Here are some compliance related stories that recently caught my attention. Office of Investor Advocate Report Addresses Ownership of Private Market Securities by Meredith Ervine in TheCorporateCounsel.Net In mid-December, the SEC’s Office of the Investor Advocate delivered its Report on Activities for the Fiscal Year 2025 to Congress. As highlighted in the announcement, the report provides an update on…
Author: Doug Cornelius
CFTC is Saying Goodbye to Private Funds
Earlier this month, the Managed Funds Association asked the Markets Participants Division of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to issue a no-action letter related to private fund managers and registration as Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors. The MFA requested confirmation that MPD will not recommend the CFTC enforcement action against a private fund…
New York’s LLC Transparency Act Will Remain Limited
Although the Corporate Transparency Act was largely killed last March, New York State had been working on its own version. The problem had been that the New York LLC Transparency Act was tied to the definition in the federal Corporate Transparency Act. FinCEN had limited the definition of “reporting company” to only mean entities that…
SEC and CFTC With Only Republicans
As 2026 begins, the two biggest investment management regulators are short on staff and leadership. The DOGE purge has left each agency with 10%-15% fewer numbers in headcount. President Trump has also left commission seats on each vacant. The sole remaining Democratic commissioner at the SEC, Caroline Crenshaw, left when her her term ended on…
Compliance Books from 2025
I know some people kick off their New Year’s resolutions with a plan to read more books. Here are few of my favorites from 2025. 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in History–and How It Shattered a Nationby Andrew Ross Sorkin If you’ve enjoyed anything by Mr. Sorkin, you’ll certainly enjoy his latest book on the…
Happy New Year
I hope that 2026 will be a better year than 2025 and that your compliance program remains compliant. My platform has been dealing with technical issues off and on through 2025. In part, that’s why there have been fewer stories this year. I spent my holiday week dedicating some time to overhaul everything, switching some…
The One That Can Drive You and Give You Investment Advice
Legend has it that Joseph P. Kennedy Senior pulled out of the stock market in 1929 when a shoe shine boy started giving him stock tips. What to do when your driver starts giving investment advice? Shahin Ahmed was the personal driver of a hedge fund manager. According to the SEC complaint, Mr. Ahmed met…
The One with the Foreclosure and OFAC Sanctions
I was left scratching my head on how this Atlanta case got so bad for the real estate investor. In March 2022, OFAC added a family member of a Russian oligarch to its sanctions list. This person owned property in Atlanta, Georgia. All dealings in that property, including its transfer, sale, or foreclosure, were blocked…
Can Precious Gem Buying Being Securities Fraud?
As Matt Levine says, “Everything is Securities Fraud“. Michael G. Hull, Christopher J. Nohl, Greenpoint Asset Management II LLC, Chrysalis Financial LLC, Bluepoint Investment Counsel LLC, Greenpoint Tactical Income Fund LLC, and Greenpoint Rare Earth Trading Account LLC all got sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for securities fraud back in 2020. The heart of…
The SEC Is Back
After 43 days of being forced out of the office, the Securities and Exchange Commission has re-engaged its motor and is taking action. I found something in my inbox this morning that I haven’t seen for those 43 days: an administrative order from the SEC. In the scope of things it’s fairly minor. RespireRx Pharmaceuticals…









