A recent ruling in favor of the Janus mutual funds’ adviser in the Supreme Court is continued fall out from the mutual fund market timing scandal from almost a decade ago. The prospectuses for several Janus funds represented that the funds were not suitable for market timing and could be read that Janus Capital Management … Read more »
Category: Compliance Programs
Does it Matter Where the Signature Is?
Just about every compliance certification has the employee sign at the bottom. We have been signing letters and contracts at the end for millenia. But maybe there is a way to increase ethical performance by moving that signature to the top. Lisa L. Shu, Nina Mazar, Francesca Gino, Dan Ariely, and Max H. Bazerman recently … Read more »
Lessons from Wunderlich
I don’t take pleasure from others’ failings, but I do try to learn lessons. The recent settlement between Wunderlich Securities and the Securities and Exchange Commission is full of lessons to be learned. overcharged advisory clients for commissions and other transactional fees in violation of Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act failed to satisfy the … Read more »
Controls on Political Contributions
In the face of some pay-to-play scandals involving investment advisers and government sponsored investment fund officials, the Securities and Exchange Commission slapped restrictions on the ability of investment advisers and fund managers to make political contributions. Rule 206(4)-5 prohibits an investment manager or fund manager from collecting fees for two years if the firm or … Read more »
Near Misses, Catastrophes, and Compliance
The theme of the April edition of the Harvard Business Review is “Failure.” As scary as that term is in the world of compliance, “catastrophe” is even scarier. That means that the failure resulted is real, significant damage. But you can learn from failures. You can especially learn from others’ failures. In How to Avoid … Read more »
Failure and Compliance
The theme of the April edition of the Harvard Business Review is “Failure.” That’s a scary term in the world of compliance. Generally, that means you’ve got government regulators or enforcement personnel sitting in your offices. And they are not happy. Failure and compliance can mean disciplinary action, fines, or jail time. But you can … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces for April 29
Here are some recent compliance-related stories that caught my eye: SFO GC resigns: SFO future cast into further doubt in The Bribery Act .com We’re delighted to congratulate Vivian Robinson QC on his reported move today from the SFO to join a US law firm, Richmond Virginia headquartered McGuire Woods, in the near future. We’ve … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces – Good Friday Edition
The stock markets are closed, but most banks are open. I’m taking the day off from work, but wanted to highlight a few compliance-related stories that caught my eye. Justice is served, but more so after lunch: how food-breaks sway the decisions of judges by Ed Yong in Discover’s Not Exactly Rocket Science There’s an … Read more »
Patriots’ Day and Compliance
Patriots’ Day is a Massachusetts holiday honoring the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the Revolutionary War. Since Maine was once part of Massachusetts, it is also a holiday in Maine. Although they switch the possessive to Patriot’s Day. That means Paul Revere and William Dawes mount their horses … Read more »
Possible Extension to Registration for Private Fund Managers
Dodd-Frank put enormous pressure on the Securities and Exchange Commission to create dozens of new rules. Tile IV of the law, the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2010, shifts thousands of mid-sized investment advisers from federal to state registration. It also repeals the private adviser exemption, causing most private fund managers to register … Read more »