These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. SEC Enforcement Statistics: A Work in Progress? by Thomas O. Gorman in SEC Actions The SEC released Enforcement Division statistics for government Fiscal Year 2013 along with a table and chart listing the number of actions filed each year as well as the … Read more »
Volker Rule and Real Estate Funds
Five regulatory agencies adopted the final rules that implement the Volcker Rule, a provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. It’s a big, complicated, ugly rule that will drive compliance officers at banks crazy trying to implement. Have fun reading all 964 pages. The text of the regulations themselves only run … Read more »
Criminal Background Checks for IA Reps in Massachusetts
There is a new requirement for Investment Advisers Representatives in Massachusetts. Beginning on January 1, 2014 each applicant for registration as an investment adviser representative in Massachusetts will be required to submit a Criminal Offender Record Information (“CORI”) acknowledgement form. The Secretary of State published proposed changes to the Investment Adviser regulations in March. The … Read more »
Private Fund Is Sanctioned for Valuation Issues
The Securities and Exchange Commission brought another case out of its Aberrational Performance Inquiry initiative in the Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit. That initiative identifies funds with suspicious returns and flags performance that is inconsistent with a fund’s investment strategy or other benchmarks forms a basis for further investigation and scrutiny. The initiative nabbed GLG … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for December 13
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. How Financial Institutions May Benefit from Changes to the Rule Against Perpetuities by Reid K.Weisbord in the CLS Blue Sky Blog Now that most jurisdictions have repealed or abrogated the Rule Against Perpetuities, estate planning practitioners have started to consider whether a trust … Read more »
Participating Bad Actors and Private Funds
The SEC staff issued new Compliance & Disclosure Interpretations relating to Rule 506(d), the new bad actor rule. Under the rule, an issuer may not rely on the Rule 506 exemption if the issuer or any other person covered by rule has a relevant disqualifying event that occurred on or after September 23, 2013 (the … Read more »
Snow Shoveling and Compliance
A winter storm has been hitting big chunks of the United States over the last few days. For me, in Boston, it’s just a small accumulation. That’s enough to cause a nuisance and snarl the morning commute. For me, one test of compliance is snow shoveling. Did my neighbors shovel their sidewalks so people can … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for December 6
These are some of the compliance related stories that recently caught my attention. When blowing the whistle is a conflict of interest in Conflicts of Interest Blog Employees generally owe duties of loyalty to their companies (at least under US law), but for some time whistleblowing has not seen as a breach of such duty. … Read more »
Small Business Capital Access & Job Preservation Act – Part 2
The House Financial Services Committee pushed ahead a bill designed to exempt advisers to certain private equity funds from the new registration requirements imposed by Title IV of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Small Business Capital Access & Job Preservation Act was presented last session, and Congressman Hurt has brought it back again. Except as provided … Read more »
The Upcoming Changes to the Accredited Investor Standard
Section 413 of the Dodd-Frank Act requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to review the accredited investor definition by July 21, 2014, the fourth anniversary of President Obama’s signing of the law. In a letter to Congressman Scott Garrett, SEC Chair Mary Jo White said that the Commission staff has begun a comprehensive review of the accredited … Read more »