The Securities and Exchange Commission brought an enforcement action against Jeffory D. Shields, GeoDynamics, Inc., and several other business entities affiliated with Mr. Shields, alleging securities fraud. The businesses are oil and gas exploration and drilling ventures and Mr. Shields, as managing partner of GeoDynamics, marketed the interests Joint Venture Agreements. The district court granted … Read more »
Occupy Boston is Back…..
No, it’s not. “March 1st and March 2nd, NBC Studios will be in Norman B. Leventhal Park to film large crowd scenes for the pilot of their television series “Odyssey”. While filming will only be on the weekends, certain production work will take place during the week. Any set design or props in the Park … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for February 28
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Are You a “Rat Trader?” by Bruce Carton in Compliance Week Today I stumbled up on the following headline from the Chinese publication, Global Times: “Rat trader faces 5-10 years for insider dealing.” Rat trader?? It turns out that in China, at least, “rat … Read more »
Are SEC Employees Profiting from Enforcement Actions?
Emory University accounting professor Shivaram Rajgopal points an accusatory finger at Securities and Exchange Commission employees and proclaims a pattern of selling stocks of companies subject to enforcement actions. His study finds “significant abnormal returns of (i) about 4% per year for all securities in general; and (ii) about 8.5% in U.S. common stocks in … Read more »
SEC Charges Private Equity Fund Manager with Misallocation of Expenses
In the presence exam initiative, the Securities and Exchange Commission identified conflicts of interest as a high risk area. Included in that high risk area is the allocation of fees and expenses. The SEC just brought charges against a private equity fund manager for the improper allocation of fees and expenses. The SEC charged Scott … Read more »
The Darth Vader Defense to Insider Trading
Frank Hixon Jr. is trying to evade insider trading charges by denying he knew his father. His father is not a malevolent cyborg. His name is even easier to decipher than Darth Vader; It’s Frank Hixon Sr. Hixon is challenging the charges so I have only the government’s version of the facts. Perhaps he has … Read more »
California’s Public Disclosure of Private Fund Investments
One of the challenges with having a government pension plan investor is the potential disclosure obligations under the states’ sunshine laws. A similar problem exists with Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC is subject to the Freedom of Information Act and exam information is potentially subject to some level of disclosure. But the state level … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for February 21
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. SEC claims drunk lawyer had insider tipple By Kara Scannell in FT.com The SEC sued Tibor Klein, a New York investment adviser, in September for allegedly buying securities of King Pharmaceuticals after learning from one of his clients that the drug company was … Read more »
Never Been Examined by the SEC? Look in the Lobby
With the flood of new registered investment advisers after the enactment of Dodd-Frank, the Securities and Exchange Commission launched the presence exam program. The goal was to get to a big chunk of the newly registered fund managers. What got left out was the big chunk of investment advisers who had never been examined. That … Read more »
SEC Document Request Letters
As a fund manager one of the best ways to be prepared for a visit from the Securities and Exchange Commission is to practice. You should grab a recent document request from a SEC examination. Then give yourself one week to pull all the requested information together in a coherent package. I put together a … Read more »