Disaster recovery is an important, though not explicitly mandatory, component of compliance program. The Securities and Exchange Commission alludes to this in the release for the compliance rule. It’s also a key part of personal plan. I’m learning that first hand. My family is spending its third day without power. Fun and exciting at first, … Read more »
Adoption and the FCPA
The latest Opinion Procedure Release from the Department of Justice comes from a group of non-profit adoption agencies. Based on the stories I’ve heard from friends who have adopted from overseas, I’m not surprised that adoption agencies are concerned about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Opinion Release No. 12-02 is focused on an event hosted … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for October 26
These are some compliance related stories that recently caught my attention. Enforcement Actions Against Advisors Nearly Doubled: NASAA by Melanie Waddell in AdvisorOne Enforcement actions taken against investment advisory firms by state securities regulators nearly doubled to 399 in 2011—accounting for 15% of all enforcement actions handled by state securities regulators, according to the North … Read more »
Unauthorized Board Meeting
For its latest mission, Improve Everywhere staged an unauthorized boardroom meeting in the office chair department of a Staples. The chairs in this particular office supply store were already arranged in a boardroom configuration, making it easy for us to hold a surprise meeting. Actor Will Hines gave a presentation to the board, using a … Read more »
Filing Private Fund Private Placement Memoranda with FINRA
Starting on December 3, 2012, FINRA members must file a copy of any private placement memorandum, term sheet or other offering document the firm used within 15 calendar days of the date of the sale. Placement agents for private funds will likely be FINRA members and subject to this rule. FINRA Rule 5123 is part … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces for October 19
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention: Frankenstein, Lance Armstrong and FCPA/Bribery Act Compliance by Tom Fox So how does Frankenstein relate to compliance and ethics? Exhibit A for today is my fellow Texan Lance Armstrong. Yesterday, in the FCPA Blog I wrote about Armstrong and ethical values in the context … Read more »
Aberrational Performance Inquiry of Nabs Another Private Fund Manager
The SEC has once again claimed that its Aberrational Performance Inquiry has identified another miscreant. Once again, I’m skeptical that the SEC is actually using “proprietary risk analytics” to identify hedge funds with suspicious returns. The SEC alleges that Yorkville Advisors overstated the value of the assets in its funds to improve marketability and increase … Read more »
A CFTC Exemption for Private Equity Funds
The CFTC is going to dramatically expand its realm through the one-two punch of gaining regulatory control over non-securities derivatives and the removal of a widely used exemption. (With the release of REITs from the definition of “commodity pool” perhaps the CFTC is loosening its grip.) Fortunately, there is another exemption that most private equity … Read more »
REITs and the CFTC
Dodd-Frank’s Title VII is likely to sweep a bunch of private equity fund operators under the CFTC’s registration requirement. The CFTC stated that a single interest rate swap or foreign exchange hedge could drag the fund manager into the definition of “Commodity Pool Operator” (7 USC §1a(10) and have to register with the CFTC. The … Read more »
First the SEC, Now the CFTC
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is getting ready to land its second regulatory punch to private equity funds. The first was the registration requirement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The second is the upcoming registration requirement with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. Two recent developments pull fund managers into the … Read more »