These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention Embattled J.P. Morgan Bulks Up Oversight by Monica Langley and Dan Fitzpatrick in the Wall Street Journal J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., facing a host of regulatory and legal woes, plans to spend an additional $4 billion and commit 5,000 extra employees this … Read more »
There Is No Secret International Market for Prime Bank Investments
If someone approaches you about investing in a Prime Bank investment program, walk away. Do not give them your time or money. It’s a scam. There is an undercurrent of distrust in the financial markets, thinking that the big players have some secret way to make massive amounts of money with no risk. What better … Read more »
September 11
The September 11 attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,996 people, including the 19 hijackers and 2,977 victims. The victims included 246 on the four planes, 2,606 in New York City in the World Trade Center towers and on the ground, and 125 at the Pentagon. Nearly all of the victims were civilians. 55 military … Read more »
Publicly Traded Partnerships and a Qualified Matching Service
If a fund has frequent transfers by its limited partners, it risks being classified as a publicly traded partnership. That’s a bad result because the fund then becomes taxable as a corporation, subject to a qualifying income test. You might be surprised how low the threshold is for being treated as a publicly traded partnership. … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for September 9
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Bad news. You’re promoted to compliance officer by Michael Scher in The FCPA Blog It’s not right to lump together all compliance officers. We have to recognize that those working in America are nearly on another planet from COs working in Asia, Africa, … Read more »
Discovering Empty Mansions
If you’ve ever been house hunting, you’ve likely spent some time looking at houses way out of your price range. Bill Dedman did the same thing. He discovered Le Beau Chateau, a $24 million mansion containing almost 15,000 square feet on 52 acres. The property taxes alone were $161,000 per year. But what really caught … Read more »
Picking Cherries
As an investment adviser, you can’t take the best investments for yourself and leave the lesser ones for your clients. That’s exactly what the Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing J.S. Oliver Capital and Ian O. Mausner of doing. The SEC’s Enforcement Division is alleging that J.S. Oliver and Mausner engaged in a cherry-picking scheme … Read more »
Finding the Signal Though the Noise
Nate Silver came into fame for his forecast of the presidential election in 2012. That matched his success in 2008 for also getting the presidential election correct. His book, The Signal and the Noise, is built upon that success. We learn that Silver is not a political pundit, but a numbers geek. He started with … Read more »
The Dog Days of Summer and Compliance
The phrase “dog days” refers to the sultry days of summer, the months of July and August in the Norther Hemisphere. The Romans referred to the dog days as diēs caniculārēs. The Dog Days were the days when the star Sirius rose just before or at the same time as sunrise. They considered Sirius to … Read more »
How Good Is Your Business Continuity Plan?
The Securities and Exchange Commission wants it to be better. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the Securities and Exchange Commission joined the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in issuing a joint staff advisory on business continuity and disaster recovery planning. The advisory follows a review by the regulators after … Read more »