As a compliance officer, I often find that many lessons come from enforcement actions. Those actions imposed on compliance officers are especially instructive. The latest to catch my attention comes from the United Kingdom. The Financial Services Authority levied a £14,000 fine and banned a compliance officer from performing any significant influence function in regulated … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces for November 18
These are some recent compliance related stories that caught my attention: Where the Bribes Are by the James Mintz Group The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, passed in 1977, has led to more than 200 cases covering activity in about 80 countries. On this map, the darker red that a country appears, the larger the total … Read more »
Ethics, Trust, and Stupidity
A three panel comic says it all: Read more »
Boomerang – Michael Lewis Looks at the New Third World
Michael Lewis packages his stories on the effects of the global financial crisis in Iceland, Greece, Ireland, Germany, and California into one book: Boomerang. If you had ready the stories when they were published in Vanity Fair, then you’ve ready the book. If you missed some (or all) of those stories then this book is … Read more »
Salute a Veteran
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day for November 11, 1919. “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed … Read more »
Massachusetts Revises Proposed Private Fund Adviser Exemption
From my discussions, many real estate fund managers are still not sure if they are subject to registration under the Investment Advisers Act. The definition of “private fund” can exclude many real estate funds depending on the structure of their investments. I think the result is that you end up under the federal level of … Read more »
Form ADV, Valuations, and Timing for New Registrations
With hundreds (thousands?) of private fund managers set to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission next quarter, the new form ADV is on the IARD system and ready for you to start uploading information. I noticed the first problem. Question 5 asks you to “determine your regulatory assets under management based on the current … Read more »
SEC Says it is Bringing Charges Against Wall Street
You’ve probably heard the charges made by politicians and activists that the Securities and Exchange Commission is ineffective and not bringing charges against those who caused the 2008 financial crisis. “YOU’RE WRONG!” says the SEC. The SEC has begun publishing “Enforcement Actions Addressing Misconduct That Led to or Arose From the Financial Crisis.” Key Statistics … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces for November 4
Here are some compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention: How Trustworthy Are You? from the Trusted Advisor A summary infographic on five questions from the Trust Quotient self-assessment Investigation Nation: SEC Employees and Inspector General Play Cat-and-Mouse by Bruce Carton in Compliance Week’s Enforcement Action A group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in … Read more »
FCPA as a Strike Breaker
The United Steelworkers sent a request to investigate to the U.S. Justice Department. The union believes Freeport-McMoRan has violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by engaging the bribery of security forces in Indonesia. The Jakarta Post said national police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo admitted his personnel had received ‘meal money’ to guard the company’s gold … Read more »