Blog

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

Displaying 10 out of 17 results for "Weekly Regulatory Review".

JP Morgan to Exit the Physical Commodities Business

(Jul 2013)

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that JP Morgan plans to sell their physical commodities assets "amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of Wall Street's ownership of such assets."¹ JP Morgan joins several other investment banks, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, who are looking to sell or wind down their stakes in physical commodities.

According to the WSJ, the sale by JP Morgan will include trading desks that trade metals, power and fossil fuels. JP Morgan has drawn particular...

Regulators Impose Record Fine for Brokerage Firm's Supervisory Failures

(Jul 2013)

Yesterday evening, the Wall Street Journal reported that FINRA and several US exchanges fined the brokerage firm Newedge USA, LLC $9.5 million over alleged failures to adequately restrict automated client trading activity that "sought to manipulate U.S. markets for nearly four years." The trading activity took place on several exchanges including NYSE Euronext, NASDAQ OMX, and BATS Global Markets according to the WSJ article. FINRA's press release can be found on the FINRA website.

Newedge...

Hedge Funds and Private Placements May Soon Solicit Retail Investors

(Jul 2013)

According to the Wall Street Journal, the SEC will soon lift the ban on soliciting shares of hedge funds and other private placement investments to the general public, "a move that's expected to unleash a wave of ads touting such investments." We've been covering this story for some time, as the SEC has seemed reluctant to implement this new rule due to concerns from Congress and others over the lack of investor protections.

However, the SEC may have no choice. Lifting the ban was required by...

IRS Could Put a Halt to REIT Conversions

(Jun 2013)

We've talked a lot about real estate investment trusts (REITs) before. In the US, REITs are companies that invest at least 75% of their assets in real estate, pay out almost all of their annual income in dividends, but also pay little or no corporate income tax. As we've discussed before, many companies have tried to qualify for the REIT designation to reduce their tax liabilities, even if their business is only peripherally related to real estate.¹ This 'REIT conversion boom' has been...

529 College Savings Plans Underperform Similar Mutual Funds -- Morningstar

(Apr 2013)

On Monday, Morningstar Fund Research issued their 2013 529 College-Savings Plans Industry Survey, which reviews the performance of the 529 industry in 2012. Their study finds that "college savers are continuing to invest in 529 college-saving plans at an impressive clip, even though their performance has lagged that of similar funds in recent years."

529 Plans are typically run by states and are used by investors to save for future education expenses such as college tuition on a...

Goldman Sachs Uses JOBS Act to Sidestep Volcker Rule

(Apr 2013)

Evan Weinberger at Law360 is reporting that Goldman Sachs may have found a way around the Volcker Rule--the ban on proprietary trading by banks, which also prohibits sponsoring hedge funds and private equity funds--by using another controversial regulatory measure, the 2012 JOBS Act (of which we have spoken before):

By setting up an independent business development company in which it will hold a minority stake and limited leverage exposures, Goldman will be able to engage in at least limited...

JP Morgan's New Incarnation of Non-Agency RMBS Weakens Provisions from Pre-Crisis Version

(Mar 2013)

Last week, the Wall Street Journal covered the first non-agency residential mortgage-backed security (RMBS) offering from JP Morgan since the financial crisis. This particular RMBS is a collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO) which is "supported by 752 jumbo mortgage loans [...] made to borrowers with high credit scores and with about 35% of their own money in a down payment for the property." JP Morgan originated nearly half of the mortgage pool (48%) and First Republic Bank originated...

The JOBS Act and Private Placements

(Aug 2012)

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act (PDF) that was enacted this past April was ostensibly designed to increase investment opportunities by relaxing certain regulatory requirements on small businesses. There are several excellent reviews of the provisions of the JOBS Act, which not surprisingly is a lengthy and impenetrable document, and there has been considerable debate between proponents, who argue that increased investment opportunities can help support new business ventures...

The "New" Non-Traded REITs Look a Lot Like the Old Ones

(May 2012)

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had an article describing the "new versions" of non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), which purport to solve some of the transparency issues which have made non-traded REITs the subject of regulatory scrutiny. In particular, several non-traded REITs are now offering daily updated net asset values (NAV) in an attempt to calm concerns regarding the lack of transparency in the pricing of non-traded REITs.

However, a review of the prospectus for...

$85 million and Counting: What Price Will Citigroup Ultimately Pay for Its MAT/ASTA Deception?

(Mar 2012)

On March 13, 2012, Bloomberg published Citigroup Ex-Manager Islam Has No Regrets After Funds Crash. Then on March 21, 2012 USA Today published Investor hedge fund claims cost Citigroup $85M and counting. These two stories deal with MAT/ASTA hedge funds Citigroup sold to retail clients which suffered staggering losses in early 2008. Both recent stories discuss the $54.1 million award in Hosier et al v Citigroup covered in the WSJ, Citigroup Loses Muni Case in April 2011.

Craig McCann has...

17 Results

1
2
>