Doug Cornelius on compliance for private equity real estate
For its latest mission, Improve Everywhere staged an unauthorized boardroom meeting in the office chair department of a Staples. The chairs in this particular office supply store were already arranged in a boardroom configuration, making it easy for us to hold a surprise meeting. Actor Will Hines gave a presentation to the board, using a … Read more »
Starting on December 3, 2012, FINRA members must file a copy of any private placement memorandum, term sheet or other offering document the firm used within 15 calendar days of the date of the sale. Placement agents for private funds will likely be FINRA members and subject to this rule. FINRA Rule 5123 is part … Read more »
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention: Frankenstein, Lance Armstrong and FCPA/Bribery Act Compliance by Tom Fox So how does Frankenstein relate to compliance and ethics? Exhibit A for today is my fellow Texan Lance Armstrong. Yesterday, in the FCPA Blog I wrote about Armstrong and ethical values in the context … Read more »
The SEC has once again claimed that its Aberrational Performance Inquiry has identified another miscreant. Once again, I’m skeptical that the SEC is actually using “proprietary risk analytics” to identify hedge funds with suspicious returns. The SEC alleges that Yorkville Advisors overstated the value of the assets in its funds to improve marketability and increase … Read more »
The CFTC is going to dramatically expand its realm through the one-two punch of gaining regulatory control over non-securities derivatives and the removal of a widely used exemption. (With the release of REITs from the definition of “commodity pool” perhaps the CFTC is loosening its grip.) Fortunately, there is another exemption that most private equity … Read more »
Dodd-Frank’s Title VII is likely to sweep a bunch of private equity fund operators under the CFTC’s registration requirement. The CFTC stated that a single interest rate swap or foreign exchange hedge could drag the fund manager into the definition of “Commodity Pool Operator” (7 USC §1a(10) and have to register with the CFTC. The … Read more »
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is getting ready to land its second regulatory punch to private equity funds. The first was the registration requirement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The second is the upcoming registration requirement with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. Two recent developments pull fund managers into the … Read more »
During the summer of 2001, Mrs. Doug was stuck on the couch recovering from knee surgery. She stumbled across the coverage of the Tour de France, and especially Lance Armstrong, on the Outdoor Life Network. We were hooked, and ever since have been glued to the television during July to watch the beauty and competition … Read more »
The Securities and Exchange Commission has started it Presence Exams process. I have copies of letters from the New York Regional Office and the Boston Regional Office. The Presence Exams is part of an initiative to conduct “focused, risk-based examinations of investment advisers to private funds that recently registered with the commission.” The SEC has … Read more »
I’m not quite sure how royalty works in various parts of the world. From the latest FCPA Opinion release, the parties to a business deal also did not fully understand. The proposed business relationship has some serious red flags so I’m not surprised the parties requested the opinion. According to the release, submission for a … Read more »