Articles Posted in SEC

SEC’s Proxy Access Rule is Rejected by Appeals Court

Published on: August 5, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has struck down a Securities and Exchange Commission rule that would have let company shareholders nominate one or two director nominees to their boards. The proxy access rule would have allowed groups with possession of a minimum 3% voting power of a company’s stock for a minimum of three years to nominate board candidates. Companies would have had to include information about these shareholder-nominated director candidates in their proxy materials.

The SEC had approved the regulation last year. It would have gone into effect in November, but the Commission stayed it after the US Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable filed their legal challenge asking for the stay. The Business groups had said the rule was in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and would “handcuff directors and boards,” exclude the majority of retail shareholders, and worsen the “short-term focus” considered among the main causes of the economic crisis. There were also concerns that the proxy access rule would let hedge funds, union-connected pension funds, corporate raiders, and hedge funds elect directors who would do as they directed.

The Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable also accused the SEC of disregarding studies and evidence that revealed the” adverse consequences of proxy access,” attempting to restrict the ability of shareholders to stop special interest groups from starting up expensive election contests, and not giving full consideration to state laws about access to principles about and related to proxy that already exist.

Advisory Performance Fee Rule Limit Adjusted by the SEC

Published on: July 30, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued an order raising the threshold for determining whether an investment adviser can charge performance fees to clients. The increase is because of inflation. It also executes a Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requirement.

Under the Investment Adviser Act’s Rule 205-3, investment advisers are allowed to charge performance fees if the client meets certain criteria. Two tests with dollar amount threshold are among these requirements.

Per the SEC order, an investment adviser can charge performance fees if it is managing at least $1 million for the client, or if the latter’s net worth is over $2 million. Either test has to have been satisfied at the time that the advisory contract is entered. Prior to this order, since 1998 the thresholds have been $750,000 and $1.5 million, respectively.

Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Commission was required to set forth an order to take into account inflation by July 21, 2011. The new order will go into effect on September 19, 2011
The SEC has proposed amendments to Rule 205-3, including:
• Using the PCE Index as the inflation index to calculate the inflation adjustment rates to this rule, which would be updated every five years.

• Excluding the value of that person’s main residence and debt that the property securities when determining if someone is a “qualified client”.

• Letting an investment adviser and its clients keep existing performance fee arrangements that were set up when they entered into the advisory contract.

Investment Adviser Fraud
Unfortunately, there are investors who end up losing money because of investment advisor fraud. Our securities fraud lawyers can help you determine whether you have a case.

SEC Issues Order Raising Performance Fee Rule Dollar Limit to Adjust for Inflation, SEC, July 12, 2011
Read the SEC Rule (PDF)

Read the SEC’s Final Rule on this Matter from 1998

Rules Under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940

More Blog Posts:
SEC to Up Dollar Thresholds for When an Investment Adviser Can Charge Investors Performance Fees, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, May 24, 2011
Investments Advisers Told to Look at Recent SEC Enforcement Actions When Preparing for Exams, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 20, 2011
No Need for New SRO Overseeing Investment Advisers, Says NASAA Official to Congress, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 10, 2011 Continue Reading ›

Broker-Dealers are Making Reverse Convertible Sales That are Harming Investors, Says SEC

Published on: July 28, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the sales practices that broker-dealers engage in when structured securities are hurting investors. The SEC released this recent finding in a report this week. Structured securities products are derivatives whose value is determined from baskets of indexes, other securities, options, debt issuances, commodities, and foreign securities.

The SEC reached its conclusion after conducting a sweep examination of 11 broker-dealers. The Commission says that the financial firms may have guided clients toward complex products even though they were unsuitable for these investors. In certain instances, they also appear to have:

• Charged too high of prices • Failed to adequately reveal all risks involved
• Traded at prices that were not to the benefit of retail investors • Committed possible supervisory deficiencies

At the heart of the SEC sweep examination were reverse convertible notes, which is a security that has an embedded put option. RCN are considered among the riskiest structured products. According to the SEC report, there were clients who purchased RCN’ even though these financial products not in line with their investor profiles or stated goals. Many of these RCN investors sustained significant financial losses.

The SEC report is recommending that broker-dealers:
• Implement procedures and controls to detect and stop structured securities-related abuses • Reveal material facts about the structured product notes when offering them to investors • Make sure that supervisors and registered representatives undergo specialized training before they sell structured securities
• Properly list structured securities products on client statements
It was just recently that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. warned investors to exercise caution when evaluating whether to buy complex investment products.

Our securities fraud lawyers represent investors that have suffered financial losses because they were encouraged to purchase financial instruments that were inappropriate for them.

SEC blasts B-Ds over sales of reverse convertibles, Investment News, July 27, 2011
Staff Summary Report on Issues Identified in Examinations of Certain Structured Securities Products Sold to Retail Investors, SEC, July 27, 2011 (PDF)

More Blog Posts:
RBC Wealth Management Unit Ferris Baker Watts to Pay Investors Restitution Over Reverse Convertible Notes Allegations, Says FINRA, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, October 23, 2010
Increase of Structured Notes with Derivatives Sales Seduces Retirees, Reports Bloomberg, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, September 25, 2010
FINRA Fines H & R Block Financial Advisors (Now Ameriprise Advisor Services) over Sales of Reverse Convertible Notes (RCN), Stockbroker Fraud Blog, February 17, 2010 Continue Reading ›

GSA Expected to Take Over SEC Leasing System Following Flawed $551M Deal, Says Chairman Schapiro

Published on: July 11, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to US Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Mary Schapiro, the General Securities Administration will likely take over the SEC’s leasing space system following the agency’s $550 million deal for 900,000 square feet of office space that it ended up not needing. Schapiro made her statements during testimony before a House subcommittee that oversees public buildings. The subcommittee has been looking at the deal.

The SEC made a 10-year deal to rent space at the Constitution Center in DC. The agreement was reached after the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act suggested that the SEC would need to hire hundreds of new employees because of its new tasks. However, the SEC never received the entire $1.3 billion that the reform bill had authorized for this year and the agency had to tell the property owner that it didn’t need the leased space.

Schapiro said she leased the space after she was notified that there were no other leasing options and that the price was right. It was just weeks later that she realized that the SEC couldn’t afford that degree of expansion. Last fall, the agency backed out of about 600,000 of the square feet it had leased. Two other agencies ended up taking most of that space. Meantime, the rest of the space has not been subleased and the landlord is now claiming the agency owes it almost $94 million in damages.

Last May, SEC Inspector General H. David Kotz made available the findings of his offices’s probe into the deal. According to Investment News, Kotz said the agency’s analysis had been “deeply flawed and unsound” and that he wants to ensure that SEC officials who were responsible are held “appropriately accountable.” Schapiro and the SEC recently told Kotz about how they intend to fix the system.

Our securities fraud law firm represent clients throughout the US and abroad. We represent individual investors and larger investors with losses up to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Related Web Resources:
Schapiro says GSA will take over SEC leasing after $557M mistake, Investment News, July 6, 2011
UPDATE: Lawmakers Criticize SEC For Lease On Space Never Used, The Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2011
SEC Office of Inspector General

General Securities Administration

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Texas Congressmen Seek Answers from SEC Chairwoman Regarding Conflict of Interest Related to Madoff Debacle, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, March 8, 2011
SEC IG Investigating Whether Examiners Were Told by Regional Official to Ignore “Red Flags” Indicating Massive Fraud, Institutional Investors Securities Blog, December 11, 2010
Goldman Sach’s $550 Million Securities Fraud Settlement Not Tied to Financial Reform Bill, Says SEC IG, Institutional Investors Securities Blog, October 27, 2010 Continue Reading ›

Bill Funding SEC at $1.185B for Fiscal Year 2012 Approved by House Committee

Published on: June 24, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The House Appropriations Committee has voted to approve an appropriations bill to bill fund the Securities and Exchange Commission for fiscal year 2012 at $1.185 billion. The appropriations level is equivalent to what the SEC was given for FY 2011. However, it is $222 million less than what the White House requested for the next fiscal year. The bill also would bar the funding of the SEC’s “reserve fund,” which the committee believes would work as a “slush fund” for the SEC for programs that Congress has not approved.

According to committee chairman Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), the House Appropriations Committee has taken steps to funding for programs that are “ineffective and unproven” and stop taxpayer money from going toward waste and redundancy. The committee, however, also reports that it continues to be troubled by the way the SEC handles its funds and is “reticent” to give the commission more funding until it deals with the efficiencies noted in the Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) report, which recommends important structural and operational improvements at the Commission. It remains worried about the SEC’s ability to successfully handle Ponzi scams and has concerns that a proposed rulemaking to register municipal advisors may be too broad.

Says Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LTD LLP Founder and Securities Fraud Attorney William Shepherd, “At one time, the SEC was one of the few agencies that actually produced revenues for our government (along with the IRS and the Interior Department, which leases federal minerals, etc.). It seems to me that this agency could be self-funding again if it simply imposed heavy fines for actions such as short-selling rule violations. An interesting statement by the committee is ‘we have cut funding for ineffective and unproven programs.’ Judging by the SEC’s recent performances, why would this not include virtually all the Commission’s programs”?

Appropriations Committee Approves Fiscal Year 2012 Financial Services Appropriations Bill, US House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, June 23, 2011

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Impartiality of SEC Report by Boston Consulting Group Questioned by Key House Republicans, Institutional Investors Securities Blog, March 30, 2011
SEC Needs to Keep a Closer Eye on FINRA, Says Report, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, March 15, 2011
MSRB Seeks Public Comment on New Fiduciary Duty Rule for Municipal Advisors, Institutional Investors Securities Blog, February 21, 2011 Continue Reading ›

Muni Debt Reform: SEC to Proceed with Field Hearing in Alabama

Published on: May 29, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), the Securities and Exchange Commission will proceed with a field hearing in Birmingham, Alabama. The hearing is to let the SEC more fully comprehend Jefferson County, Alabama’s experience as it comes up with policies to enhance disclosure and transparency in municipal finance markets.

Currently, Birmingham, which is the largest city in Jefferson County, is still trying to avoid filing a $4 billion sewer bonds bankruptcy stemming from county officials’ alleged corruption and fraud. The SEC hopes that the hearing will help it in the development of policies to improve disclosure and transparency in municipal finance markets.

Already, the SEC and the Justice Department have filed fraud charges against Jefferson County officials, including ex-mayor Larry Langford, who was convicted in 2009 for taking kickbacks involving the refinancing of county bonds that were for the funding of the reconstruction of the aged sewer system. Charged with alleged involvement in the pay-to-play scam are ex-J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) managing directors Charles LeCroy and Douglas MacFaddin. JP Morgan Chase has already settled the SEC’s securities charges over the financial fraud, which allowed the financial firm to obtain the rights to some of the sewer bond offerings. It paid Jefferson County $50 million and dropped a $647 million termination fee claim.

Bachus has said that he doesn’t believe that any taxpayer, locality, or ratepayer should have to undergo the same experience as the sewer financing fiasco and the impact it has had. If Jefferson County were to file for bankruptcy, it would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in history.

Related Web Resources:
Congressman Bachus: SEC to Hold Field Hearing on Municipal Debt Reform , Bachus House
Bond Debacle Sinks Jefferson County, Bloomberg Businessweek, November 8, 2009

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UBS Financial Reaches $160M Settlement with the SEC and Justice Department Over Securities Fraud, Antitrust, and Other Charges Related to Municipal Bond Market, Institutional Investors Securities Blog, May 16, 2011
Citigroup Ordered by FINRA to Pay $54.1M to Two Investors Over Municipal Bond Fund Losses, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 13, 2011
SEC to Examine Muni Bond Market Issues During Hearings in Texas and Other States, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, February 9, 2011 Continue Reading ›

SEC to Up Dollar Thresholds for When an Investment Adviser Can Charge Investors Performance Fees

Published on: May 24, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Securities and Exchange Commission says it will raise the dollar thresholds that would need to be met before an investment adviser can charge a client a performance fee. The monetary thresholds are related to two tests under the 1940 Investment Advisers Act that let investment advisers charge performance-based fees to “qualified clients.”

Under the Act’s Rule 205-3, advisers can charge performance fees in certain circumstances: The investment adviser needs to be managing at least $750,000 for the client or the advisers must reasonably believe that the client’s net worth is over $1.5 million. Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LTD LLP founder and securities fraud lawyer William Shepherd says, “Sharing in performance is dangerous because the advisors can afford to take large risks with ‘other people’s money’ – risks that the investor may not be able to afford. A combined life savings of $750,000 is not a large sum for retirees, and what does it even mean to ‘reasonably believe’ someone has a net worth of $1.5 million?”

The SEC says that now it will issue an order to revise rule 205-3’s dollar amount tests to $1 million for assets under management and $2 million for net worth. It also proposed amendments to the rule, including:

• Excluding the individual’s primary residence when determining net worth.
• Providing a method to figure out future inflation adjustments of the dollar amount tests.
• Modifying the rule’s transition provisions to factor in account performance fee arrangements that were allowed when the client and the adviser entered into their contract.

Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s Section 418, the SEC has until July 21, 2011 to adjust for inflation the dollar amount tests under Rule 205-3 of this year and after every five years from then on. The act has also directed the SEC to adjust under 1933 Securities Act the net worth standard of an “accredited investor” so that it doesn’t include that individual’s primary residence.

Related Web Resources:
SEC Issues Notice of Plan to Adjust Adviser Performance Fee Dollar Thresholds, BNA Securities Law Daily, May 13, 2011
SEC Publishes Notice Regarding Inflation Indexing of Performance Fee Rule, SEC.gov, May 10, 2011
1940 Investment Advisers Act

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SEC Extends Temporary Rule Allowing Principal Trades by Investment Advisers Registered as Broker-Dealers, Institutional Investor Securities Fraud Blog, January 13, 2011 Continue Reading ›

Auction-Rate Securities Investigations by SEC and NY Attorney General Are Ongoing

Published on: April 21, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Attorney General’s office are still investigating whether auction-rate securities market participants knew they were misleading investors about the complexity and liquidity of debt instruments leading up to the market collapse in 2008. Officials for both agencies told BNA about the ongoing probes last month.

It was these misrepresentations to investors that prompted the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to issue a concept proposal that, should it become a rule, would hold research analysis and reports that analyze debt securities accountable to FINRA requirements. A federal regulator told BNA that the SRO is concerned about misrepresentations that may have been made to retail investors as early as in late 2007 when, even as institutional investors were buying less ARS-causing the market to lose liquidity-ARS sellers were being pushed by underwriters to get retail clients to buy the securities under the guise that the bonds were very liquid and like cash. Also, underwriters and others allegedly knew that the market conditions were headed toward illiquidity despite their claims that the instruments were highly liquid.

The New York Attorney General’s office reported that says that as of last month, financial institutions have agreed to repurchase $60 billion of the ARS. The financial firms have also agreed to pay about $597 million in fines. Among the investment banks that the SEC has reached settlement agreements with are Citigroup Inc. (C), Wachovia Securities LLC, Royal Bank of Canada subsidiary RBC Capital Markets Corp., UBS AG, Merrill Lynch & Co., TD Ameritrade Online Holding Corp. (AMTD, Bank of America Corp. (BAC), and Deutsche Bank AG.

Related Web Resources:
SEC, New York Continuing ARS Probes; Retail ARS Risk Behind FINRA Proposal, BNA, March 23, 2011
Auction Rate Securities, SEC

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Class Auction-Rate Securities Lawsuit Against Raymond James Financial Survives Dismissal, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, September 27, 2010
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Raymond James Must Pay $925,000 Over Auction-Rate Securities Dispute, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, September 1, 2010 Continue Reading ›

Investments Advisers Told to Look at Recent SEC Enforcement Actions When Preparing for Exams

Published on: April 20, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations deputy director Norm Champ says that when preparing to be examined, investment advisers should look at recent SEC enforcement actions stemming from problems found during previous exams at other advisers. Champ made this suggestion last month at an American Law Institute-American Bar Association-organized investment adviser conference in New York. Champ says that his views were his own and that he wasn’t speaking for the SEC.

Two cases that he cited as ideal examples were SEC v. Venetis and In re AXA Rosenberg Group LLC. Champ said that three AXA Rosenberg entities ended up paying over $240 million over SEC administrative proceedings because of a key computing error in the Venetis case, which involved a multi-million dollar fraud scam over the sale of bogus promissory notes. Although senior management discovered the mistake, they decided not to tell the SEC. The commission suspected there was a problem when its examiners were prohibited from entering certain rooms.

Champ is suggesting that before an exam, investment advisers should figure out their risk areas and review compliance and control procedures. He says that the SEC chooses which advisers to examine based on complaints, tips, referrals, prior exam history, third party data (including information from regulators), commission filing data, affiliated business activity, firm size, disciplinary history, pay arrangements, and time between exams. Exam teams study the investment adviser’s control environment, engage with senior management, pay attention to interactions within the financial firm, and look at conflicts of interest, valuations, portfolio management, advertising, trade allocations, and custody of assets.

Our stockbroker fraud attorneys are dedicated to helping investors recoup their financial losses caused by investment adviser fraud.

Related Web Resources:
Securities and Exchange Commission

Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations

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AXA Rosenberg Entities Settle Securities Fraud Charges Over Computer Error Concealment for Over $240M, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, February 10, 2011 FINRA Will Customize Oversight to Investment Adviser Industry if Chosen as Its SRO, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 8, 2011
Custodial Firms Get Tougher About Registered Investment Adviser Compliance, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, December 28, 2010 Continue Reading ›

Reductions to SEC’s Budget Will Cause Staff Furloughs, Says Schapiro

Published on: March 24, 2011 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Schapiro says reducing the agency’s budget to where it was at in 2008 would result in “significant’ staff furloughs. Other likely consequences would be the curtailment of crucial travel, including visits to registered entities, the cessation of technology infrastructure initiatives, and the curtailing of the SEC’s Dodd-Frank enforcement capabilities. House Republicans are the ones pushing for the budget reductions. Schapiro made her case earlier this month while testifying before the Senate Banking Committee’s Securities subcommittee. Our securities fraud law firm will continue to monitor the developments regarding this matter.

Schapiro says that the continuing resolution, which would find the agency at fiscal year 2010 levels, already makes it tough to close deals with top-rank industry experts she has recruited. She also says any steep cuts would impede the SEC’s ability to oversee broker-dealers, mutual funds, investment advisers, and other participants in the retail investing market in “anything but the most cursory way.” Schapiro also expressed concern that credit rating agencies would be able to evade serious examination if the SEC’s budget was tightened.

Sen. Michael Crapo (R-Idaho.), a ranking subcommittee member, noted that while underfunding the SEC can make it hard for the agency it to do its job “aggressively” and “effectively,” he believes that in the wake of the financial crisis, it is now more than ever necessary for all levels of government to perform with greater efficiency. Crapo is calling for an “agency-wide examination” of where the SEC’s resources are going and an assessment of whether they can be “better utilized.” For example, is there technology that can compensate for a reduced staff? What about sharing technology costs over Dodd-Frank oversight needs with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission?

Schapiro also said that the SEC has been effectively implementing a 60-day comment period for most Dodd-Frank rulemaking, rather than just 30 days, to allow time for thoughtful feedback. Current SEC rules are also being examined to determine whether any of them are no longer applicable.

Related Web Resources:
Cuts will stifle, SEC chief warns, The Boston Globe, March 11, 2011
Schapiro Says SEC Will Have to Furlough Staff If House Republican Cuts Are Enacted, BNA Securities Daily, March 11, 2011 Continue Reading ›