Category: Compliance Programs
Compliance Bits and Pieces for April 6
Earl Scruggs: Banjo, Bluegrass and the Fight against Corruption and Bribery by Tom Fox So what is the lesson of Earl Scruggs for the compliance practitioner? It is this, even if you develop a completely new style that makes you one of the foremost experts in an area, you can still evolve. Further, the style … Read more »
Accredited Investors and the JOBS Act
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act repeals the SEC’s ban on general solicitation and advertising under Rule 506. That is the exemption from registration used by most private fund managers. Is this a good thing? I didn’t like the ban, mostly because it was so broad. The SEC gave little guidance as to what was … Read more »
Hot Topics for SEC Exams
As part of the SEC’s new National Exam Program Overview, OCIE highlights six areas of focus for Investment Advisers: “[T]he Program has identified specific strategic areas on which to focus when examining firms…. In FY2012, focus areas include the following priorities, among others: Complex Entities. Staff will examine for the risks and practices associated with … Read more »
SEC’s National Exam Program Overview
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) mission is to protect investors through its nationwide examination and inspection program. Examiners in Washington DC and in the SEC’s 11 regional offices conduct examinations of the nation’s registered entities. Besides investment advisers, OCIE also examines broker-dealers, transfer agents, investment companies, the national securities exchanges, clearing … Read more »
Are you a Supervisor?
As a compliance officer, how far do you need to go in dealing with a problem employee? The Urban case was trying to address this question, but got twisted up in procedural machinations. In dropping the case, the two SEC commissioners didn’t explain when a compliance officer or in-house counsel at a broker-dealer or investment … Read more »
Valuations, Private Equity, and the SEC
The SEC has been poking around valuations for a while. First it was from the chaos of the 2008 financial crisis. The sudden illiquidity and drop in prices left many scratching their heads about the proper valuations for their assets. That was the main charge against the Bear Stearns hedge fund managers. The Justice Department … Read more »
Technical Problems
Sometimes things just go wrong. No matter how hard you try (or don’t) you need to expect the unexpected. Software and systems inevitable break and go down. And when a system goes down, it will inevitably go down at the least convenient time. The key is testing, redundancy, and back-up. You can’t prepare for all … Read more »
Dodd-Frankenstein
You would expect that a publication with a libertarian tilt like The Economist would not look favorably at the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. They call it Too big not to fail. Being The Economist, the article argues with the facts on its side. Dodd-Frank: 848 pages Federal Reserve Act of 1913: … Read more »
Compliance, the Middle-Finger Malfunction, and the Reluctant Touchdown
It’s sad day in Boston. We’ve become accustomed to winning and the Super Bowl drought continues for at least another year. There were two compliance-related stories that came out of Super Bowl XLVI. The first was singer M.I.A.’s obscene gesture and expletive during the halftime show. After Janet Jackson’s nipple-gate incident eight years ago, you … Read more »