Doug Cornelius on compliance for private equity real estate
I was scratching my head for a while after my initial reading of the Securities and Exchange Commission action against Madison Capital Funding. The SEC dove into a valuation process that seemed relatively straight-forward to me, but labeled it a fraud. Madison’s business model is a bit complex. It originates loans. (This was 2020, before…
As retail access to private markets accelerates, the Securities and Exchange Commission hosted a roundtable on Wednesday to discuss governance, valuation, and other considerations in the private markets. The SEC has a clear aim of promoting “retailization” of private markets. My skepticism of this direction is not one of risk and valuation but of liquidity….
Lots of advisers track the FINRA gift limit of $100. Some specifically because they have dual registration. More use that limit because it became a de facto industry standard because it was the only one out there. The current gift limit of $100 has been in place since 1992. That was way too low. FINRA…
Beginning March 1, 2026, select professionals involved in real estate closings and settlements are required to report information to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for non-financed transfers of residential real estate to legal entities or trusts. The Department of the Treasury has long recognized that the illicit use of residential…
Why go through the hassle of filing a Form ADV and registering as an investment adviser if you are not a real firm? That was the question I was asking myself a few months ago when the Securities and Exchange Commission filed cases against a half-dozen firms for false ADV filings. Last week the SEC…
A major goal of a chief compliance officer at a registered investment adviser is to avoid have to face the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement staff. I’ve never spent much time reading its enforcement manual. It’s been updated. The last update was in 2017. There are updates to the Wells process when one becomes the…
Every parent wants their kid to succeed. If the kid wants to be a soccer superstar, you help your kid. Maybe a high-end sports camp will take your kid’s talent to the next level, so you send them to IMG Academy, one of the world’s leading sports training schools. (It even has a wikipedia page…
You are happily working at a public company with 100,000+ shares of stock. The stock price was in the dumps. It was close to $20 per share when you started and was now down to less than $0.50. Telehealth was having some rough patches. Selling teeth aligners, Smile Direct had served more than 2 million…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has embraced President Trump’s regulatory review and rollback Executive Order. It’s also addressing the Registered Fund Association’s concerns about proposed rules in 2024. First up the SEC is extending the compliance dates for the Investment Company Names Rule. The compliance dates for the Form N-PORT amendments adopted on September 20,…
Last week a legal case tacked a novel issue involving Artificial Intelligence. The defendant used Claude, Anthropic’s AI platform, to prepare reports that outlined his possible defense strategy. The defendant argued that the reports were subject to privilege. The government argued they were not and wanted them produced for discovery in the legal case. The…