The Economist ran a special report on the future of finance last week. One item caught my eye – When Markets Turn: A Parable of How Modern Finance Can Go Wrong. The story looks back at the collapse of the Long-Term Capital Management in 1998. The article puts some of the lessons of that funds … Read more »
Hedge Fund Transparency Act of 2009
Senators Chuck Grassley and Carl Levin introduced the Hedge Fund Transparency Act (S.344). Instead of amending the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (as Senator Grassley tried with S.1402 in the 110th Congress), this bill would amend the Investment Company Act of 1940. The first step is defining a “hedge fund.” (Not an easy task) Rather … Read more »
First Report of the Walker Guidelines Monitoring Group
The Guidelines Monitoring Group has published its First Report (.pdf) on the UK private equity industry’s conformity with the Walker Guidelines. The Guidelines are intended to have funds enhance their reporting and the reporting by their large portfolio companies. They define a portfolio company as one with a market capitalization (prior to be acquired) was … Read more »
Recommended Annual Review for Hedge Funds and Other Private Fund Managers
Bingham McCutchen has put together a Recommended Annual Review for Hedge Funds and Other Private Fund Managers. Bingham put together a laundry list of regulations, policies and filings that you should review on at least an annual basis: Compliance Policies and Procedures Form ADV Part 1 and Form ADV Part II Form SH Anti-Fraud Rule … Read more »
Decoding the Science of Compliance — Are you Ready for 201 CMR 17.00?
Compliance Week broadcast a webcast on the new Massachusetts data privacy regulations: Decoding the Science of Compliance — Are you Ready for 201 CMR 17.00? (and sponsored by Iron Mountain). Garry Watzke, Esq., Senior Vice President Legal & Business Development at Iron Mountain, Inc. started with the basics which I have noted in several other … Read more »
Trading in Distressed Debt
Richard G. Mason, Steven A. Cohen, Ian Boczko, Sarah A. Lewis, and David Gruenstein of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, have prepared a memorandum concerning the possession and use of information when buying and selling distressed debt (an abridged version of which was published in The New York Law Journal): Trading in Distressed Debt . … Read more »
Insider Trading by Congress
Apparently members of Congress and their staff can make trades using non-public information obtained through their official positions. House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise M. Slaughter, D-N.Y., and Brian Baird , D-Wash., are sponsoring what they call the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (HR 682) that would prohibit Members of Congress and their staffers from … Read more »
Post Your Form ADV
If you are a registered investment adviser you need to file a Form ADV with the SEC. Your Form ADV is searchable on SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site. Post a copy of your filed Form ADV on your company’s website and/or link to your Form ADV on the SEC website.It shows you are registered … Read more »
U.S. Senate Hears About Madoff
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing on the background and implications of the Madoff scandal: Madoff Investment Securities Fraud: Regulatory and Oversight Concerns and the Need for Reform. Video Archive Member Statements Senator Christopher J. Dodd Witness Testimony Professor John C. Coffee, Adolf A. Berle Professor … Read more »
International Data Privacy Day
January 28, 2009 is International Data Privacy Day. [Intel’s Collection of data privacy materials]. The United States, Canada, and 27 European countries will celebrate Data Privacy Day together for the second time. One of the primary goals of Data Privacy Day 2009 is to promote privacy awareness and education among teens across the United States. … Read more »