The Investor Clarity and Bank Parity Act (HR 4096) passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Volcker Rule adopted by the regulators limited the ability of bank holding companies and their affiliates, including...more
The SEC recently denied no-action relief to a request by Baker Hughes Incorporated to exclude a Rule 14a-8 shareholder proposal submitted by Newground Social Investment, SPC, a registered investment adviser, on behalf of an...more
The SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, or OCIE, has published its list of 2016 examination priorities. Matters of interest for private equity and hedge fund sponsors include...more
In remarks before the 2015 National Society of Compliance Professionals, National Conference, Andrew Ceresney, Director, SEC Division of Enforcement, outlined the type of criteria used to charge Chief Compliance Officers with...more
11/4/2015
/ Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Investors ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations
The SEC has proposed amendments to Rule 147 under the Securities Act of 1933, which currently provides a safe harbor for compliance with the Section 3(a)(11) exemption from registration for intrastate securities offerings....more
11/2/2015
/ Capital Formation ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Crowdfunding ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Employee Benefits ,
Exemptions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financing ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
NASAA ,
NYSE ,
Popular ,
Public Offerings ,
Qualified Benefit Plans ,
Regulation A ,
Regulation S ,
Rule 147 ,
Rule 506(c) ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Transacting Intrastate Business
SEC Chair Mary Jo White recently delivered pointed remarks to a conference attended by hedge fund and private equity advisors.
One portion of her remarks was directed at operational risks of private funds, such as...more
10/22/2015
/ Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Portfolios ,
OCIE ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Private Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC published a report that provides private fund industry statistics and trends, reflecting aggregated data reported by private fund advisers on Form ADV and Form PF. Most of the data in the more than 50 separate tables...more
10/19/2015
/ Derivatives ,
Financial Institutions ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Investors ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Private Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trading Platforms
The SEC announced that three private equity fund advisers within The Blackstone Group have agreed to pay nearly $39 million to settle charges that they failed to fully inform investors about benefits that the advisers...more
10/12/2015
/ Breach of Duty ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Investors ,
Legal Fees ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, or OCIE, has launched a multi-year Retirement-Targeted Industry Reviews and Examinations (ReTIRE) Initiative. OCIE is focusing on retirement-based savings in...more
6/23/2015
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Examination Priorities ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Marketing ,
Material Disclosures ,
OCIE ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Outgoing SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher explained his dissenting votes in two SEC enforcement actions against Chief Compliance Officers. Mr. Gallagher explained that in both instances, the Commission’s order states...more
The SEC recently rendered an opinion in an enforcement action against two persons, John P. Flannery and James D. Hopkins, associated with an investment adviser. In so doing, it sought to limit the Supreme Court’s holding in...more
The CFTC previously granted family offices no-action relief from registration as commodity pool operators. That letter did not provide an exemption from registration as a commodity trading advisor. However, the CFTC has...more
The SEC announced charges against an investment advisory firm and three of its top officials for violating the “custody rule” that requires firms to follow certain procedures when they control or have access to client money...more
In testimony before Congress, SEC Chair Mary Jo White noted that she anticipates SEC staff will conclude a two-year initiative to conduct focused, risk-based exams of newly registered private fund advisers in October 2014. ...more
The SEC charged two firms with failing to register as investment advisers because their operations were integrated and charged one of the entities with violating pay-to-play rules....more
Investment Advisers Act Rule 206(4)-1(a)(1) states that: “[i]t shall constitute a fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative act, practice, or course of business . . . for any investment adviser registered or required to be...more
The SEC charged a London-based hedge fund adviser and its former U.S.-based holding company with internal controls failures that led to the overvaluation of a fund’s assets and inflated fee revenue for the firms. The case...more
Rule 206(4)-5(a)(1) under the Investment Advisers Act prohibits a registered investment adviser from providing investment advisory services for compensation to a government entity within two years after a contribution to an...more
The SEC has settled an administrative action with the managing member of a fund of private equity funds. In an examination the SEC staff learned that the manager was violating the custody rule (Rule 206(4)-2 under the...more
Rule 205-3 issued under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, or the Advisers Act, provides an exemption from section 205(a)(1) of the Advisers Act, which prohibits an investment adviser from entering into an investment...more
The SEC has sanctioned three investment advisory firms for repeatedly ignoring problems with their compliance programs.
The enforcement actions arise from the agency’s Compliance Program Initiative, which targets firms...more
The SEC has sanctioned a former portfolio manager at a Boulder, Colo.-based investment adviser for forging documents and misleading the firm’s chief compliance officer to conceal his failure to report personal trades....more
The SEC has granted AngelList relief on accepting transaction based compensation for crowd funding, exempting it from the broker-dealer rules. A couple days ago, the SEC granted relief to thefundersclub.com. Makes you kind...more
The SEC has charged two investment advisers at Oppenheimer & Co. with misleading investors about the valuation policies and performance of a private equity fund they manage. The SEC recently hinted at potential increased...more