The SEC posted a warning on Bogus E-Mail Purporting to be from SEC Office of the Whistleblower. The SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower is real; the e-mail is a hoax. Earlier this week I received an angry email complaining about spam sent by me. That left me a bit confused because I don’t send out … Read more »
Private Fund Advisers and State Registration
As a result of the shifting boundaries between state and federal regulation of investment advisers, NASAA created a model rule for Registration Exemption for Investment Advisers to Private Funds. The rule tracks the general parameters of the new federal rules for investment adviser registration for private fund advisers. Massachusetts became the latest state to adopt … Read more »
Are You a CPO?
The first question is what is a CPO and why should I care? The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission decided to tighten the exemptions from registration potentially pulling some hedge funds and private equity funds that previously ignored the CFTC. Davis Polk held a webinar on this topic. Some private fund managers may get the … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces for March 2
These are some stories that recently caught my attention: Behind the Crackdown on Insider Trading by Peter J. Henning in the NYtimes.com’s DealBook One reason prosecutors have pursued it is the explosive growth of hedge funds and investment advisory firms, which trade billions of dollars worth of securities and have a voracious appetite for information … Read more »
Valuations, Private Equity, and the SEC
The SEC has been poking around valuations for a while. First it was from the chaos of the 2008 financial crisis. The sudden illiquidity and drop in prices left many scratching their heads about the proper valuations for their assets. That was the main charge against the Bear Stearns hedge fund managers. The Justice Department … Read more »
Proposed Identity Theft Red Flags Rules
Identity theft is a serious problem. Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act increased the scope of firms that would be subject to federal regulatory requirements on identity theft rules. The Securities Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission just published a proposed rule addressing that new scope. Section … Read more »
Technical Problems
Sometimes things just go wrong. No matter how hard you try (or don’t) you need to expect the unexpected. Software and systems inevitable break and go down. And when a system goes down, it will inevitably go down at the least convenient time. The key is testing, redundancy, and back-up. You can’t prepare for all … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces for February 24
These are some compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention: The SEC’s Whistleblower’s Office did not email you It’s spam, linked to a virus. [Insert joke here…] Are Auditors Reporting Fraud And Illegal Acts? The SEC Knows But Isn’t Telling by Francine McKenna in re: The Auditors Section 10A of the Securities and Exchange Act … Read more »
SEC Sweep Letter for Private Equity Funds
The San Francisco Office of the SEC has an informal inquiry into the valuations of private equity funds. IA Watch has received a copy of the sweep letter from the Division of Enforcement directed to a private equity fund manager. Some highlights in the request: All formation and offering documents for the fund, including private … Read more »
Middle Names and Form ADV
When filling out Form ADV, Schedule A and Schedule B require you to disclose control persons, owners, and significant indirect owners of the investment adviser. The instructions call for the full legal name: Last name, first name, and middle name. And the SEC means it. They require full legal names (last, first, and middle name). … Read more »