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

Displaying 31-40 out of 130 results for "Mutual Fund".

Exchange Traded Interest Rate Swap Futures

(Oct 2012)

We've talked briefly about interest rate swaps in the past, but I wanted to write about a recent development in the securities industry that relates to these conventionally over-the-counter (OTC) instruments.

Back in the summer of 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (PDF) was signed into law and as a result many OTC products have began the process of standardization in preparation for exchange trading. The idea is essentially that exchange traded products offer...

Variable Prepaid Forwards Cost JP Morgan at least $18 million

(Oct 2012)

Yesterday, the Oklahoma District Court in Tulsa, OK ordered JP Morgan Chase Bank to pay the Burford Trust over $18 million. In addition to this payment, JP Morgan is responsible for attorneys' fees and punitive damages to compensate the trust for the diminution in value resulting from a series of 11 variable prepaid forward contracts (VPFs) JP Morgan entered into with the Trust starting in May 2000. The news of this decision has been picked up by Bloomberg, the New York Times as well as ...

Two New Exotic Products from the CBOE

(Oct 2012)

The CBOE has begun the offering process on two new and highly innovative volatility-related products that could have broad implications for the exchange traded products market and index investing in general.

The new S&P 500 Variance Futures are futures contracts on the realized variance of the S&P 500 index. This is in contrast with VIX futures, which trade on the impliedvolatility of the S&P 500; however, according to a CBOE press release, the ability to combine the two may have motivated...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - October 5th, 2012

(Oct 2012)

SEC Charges Unlicensed Financial Advisor James S. Quay for Defrauding Investors in Atlanta Area
October 4, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22506)
According to the complaint (opens to PDF), James S. Quay, along with his brother Jeffrey A. Quay, conducted a scheme in which they convinced two elderly women to invest $560,000 into a sham limited partnership called Trinity Charitable Solutions. Quay, who has a history of defrauding the elderly, claimed the funds would be used to operate the program,...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - September 28th, 2012

(Sep 2012)

Court Enters Final Judgments by Consent Against SEC Defendants Shay Keren and Lawrence Steven Cohen
September 27, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22498)
The SEC announced that final judgments have been entered against Shay Keren and Lawrence Steven Cohen which permanently enjoins them from violating sections of the Securities Act and Exchange Act as well as bars them from "participating in an offering of penny stock for a period of five years." The SEC filed a complaint in September 2008 against...

Regulators Fine High-Frequency Trader for Manipulative Trading

(Sep 2012)

FINRA recently announced the censure and fining of Hold Brothers On-Line Investment Services, LLC ("Hold Brothers"). This action is in lockstep with that of NYSE Arca, NASDAQ, NASDAQ OMX BX and BATS as well as the SEC . Hold Brothers isa registered self-clearing broker-dealer and a member of FINRA operating as a "day-trading firm by facilitating direct market access to customers and to its proprietary traders."

The action centers primarily on the trading activity in one large account...

Repackaging Securities Means Repackaging Risks: the Case of STRATS 2005-2

(Sep 2012)

On July 12, an exotic structured security that was trading at approximately $25 per share was suddenly redeemed at $14.69 by its issuer, Wells Fargo Advisors. Needless to say, some investors were surprised by the event, which did not appear to be anticipated by the market. Indeed, the securities -- Floating Rate Structured Repackaged Asset-Backed Trust Securities Certificates, Series 2005-2 (abbreviated STRATS 2005-2) -- had embedded risks that resulted from repackaging the same underlying...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - September 21st, 2012

(Sep 2012)

SEC Charges Atlanta-Based Adviser with Operating Ponzi-Like Scheme Involving Private Investment Funds
September 19, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22485)
Earlier this week, the SEC filed a civil complaint charging Angelo A. Alleca with "defrauding investors in a purported "fund-of-funds" and then trying to hide trading losses by creating new private funds to make money to pay back the original fund investors in Ponzi-like fashion." Rather than investing investor funds in Summit Investment Fund,...

SEC Litigation Releases: Weekly Review

(Sep 2012)

SEC Charges a Solar Panel Manufacturer and Three of its Former Executives with Defrauding Investors
September 6, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22475)
The SEC charged Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA Inc. (WEMU), a San Francisco based solar panel manufacturer, and WEMU executives Jimmy Wang, Mindy Wang, and Jeffrey Watson with "concealing the transfer of nearly half of the ownership stake in its Chinese subsidiary to three individuals in China who manage the subsidiary." According to the ...

As New ETFs Come and Go, Big Ones Remain Big

(Sep 2012)

A recent Seeking Alpha article argues that with six new ETFs coming into the market and 18 being closed or redeemed, the past August signaled the beginning of a consolidation process in the ETF industry. There are good reasons to believe the author is right: with ETF issuers rolling out more and more ETFs each month, those having failed to catch investors' eyes quick enough are bound to disappear with the ever-intensifying competition. On the other hand, it also got us curious: what about...

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