I’m still surprised that the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act flew through Congress two years ago. It’s surprising to see bi-partisan support for anything. Unfortunately, the law was flawed and has accomplished little that it set out to accomplish. The Title III Crowdfunding law was wildly hailed as monumentally changing the way small businesses could … Read more »
Form PF Filing Day
If you run a private fund, today is deadline for the annual Form PF filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Depending on the type of fund, you have different reporting requirements. The SEC gets bogged down with poor definitions trying to distinguish among the types of funds. In the glossary to Form PF, a … Read more »
Cybersecurity and Private Funds
The Securities and Exchange Commission has off-an-on expressed concerns about cybersecurity for broker-dealers and registered investment advisers. Now it’s officially concerned. The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations has announced a new cybersecurity initiative. The Risk Alert follows the announcement of a technology element in OCIE’s 2014 examination priorities and the SEC’s March 26, 2014 … Read more »
Cleaning Up An Oil Spill Is Insider Trading
Keith A. Seilhan was 20-year employee of BP and a senior responder during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Seilhan directed BP’s oil skimming operations and its efforts to contain the expansion of the oil spill. What he saw scared him so he sold his entire portfolio of BP stock. The Securities and Exchange Commission … Read more »
Happy Patriots’ Day
The Redcoats are coming! The Redcoats are coming! Patriots’ Day is a Massachusetts state holiday commemorating the opening battles of the American Revolutionary War in Lexington and Concord in April, 1775. The more modern day event is the running of the Boston Marathon, starting in Hopkinton and ending 26.2 miles later in Copley Square. Last … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for April 18
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Quantity does not equal quality: Expanding ‘disclosure events’ on BrokerCheck a bad idea: Brokerage industry is only one in which professionals as deemed guilty until proven innocent by S. Lawrence Polk in Investment News Under the current version of Form U4, brokers and … Read more »
Best Practices Under the FCPA and Bribery Act
Tom Fox is prolific writer on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He publishes the excellent FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog. One of the downsides to a blog is that it’s a running commentary and not a narrative guide. Blogs are great for sharing ideas among practitioners. But a blog does not come together as a … Read more »
The SEC Expresses Its Displeasure on Fund Fees
A few days ago, Bloomberg published a story that the Securities and Exchange Commission has examined about 400 private equity firms and found that more than half charged “unjustified fees and expenses without notifying investors”. The SEC followed through with that story and recently charged Total Wealth Management with improperly disclosing fee revenue. Total Wealth … Read more »
Real Estate Investing and Crowdfunding
Real estate investing is capital-intensive. It should be a natural area for crowdfunding. The big concern is fees and conflicts. With a tech startup, you are investing in an idea and the people with the idea. It may grow exponentially or blow up, leaving little behind. Part of the investment is paying the people to … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for April 11
Charles Ponzi’s former home up for sale by Erin Ailworth For the first time, the butter-colored stucco house with the slate roof and second-story balustrades, is going on the broader real estate market, available to anyone willing to take a run at the $3.3 million asking price. All previous sales have been private. One of … Read more »