The James Mintz Group has updated the firm’s infographic of Where the Bribes Are. In addition to the electronic-interactive version, the firm produced a .pdf FCPA Map – Update as of Feb 2013. Previously: FCPA Visualization Read more »
How Much Did the Stimulus Affect Unemployment? Not Much
While the New York Fed is increasingly tasked with regulating financial institutions, its bread and butter is economic analysis. A recent report debunks the theory that the stimulus spending lowered unemployment. James Orr, vice president in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Research and Statistics Group, and John Sporn, a senior analyst in the … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar – March 1 Edition
March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. The same may be true of the SEC when it comes to the 2008 financial crisis and the SEC. This week’s Supreme Court decision in Gabelli v. SEC, means that the SEC has only 5 years after the date of the fraud to bring … Read more »
No Extra Time for the SEC
The United States Supreme Court adopted a strict interpretation of the five-year period in which the Securities and Exchange Commission may seek to impose a civil penalty on a registered investment adviser. In Gabelli v. SEC the Supreme Court ruled that when the government acts in an enforcement capacity seeking civil penalties, it cannot benefit … Read more »
Don’t Secretly Change Your Fund Structure
New Stream Capital took the unusual step or restructuring its fund structure in secret. The restructuring put its biggest investor into a preferred position, to the disadvantage of its other investors. At least according to the complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC alleges that New Stream’s co-owners David Bryson and Bart … Read more »
Investment Adviser Certified Compliance Professional
Just tooting my own horn today. I finally fulfilled the requirement to become an Investment Adviser Certified Compliance Professional®. With the SEC’s registration requirement for private fund managers, I took a closer look at what the SEC requires for compliance professionals. Rule 206(4)-7 imposes no particular requirements on a chief compliance officer. The SEC release … Read more »
2013 SEC Examination Priorities
The Securities Exchange Commission published its examination priorities for 2013. They cover a wide range of issues at financial institutions, including broker-dealers, clearing agencies, exchanges and self-regulatory organizations, investment companies, hedge funds and private equity funds, and transfer agents. The scope of an IA examination is “generally limited to the issues and business practices of … Read more »
A History and Analysis of Con Artists and Victims: The Ponzi Scheme Puzzle
Professor Tamar Frankel of Boston University School of Law tackles investment fraudsters and their victims in her book, The Ponzi Scheme Puzzle. As a scholar of investment fraud, Frankel has studied cases for years to find common themes and patterns. The books offers descriptions of the offers and red flags the ways in which fraudsters … Read more »
A Little Extra Ketchup on It
Warren buffet loves ketchup, and with his $23 billion acquisition of Heinz, he may love it even more. Apparently someone found out about the flow of ketchup before the deal was announced and profited handsomely on that knowledge. The Securities and Exchange Commission brought an emergency case when they discovered an astonishingly accurate trade that … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar – Russian Meteor Edition
Overnight a huge meteor streaked across the skies of Chelyabinsk, Russia. What does this have to do with compliance? Apparently, Russian drivers regularly use these cameras to fight corruption. BREAKING: Huge Meteor Blazes Across Sky Over Russia; Sonic Boom Shatters Windows by Phil Plait in Bad Astronomy Apparently, at about 09:30 local time, a very … Read more »