Anyone in compliance and anyone running a fund knows that the Securities and Exchange Commission is laser-focused on fees being charged to investors. Marco Investment Management got it wrong and was subject to an order by the SEC. But, the firm actually short-changed itself. Marco’s advisory agreements with its clients called for a fee to … Read more »
Category: Compliance Programs
Dodd Frank and Industry Consolidation
Enhancing regulations is meant to protect consumers. The side effect is often to protect the large incumbent firms and make it more difficult for smaller firms to thrive. This theory is proving true under Dodd-Frank. A study by Marshall Lux and Robert Greene on community banks found that since Dodd-Frank community banks have lost market … Read more »
Compliance Across Industries
One of the puzzling aspects of compliance is that it means vastly different things across industries. What compliance means to a bank is very different from what compliance means to a drilling company. I think the reasons are obvious: regulatory requirements. In a highly regulated industry, there will be a greater focus on complying the … Read more »
Compliance and the Super Bowl Victory
Defense wins championships. It’s an old sport cliche. However, the Denver Broncos proved it last night in the Super Bowl. The Orange Crush neutralized the NFL’s MVP, Cam Newton. Peyton Manning rounded off his career, landing win 200. Mr. Manning still has the most playoff losses of any quarterback. Of course that is because he … Read more »
Happy Start to Your Compliance New Year
I hope you were able to enjoy the long weekend. Perhaps an extra long weekend if you found December 31 to be an optional work day. Today is obviously not the first day of the new year, but it is the first day of work in the new year. With the new year, come the … Read more »
Looking Ahead – Five Compliance Predictions for 2016
With my 2015 almost gone, I was thinking about what to expect in 2016 in the private fund and real estate fund compliance area. My crystal ball is not very reliable. If it was fully operational, I would have bought Apple stock in 2002 before the iPod came out. Real Estate Fund Enforcement Actions There … Read more »
The Compliance of the Winter Solstice
The winter solstice marks the longest night and shortest day of the year with the latest dawn and the sun at its lowest point in the sky. Its the shortest day of the year. But that is not entirely true and we see a problem of scope, bias, and definition. The solstice happens at the … Read more »
Jedi Training and Compliance Training
As I was gently caressing my tickets for tonight’s early premier of Star War: The Force Awakens, another compliance thought came to mind. The Star Wars saga shows three examples of Jedi training. One of which falls far short of the compliance standard. We see glimpses of the younglings training at the Jedi Temple. That … Read more »
The Compliance Failure of the Death Star
The Death Star was touted as the “ultimate power in the universe.” But a few proton torpedoes managed to destroy the entire station. It didn’t make into the trilogy, but I assume there would have been an ensuing investigation that would have looked at the failures that lead to loss. At least I imagined there … Read more »
The Jedi and Compliance Failures
My family has been re-watching the Star Wars movies in anticipation of this week’s premiere of Episode VII. While watching Episodes I-III, I wondered if the Jedi could have used some compliance strategies to help prevent their downfall. Two of the goals of compliance are (1) to deter people in your organization from doing bad … Read more »