The claim by advocates of voter identification laws is that the requirement is put in place to prevent voter fraud. The question is whether it is too burdensome to mandate a state-issued photo ID. The underlying subtext is that Republican controlled state legislatures are putting the voter ID laws in place because it will disproportionately … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for October 10
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Yet Another Study Debunks ‘Revolving Door’ Worries by Bruce Carton in Compliance Week Although I have followed the revolving door issue closely for many years, I have never seen any actual evidence that the “SEC lawyers will go easy on firms to get … Read more »
Lawsuit on SEC’s Political Contribution Rule Hits Some Snags
The New York Republican State Committee and the Tennessee Republican Party brought suit against the Securities and Exchange Commission challenging its political contributions rule for investment advisers, Rule 206(4)-5. The complaint seeks an injunction against the enforcement of the rule’s political contribution restrictions on contributions to federal candidates. The US District Court for the District … Read more »
The SEC Still Hates Intrastate Crowdfunding
One of the exemptions from registering a securities offering is if the offering is limited to one state. Some crowdfunding advocates latched onto this exemption and have been pushing for single state crowdfunding at the state legislatures. On April 10, 2014, the SEC issued a Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation on intrastate crowdfunding offerings. The interpretation was … Read more »
More Findings on SEC Exams of Private Funds
Andrew Bowden unloaded a truckload of information at the recent CFA Institute in Boston. Andrew Bowden is the Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations. His comments were based on audience questions, instead of a prepared speech. You can’t find it on the SEC website, but you can … Read more »
Weekend Reading: Attachments
For those compliance officers who do email surveillance, you should enjoy the premise of Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. Lincoln, the protagonist is responsible for email surveillance. He falls for one employee who is a repeat offender whose emails routinely get flagged for his review. He falls in love, but has no idea what she looks … Read more »
When Fundraising Becomes More Lucrative Than Running the Business
Erick Mathe had a vision of creating a media empire. Well, maybe not an empire, more of a small keep. His plan was to broadcast over Low Power Television Service. Those are locally-oriented television broadcasts in small communities. Mr. Mathe had a line up of streaming music and infomercials. He just needed capital to get … Read more »
Why I think the Accredited Investor Standard Should Not Change
The SEC Investor Advisory Committee is scheduled to vote on a reform plan from a subcommittee at its Oct. 9 meeting. That plan calls for the SEC to rethink the income and net-worth minimums used to define an “accredited investor.” Much of the concern about private placements is about risk. They seem to be universally … Read more »
Weekend Reading: Predator
Predator covers the story of the birth of the Predator drone and its effect on military and covert operations. Richard Whittle manages to weave through the military and aeronautic bureaucracy of the Predator as it is destined to become the most successful military unmanned aircraft. I was surprised to see the level of detail about … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for September 26
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Fixing a Company’s Ethics and Compliance Culture by Michael Volkov in Corruption, Crime & Compliance A company’s ability to enact meaningful change depends on the innate desire of its leadership to execute real change. It is too easy to say that such change … Read more »