According to the Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, it discovered “significant deficiencies” related to custody issues with a third of the investment advisers that it examined, including: • Failure of an investment adviser to recognize when it has custody • Failure to satisfy the rule’s…
According to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Elisse Walter, the best way to regulate global over-the-counter derivatives regulation is via “substituted compliance.” Such an approach would let a market participant comply with domestic requirements in a certain area through compliance with comparable foreign regulation while also allowing the domestic regulator…
Rajarengan “Rengan”, the brother of Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam, has entered a not guilty plea to federal fraud charges accusing him of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. The indictment stems from the same insider trading that landed Raj behind bars for 11 years and resulted in…
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. has consented to pay $17.5 million to the state of Massachusetts to settle allegations by that it did not disclose conflicts of interest involving collateralized debt obligation-related activities leading up to the financial crisis. Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin also is accusing the firm of…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is ordering four financial firms to pay $105,000 in fines for Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board violations related to political contribution, pricing, supervision, and other rules. The SRO noted the fines in its monthly disciplinary report. One firm, Interactive Brokers LLC, must pay $7,500 for trade…
Calling it its largest insider trading settlement to date, the Securities and Exchange Commission has settled its securities case with CR Intrinsic Investors LLC, an SAC Capital Advisors-affiliated hedge fund advisory firm, for $600 million. The regulator had sued the CR Intrinsic Investors and portfolio manager Matthew Martoma last year,…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed that, for purposes of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration, investors who lost the investment they made on stock they purchased from a lawyer connected to a Raymond James Financial Services (RJF) Inc. broker are not the brokerage firm’s client. The…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has reinstated New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund v. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS), which also includes defendants Wells Fargo Advisors (WFC), McGraw-Hill (MHP), and a number of others. The decision will ease class action mortgage-backed securities lawsuits by investors.…
District Court Won’t Stay Derivatives Case Alleging FCPA Violations The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana decided not to stay a shareholder derivative lawsuit accusing Tidewater Inc. of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Judge Jane Triche Milazzo believes that a stay would burden not just the…
SEC Division Reviews Investment Advisers Act As It Applies to Private Fund Advisers Currently examining the way applies the 1940 Investment Advisers Act to private fund advisers, the Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly concentrating specifically on the areas of Form ADV and advertising. SEC Division of Investment Manager Director…