SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro today issued an open letter to remind broker-dealer chief executive officers of their supervisory responsibilities under the federal securities laws to oversee broker-dealer activities, particularly with respect to sales practices.
Aug
27
On August 17, 2009, the SEC announced that it has reopened the comment period for the proposed Regulation SHO amendments. In addition to a renewed request for comment on its April proposals, the SEC is also soliciting additional feedback on an alternative price test that would allow short selling only at a price above the current national best bid.
For our readers who partake in short selling, below is a recap of the amendments proposed in April and more detail on the SEC’s latest request for additional comment. Read the rest of this entry »
Aug
27
The SEC and the CFTC announced on August 20th that they will hold joint meetings in September to seek input from the public on the harmonization of market regulation.
In June President Obama called on the SEC and CFTC to make recommendations to Congress for changes to statutes and regulations that would harmonize regulation of futures and securities.
Aug
25
If you read our post on the hedge fund registration bills that are currently in congress, you may start to get the feeling that hedge fund registration is all but inevitable. The question that a lot of hedge fund managers are now facing is: when should I pull the trigger on registration? Do I wait until legislation is passed or do I get ahead of the curve and register now? Read the rest of this entry »
Aug
24
The big news of the day today (during a slow, end of August week) was reports that convicted ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff has cancer. Meanwhile, DealBreaker wonders “What kind of cancer is both “serious” and “not life threatening?”
Will Bernie serve out a good portion of his fraud sentence or will he be gone before his first year is up? Only time will tell.
Aug
19
With the recent explosion of Twitter and other Web 2.0 venues (i.e. LinkedIn, Facebook, etc), one begins to wonder how these technologies affect advisory firms from a compliance perspective. More and more of late, we see businesses turning to Twitter and similar sites to help increase their business, generate interest and to just simply express their views. What are some of the things that investment advisers need to think about as it relates to Web 2.0 technologies?
Aug
19
Robert Khuzami, Director of the Division of Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission, gave a speech on Wednesday (August 5, 2009) at the New York City Bar Association on his “First 100 Days” as Director of Enforcement. Mr. Khuzami addressed the three-month self-assessment the Enforcement Division has undertaken to evaluate how it can be more efficient and successful and the results of that work, the division’s core casework, and major initiatives undertaken at the Commission in the last three months. Read the rest of this entry »
Aug
18
There has obviously been a lot of talk lately about hedge fund registration. There are several bills that are currently pending in congress right now, so we thought that we would take this opportunity to summarize those bills and give you an idea of where things might ultimately land. Additionally, we have provided links to more in-depth Summary Memo’s which provide more details on each bill. Read the rest of this entry »
Aug
17
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Ohio-based investment advisers Robert Pinkas and Brantley Capital Management (BCM) with securities fraud for overvaluing assets in an investment portfolio they managed in order to generate higher investment advisory fees. The SEC also charged another BCM official.
Aug
15
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Bernard L. Madoff’s chief financial officer, Frank DiPascali, with securities fraud for overseeing the mechanics of Madoff’s entirely fictitious investment strategy and creating millions of phony documents and trading records to conceal the fraud from regulators and investors.
