms entered the securities industry as a compliance intern in 2005 with FINRA member firm Raymond James … Read more »
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Board Members Should Take Note — Delaware Supreme Court Issues Important Decision on Caremark Compliance Standardby Michael VolkovCorruption, Crime & Compliance The Delaware Supreme Court returned to this issue in a recent case – Marchand v. Barnhill et al, HERE, a case involving Blue Bell … Read more »
The SEC charged Commonwealth Equity Services, LLC (d/b/a Commonwealth Financial Network), a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer, with failing to disclose material conflicts of interest related to revenue sharing Commonwealth received for certain client investments. According to the SEC’s complaint, Commonwealth had a revenue sharing agreement with its clearing broker for trades in their accounts. … Read more »
If you’re reading this on Friday morning, I’ll be on my bike riding from New York border to Sturbridge for the unofficial Day Zero ride of the Pan Mass Challenge. The official start is Saturday morning, when I’ll ride from Sturbridge to Bourne, and then from Bourne to Provincetown on Sunday. That will be almost … Read more »
I saw the recent case against Landon M. Smith for operating a real estate offering fraud and Ponzi scheme and jumped in to see if I could learn anything from the case. According to the SEC complaint, Smith held himself out as a “property wholesaler” who could earn significant returns on any funds invested with … Read more »