I thought the picks for Securities and Exchange Commissioner would fly through the confirmation process. I was clearly wrong and Congress is even more dysfunctional than I thought. The SEC is now down to just three members after two left the agency late last year. President Obama nominated Lisa Fairfax, a Democrat, and Hester Peirce, … Read more »
Taking Management Fees In Advance, and Then More
It is not uncommon for fund managers and investment advisers to take management fees payable in advance. At some point, taking fees in advance is just stealing from investors. Steven Burrill and his firm reached that point and went well beyond it. To be clear, taking management fees in advance is not illegal. In fact, … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for April 1
These are some of the compliance related stories that recently caught my attention. Valeant may get bank waivers but risks default with SEC and NYSE by Francine McKenna in MarketWatch Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. may get a waiver from its bank lenders to file its Form 10-K annual report and first-quarter report later than required. … Read more »
Stealing from Peter to Pay Paul
I generally think of fraudsters in two buckets. Some are trying to take the money and run. Some are using the ill-gotten money to cover up a prior loss, hoping to earn it all back. I think most ponzi schemes fall into the later category. A splashy fraud case this week highlighted this second type. … Read more »
ADV Filing Deadline
2016 is a leap year. That means there was an extra day in February. That moves the deadline for investment advisors and registered fund managers for filing Form ADV from March 31 to March 30. In other words, Form ADV is due today. Hopefully that has not caught you off guard. If it has, you … Read more »
Designated Lenders Counsel and Compliance
If you own a home, there was likely a lawyer sitting at the closing table. Who paid for the lawyer and who did the lawyer represent? You paid, but the lawyer worked for the bank. She or he was there to make sure the bank’s interests were protected. There was recent coverage of a similar … Read more »
Warding Off Unethical Behavior
Legend has it that if you string garlic around your house, you can ward off vampires. What if there was something similar you could do to ward off unethical behavior in the workplace? Apparently, religious symbols may keep you away from an unethical boss. A forthcoming study in the Academy of Management Journal found that … Read more »
A $81 Million Dollar Hole in Anti-Money Laundering Laws
I’m vastly understating that number. We know that thieves planned to run that much through the Philippines gambling establishments. It’s a clear case of appeasing a local industry by writing loopholes in legislation. A month ago, thieves began looting Bangladesh’s account at the New York Federal Reserve. The transfer of the money had been “fully … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for March 18
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Five Questions for Our SEC Commissioner Nominees by Matt Kelly in Radical Compliance How would you strike the balance between investor access to information and companies’ ability to raise capital easily? We have already seen reduced disclosure obligations for newly public companies thanks … Read more »
Compliance and St. Patrick’s Day
My office is next door to Boston’s famous Irish pub, The Black Rose. It’s hard to ignore the celebrations, with patrons going in for a pint, while I’m going into my office. So I had to find a compliance angle. One of the miracles attributed to St. Patrick as part of his sainthood was driving … Read more »