Doug Cornelius on compliance for private equity real estate
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 »
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Proskauer Launches Private Equity SEC Enforcement Tracker The tracker contains key information from the actions, including summaries of key issues, settlement terms, and relevant statutory provisions. The tracker will be an important resource for us and our clients, providing us with quick access … Read more »
I’m sure you heard that Facebook is paying a $5 billion fine for privacy violations to the Federal Trade Commission. You may not have heard that the Securities and Exchange Commission decided to pile on and fine Facebook another $100 million for disclosure failures. As Matt Levine of Bloomberg says “Everything is securities fraud.” [T]he … Read more »
In 2017, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examination conducted exams of investment advisers that previously employed, or then currently employed, any individual with a history of disciplinary events. According to a just released Risk Alert, this was the Supervision Initiative. The initiative examined over 50 advisers, with a total of $50 billion in … Read more »
United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, along with Representatives Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) unveiled the Stop Wall Street Looting Act last week. I don’t think there is any chance it will become law. But it will create talking … Read more »