The SEC said it would focus on matters relating to retail investors saving for retirement and the SEC followed through with the new exam focus: the ReTIRE Initiative. We’ve seen this coming. The National Exam 2015 priorities list stated that OCIE will focus on how retail investors at or nearing retirement are being served by … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for the July Fourth Weekend
These are some of the compliance-related stories I set aside to read this holiday weekend. What Do Rating Agencies Think about “Too-Big-to-Fail” Since Dodd-Frank? by Gara Afonso and João Santos in Liberty Street Economics Is it possible that, while S&P still expects support for some BHCs, the perceived strength of support has decreased and is … Read more »
How to Allocate Broken Deal Expenses After the KKR Case?
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) with misallocating more than $17 million in “broken deal” expenses to its private equity funds as a breach of KKR’s fiduciary duty. The SEC felt that KKR should not have charged all of those broken deal expenses to the Fund. But how should … Read more »
Allocation of Broken Deal Expenses
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) with misallocating more than $17 million in “broken deal” expenses to its private equity funds. The SEC found this to be a breach of KKR’s fiduciary duty. An SEC investigation found that from 2006 to 2011, KKR incurred $338 million in broken deal … Read more »
SEC Loosens the Standards in Trade Monitoring
One of the more difficult aspects of a private equity fund when it registers as an investment adviser is dealing with the Rule 204A-1 requirement of monitoring employee trading. The SEC recently issued guidance on the applicability to managed accounts when there is no direct or indirect influence or control. The Guidance focuses on the … Read more »
Can a Real Estate Fund Manager Be a Venture Capital Fund Manager?
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act split the world of fund managers into a few groups. One group that was able to grab a limited exemption from the Investment Advisers Act registration was venture capital fund managers. What does it take to be a venture capital fund manager? And could a real … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for June 19
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Ethisphere Announces the 2015 Attorneys Who Matter Honorees represent all areas of practice including federal agencies, in-house counsel, top ethics and compliance officers of major companies, and outside counsel. Each one raises the bar for ethical behavior and boasts a commendable track record … Read more »
I Ask For Your Money
Compliance Building is a free resource I publish for me, and share with you, to help the compliance profession. It will still be free, but I’m asking for money. I should point out that the money is not for me; It’s for charity. I’m riding the 2015 Pan-Mass Challenge to raise money for the Dana-Farber … Read more »
The SEC Goes After the Gate Keeper
When a fraud is uncovered, the Securities and Exchange Commission no only wants to get the fraudsters, it also wants to get those who should have stopped the fraud. The SEC just brought an action against an IRA Custodian for ignoring red flags for its accounts that invested in Ponzi schemes. The underlying fraud was … Read more »
Whistleblower Retaliation
A year ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Paradigm Capital Management with engaging in prohibited transactions and then retaliating against the head trader who reported the trading activity to the SEC. It was the first time the SEC filed a case under its new authority to bring anti-retaliation enforcement actions. Now it has handed … Read more »