Goldman Sachs settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s not a surprise. Goldman did not want to litigate this action. It wanted it to go away. As a shareholder in Goldman, I wanted it to go away. It seems others did also. GS stock price opened at $138.50 on Thursday morning. It opened at … Read more »
Category: SEC News
SEC Votes on Pay to Play
At Wednesday’s Open Meeting the Securities and Exchange Commission took up the discussion of their proposed rules on pay-to-play for investment advisers. The proposal is a new Rule 206 (4)-5 under the Investment Advisers Act. The Commission voted unanimously to adopt the rule. The rule will have three main prongs: Two Year Time-Out An investment … Read more »
SEC’s Rule on Pay to Play is Coming
It’s been almost a year, but it looks like the SEC is ready to issue its rule on political contributions by investment advisers. They announced the subject matter for the Wednesday June 30 10:00 am open meeting: The Commission will consider whether to adopt a new rule and related rule amendments under the Investment Advisers … Read more »
Why Is It Called a “Wells Notice”?
In 1972, SEC Chairman William J. Casey appointed a committee to review and evaluate the Commission’s enforcement policies and practices. Chairman Casey appointed John A. Wells, a lawyer at Royall, Koegel & Wells in New York, to the committee. He also added and former SEC Chairmen Manny Cohen and Ralph Demmler. Chairman Casey asked Jack … Read more »
SEC’s Mickey Mouse Sting Operation
Maybe this would have worked last year. But traders are probably a little nervous when it comes to buying inside information since the Galleon insider trading case. Hedge funds are now well aware that the SEC and FBI are willing to use a broader range of investigation techniques including wire taps and undercover agents. That’s … Read more »
The SEC’s Agenda: Enforcement and Regulatory Priorities
Compliance week starts off with a Keynote speech from U.S. SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar, dubbed “The Enforcement Commissioner” by Compliance Week in March 2009, will provide an update on SEC’s enforcement developments and priorities, including topics such as penalty guidelines and the SEC’s streamlining of the formal order process. Commissioner Aguilar will also explore … Read more »
SEC Censure for Failing to Conduct Due Diligence
The SEC censured and fined an investment adviser for due diligence lapses. Yosemite Capital Management, LLC and its managing director, Paul H. Heckler, got a wrist slap for failing to disclose to clients that they had encountered substantial problems when attempting to perform the due diligence. The big problem is that Yosemite had made a … Read more »
SEC Attacks the Rating Agencies
The SEC took its first swing at the failure of credit rating agencies by serving a Wells Notice on Moody’s Investor Service. At issue, according to the Moody’s filing, is the determination in 2007 that members of one of its European rating committees “engaged in conduct contrary to Moody’s Code of Professional Conduct.” Members of … Read more »
SEC is Probing Hedge Funds
They’re looking at you. Rob Kaplan and Bruce Karpati, co-chiefs of the Asset Management Unit of the SEC enforcement division, held their first full staff meeting last week. This new unit will be focusing on misbehavior by private-equity funds, hedge funds, buyout firms, mutual funds and other asset managers. The unit is one of the … Read more »
The SEC Drinks Its Own Champagne
The SEC has named its first chief compliance officer: Kathleen Griffin. She will be tasked with oversight of employee securities transactions and financial disclosure reporting. The creation of a compliance program to prevent insider trading came from last year’s insider trading scandal at the SEC. The Office of the Inspector General reported that “the Commission … Read more »