California has followed the lead of New York and started regulating the use of placement agents. California’s law requires placement agents to disclose contributions and gifts made to state and local pension and retirement board members, as well as information about the placement agent’s compensation, the services provided, and any lobbying or regulatory registrations. The … Read more »
Tag: Placement agents
Schwarzman Stands up for Placement Agents
“Eliminating placement agents as a group because there were a few bad actors who have tarnished the industry is analogous to eliminating Major League Baseball because several of its players behaved illegally.” Steven Schwarzman, The Blackstone Group’s chairman and chief executive, has submitted a comment letter on the SEC’s proposed ban on placement agents interacting … Read more »
Placement Agents Fight Bans
Placement agent bans were put in place at the New York State Common Retirement Fund and the New Mexico State Investment Council because of the pay-to-play scandals at those pension funds. Now the SEC has proposed a ban on using placement agents when seeking capital investments from public pension funds. A coalition of placement agents … Read more »
SEC Proposes Measures to Curtail “Pay to Play” Practices
At yesterday’s Open Meeting, the SEC voted unanimously to propose measures intended to curtail “pay to play” practices by investment advisers that seek to manage money for state and local governments. In 1999, the SEC considered a proposal to curb adviser pay to play practices modeled on MSRB Rule G37 that applies to underwriters of … Read more »
New York Public Pension Fund Reform Code of Conduct
In a widely publicized story, The Carlyle Group has agreed to adopt New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s Public Pension Fund Reform Code of Conduct. It is the first money manager to adopt Cuomo’s new “code of reform” for the municipal-pension market. (Carlyle executives will not be subject to any criminal liability under the settlement … Read more »
N.Y. Comptroller Bans Placement Agents for State Pension Fund
State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced he has banned the involvement of placement agents, paid intermediaries and registered lobbyists in investments with the New York State Common Retirement Fund (CRF). The ban includes entities “compensated on a flat fee, a contingent fee or any other basis.” See: N.Y. Comptroller Bans Placement Agents for State … Read more »