Andrew Donahue, the Chief of Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission gave a speech earlier this month to the National Society of Compliance Professionals National Conference. He was attempting to share his thoughts on the current and future challenges that compliance professionals in the financial services area face. He envisions that CCOs will need … Read more »
Co-Investments and the SEC
Last year, regulators from the Securities and Exchange Commission raised concern about co-investments. The statements were vague about what was bothering the regulators. Co-investments allow a private equity to lower its exposure to an investment and give others an opportunity to invest along side the fund at a discounted rate. It can be an opportunity to … Read more »
When Does A Stock Picking Contest Turn Into a Derivative
Forcerank’s premise was simple: “fantasy sports for stocks”. Forcerank runs mobile phone games where players predict the order in which stocks would perform relative to each other. In its original form, if a player did well he or she won points and could some receive a cash prize. Forcerank kept 10 percent of the entry … Read more »
The SEC’s Pay-to-Play Rule and California Labor Law
Keith Bishop chimed in on Campaign Contributions and the SEC in the context of California law: Pay-To-Play Meets The California Labor Code at the California Corporate & Securities Law blog. He point to California Labor Code: Section 1101. No employer shall make, adopt, or enforce any rule, regulation, or policy: (a) Forbidding or preventing employees from … Read more »
Post Debate Campaign Contributions and the SEC
With the first of the presidential debates over, I thought it would be a good time to refresh myself on the SEC’s limits on political campaign donations by investment advisers. SEC Rule 206(4)-5 was put in place to limit political influence on government pension plan investment choices. Under the rule: 1. All political campaign contributions should be … Read more »
Personal Benefit in Insider Trading
While Mr. Cooperman was accused of making millions on insider trading. Sheren Tsai made $23,914.41 on her illegal trades. The relatively small amount of the gains caught my eye in the press release, but a particular line in the pleadings made me think it was worth highlighting. Ms. Tsai was (is?) in a romantic relationship … Read more »
Is Cooperman The New Cuban?
The Securities and Exchange Commission brought charges against Mark Cuban for insider trading. The SEC claimed he was an insider based his status as a big shareholder in the company or that he had agreed to not trade on material non-public information disclosed to him. The SEC brought charges against Leon Cooperman for trading on material … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for September 23
We have passed the Autumnal equinox and are heading into the dark nights of winter. Maybe some of these of compliance-related stories will keep you awake during the longer nights. Why Don’t General Counsels Stop Corporate Crime? by Sureyya Burcu Avci and H. Nejat Seyhun in the HLS Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation … Read more »
Auditor Independence Enforcement Actions
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced its first enforcement actions for auditor independence failures. I expect your auditors may have a bunch of new restrictions and questionnaires when it is time for the annual audit. The SEC announced two separate enforcement actions, both involving Ernst & Young. In one case, Gregory S. Bednar got too cozy with … Read more »
Bad Boys The SEC is Coming For You: Supervision Initiative
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations’ 2016 Examination Priorities included a focus on individuals with a history of disciplinary events. That priority has been put into action. The SEC issued a new Risk Alert on upcoming examination. OCIE is undertaking an initiative to examine the supervision practices and compliance programs of registered investment … Read more »