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Our experts frequently write blog posts about the findings of the research we are conducting.

Displaying 11-20 out of 156 results for "JOBS Act".

CFTC Chief Economist Finds High Frequency Trading Harms Traditional Investors

(Dec 2012)

Andrei Kirilenko, chief economist at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), recently released a report that purports to show that the "high-speed trading firms that have come to dominate the nation's financial markets are taking significant profits from traditional investors" according to an article posted by Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) as well as the New York Times.

The report categorizes HFT firms as 'aggressive', 'mixed' or 'passive' depending upon the...

Massachusetts Securities Regulators Getting Tough on Non-Traded REITs

(Dec 2012)

LPL Financial, the largest independent broker-dealer in the US, is being sued by Massachusetts securities regulators for "numerous regulatory violations in connection with the sale of non-traded REITs." We have covered non-traded REITs extensively on this blog, as well as in a detailed working paper, and it appears that many of the problems that have been identified with these products are finally attracting attention from regulators.

According to the complaint, the action is specifically...

Happy (We Hope) Madoff Day

(Dec 2012)

It was four years ago today that Bernie Madoff was arrested for perpetrating his estimated $65 billion fraud. Coming right on the heels of the SEC and FINRA's year-end investor warnings, Paul Sullivan at the New York Times has suggested that December 11 should be declared Madoff Day, where we reflect upon how to protect ourselves from investment fraud.

Protecting yourself against fraud, or simply bad advice, is easier said than done. The most common advice is to make sure your money is held...

Deliverable Interest Rate Swap Futures

(Dec 2012)

Interest rate swaps are important tools used by many financial and non-financial firms to manage their interest rate exposure. Earlier this week, the CME Group launched a new derivative product called Deliverable Interest Rate Swap Futures with the contention that the product offers "maximum efficiency for managing interest rate exposure." This move is close in spirit to the recent move by the Eris Exchange to offer interest rate swaps on an open exchange. Both of these products are designed...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - December 7th, 2012

(Dec 2012)

SEC Secures Trial Victory and Obtains Over $2.1 Million in Disgorgement and Penalties in Market Manipulation Case
December 6, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22561)
A final judgment was entered against brothers Mayer Amsel and David Amsel "following a bench trial in a market manipulation case involving the securities of a company known as East Delta Resources Corp." The final judgment orders the brothers to pay, jointly and severally, over $2.4 million in disgorgement, pre-judgment interest, and...

PowerShares to List Actively Managed Downside Hedged S&P ETF

(Dec 2012)

Late last week, Invesco PowerShares filed a form N-1A registration statement with the SEC to list an exchange traded fund (ETF) with exposure to the S&P 500 with downside exposure actively hedged through VIX futures contracts. The PowerShares S&P 500 Downside Hedged Portfolio (PHDG) seeks to "achieve positive total returns in rising or falling markets that are not directly correlated to broad equity or fixed income market returns" and has annual operating expenses of about 39 basis points....

Attractive Yields and Hidden Risks

(Dec 2012)

The Wall Street Journal had a great piece this weekend concerning the investments some investors are seeking out to find yield in this low interest rate environment. Investors are taking on more and more risk to realize the yield they once found commonplace and this article brings a few examples to the forefront.

The risk investors are taking include credit risk (high-yield/junk bonds), market risk (closed-end funds trading at a premium) or some combination of the two (structured products)....

Importance of Timing in Structured Products

(Nov 2012)

We've been looking through some historical issuances of structured products recently and we happened to come across a peculiar product issued by Morgan Stanley in September 2008. The product (CUSIP: 617483664) offered investors bearish exposure to the S&P 500. In other words, if the S&P 500 level declines as of the valuation date of the notes, then the product would exhibit a positive return.

Not only was the return positive if the S&P 500 went down, but it was leveraged six times -- capped...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - November 30th, 2012

(Nov 2012)

SEC v. John H. Pamplin, Jr.
November 29, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22550)
According to the complaint (opens to PDF), former TurboChef Technologies, Inc. employee John H. Pamplin, Jr. traded with insider information regarding TurboChef's pending acquisition by The Middleby Corporation in 2008 which resulted in a $68,000 illicit profit. According to the SEC, Pamplin violated the Exchange Act. The SEC seeks "permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement, pre-judgment interest, and civil...

SEC Charges KCAP Financial with Overvaluing Assets

(Nov 2012)

The SEC alleges that KCAP Financial, a publicly traded business development company (BDC), did not accurately report the fair value of its corporate debt and collateralized loan obligation (CLO) assets during the financial crisis, thereby misleading investors. According to the press release, KCAP valued some of their assets at cost, not at fair market value, overstating the net asset value by over 25% during the peak of the financial crisis.

BDCs are similar to REITs in that they hold...

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