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On September 22, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged private equity fund adviser, Lincolnshire Management, Inc. (“Lincolnshire”), with misallocating expenses shared between two portfolio companies. Lincolnshire integrated two portfolio companies that were each owned by a different Lincolnshire private equity fund. Lincolnshire owed a fiduciary duty to each fund and such fiduciary duty was breached when Lincolnshire would charge one portfolio company more than its fair share for expenses benefiting both portfolio companies.

Lincolnshire was aware of the complexity involved in sharing expenses and did have an expense allocation policy in place, though it was not in writing. The instances that resulted in a breach of Lincolnshire’s fiduciary duty were those in which the verbal expense allocation policy was not followed. The SEC also found, with respect to the integration of the portfolio companies, that Lincolnshire did not have sufficient written policies and procedures in place to prevent violations of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Adviser’s Act”). Lincolnshire agreed to a settlement with the SEC in excess of $2.3 million.

It is interesting to note that, while the SEC announced several months ago it had conducted presence exams and found many issues in private equity managers, Lincolnshire was not one of the companies subject to a presence exam. Private equity managers who have not had a presence exam should not assume they are unlikely to be examined outside of the presence exam protocol. This enforcement action reinforces the requirement that private equity fund advisers are required to have policies and procedures in place that are designed to prevent violations of the Adviser’s Act and other securities laws. More importantly, once in place, such policies and procedures must be monitored by the chief compliance officer and observed by all “covered persons.”

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This article was originally published in The Wall Street Journal‘s CIO Journal on September 11, 2014.

Today as companies increasingly realize the value of strong cybersecurity, those CIOs who successfully implement an effective cybersecurity system should be viewed as a critical part of the revenue generation effort. An effective CIO who maintains a robust cyber risk management program will not only help ensure efficient operations, but will also play a role in crossing cybersecurity thresholds established by customers that would otherwise serve as a barrier to entry.

The shift from regarding cybersecurity–and the people responsible for implementing it–as a “tax,” to something that can further the business comes after some hard lessons. The value of intellectual property stolen by cyber espionage is measured today in billions of dollars. Meanwhile, operational disruptions caused by other malicious cyber events have managed to cripple productivity and harm relationships with customers.

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Read this article and additional publications at pillsburylaw.com/publications-and-presentations.

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On September 16, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced the latest sanctions in a continuing enforcement initiative against certain hedge fund advisers and private equity firms that have participated in an offering of a stock after short selling it during a restricted period in contravention of SEC rules.

The SEC last year announced the initiative to enhance enforcement of Rule 105 of Regulation M, which is designed to preserve the independent pricing mechanisms of the securities markets and prevent stock price manipulation.  Rule 105 typically prohibits firms or individuals from short selling a stock within five business days of participating in an offering for that same stock.  Such dual activity typically results in illicit profits for the firms or individuals while reducing the offering proceeds for a company by artificially depressing the market price shortly before the company prices the stock.

The SEC’s investigations targeted 19 firms and one individual trader in the latest cases engaged in short selling of particular stocks shortly before they bought shares from an underwriter, broker, or dealer participating in a follow-on public offering.  Each firm and the individual trader have agreed to settle the SEC’s charges and pay a combined total of more than $9 million in disgorgement, interest, and penalties.

Pursuant to this enforcement initiative, the SEC’s Enforcement Division works closely with FINRA and the SEC’s National Exam Program to identify potential violations of Rule 105.  Enforcement staff seeks trading data and certain other relevant information from traders and expedites these cases by using uniform methodologies for determining trading profits and deciding appropriate penalties.

This latest round of administrative proceedings for Rule 105 violations included the following organizations with the monetary sanctions as indicated below:

  • Advent Capital Management – The New York-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $75,292, prejudgment interest of $3,836.36, and a penalty of $65,000.
  • Antipodean Advisors – The New York-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $27,970, prejudgment interest of $702.83, and a penalty of $65,000.
  • BlackRock Institutional Trust Company – The California-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $1,122,400, prejudgment interest of $22,471.13, and a penalty of $530,479.
  • East Side Holdings II – The New Jersey-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $26,613, prejudgment interest of $397.38, and a penalty of $130,000.
  • Explorador Capital Management – The Brazil-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $83,722, prejudgment interest of $6,936.65, and a penalty of $65,000.
  • Formula Growth – The Canada-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $42,488, prejudgment interest of $4,255.15, and a penalty of $65,000.
  • Great Point Partners – The Connecticut-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $43,068, prejudgment interest of $1,529.13, and a penalty of $65,000.
  • Indaba Capital Management – The California-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $194,797, prejudgment interest of $11,990.79, and a penalty of $97,398.59.
  • Ironman Capital Management – The Texas-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $21,844, prejudgment interest of $382.66, and a penalty of $65,000.
  • James C. Parsons – An individual trader who lives in New York City agreed to pay disgorgement of $135,531, prejudgment interest of $3,063.90, and a penalty of $67,765.72.
  • Midwood Capital Management – The Massachusetts-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $72,699, prejudgment interest of $5,248.19, and a penalty of $65,000.
  • Nob Hill Capital Management – The California-based firm made sworn statements to the Commission attesting to a financial condition that makes it unable to pay any penalty.
  • RA Capital Management – The Massachusetts-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $2,646,395.21, prejudgment interest of $73,394.16, and a penalty of $904,570.84.
  • Rockwood Investment Management (also known as Rockwood Partners LP) – The Connecticut-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $156,631, prejudgment interest of $9,222.16, and a penalty of $72,135.23.
  • Seawolf Capital – The New York-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $192,730, prejudgment interest of $7,842.28, and a penalty of $96,365.
  • Solus Alternative Asset Management – The New York-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $39,600, prejudgment interest of $895.22, and a penalty of $65,000.
  • SuttonBrook Capital Management – The New York-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $70,000.
  • Troubh Partners – The New York-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $262,744, prejudgment interest of $39,315.13, and a penalty of $106,651.15.
  • Vinci Partners Investimentos – The Brazil-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $283,480, prejudgment interest of $23,487.08, and a penalty of $141,740.
  • Whitebox Advisors – The Minnesota-based firm agreed to pay disgorgement of $788,779, prejudgment interest of $48,553.49, and a penalty of $365,592.83

Pillsbury’s Investment Funds Team regularly advises clients on how not to show up on lists such as these.

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In a press release yesterday, the CFTC issued an exemptive letter, CFTC Letter No. 14-116, providing relief from certain provisions of CFTC Regulations 4.7(b) and 4.13(a)(3) that restrict marketing to the public.  The exemptive relief was issued to make CFTC Regulations 4.7(b) and 4.13(a)(3) consistent with SEC Rule 506(c) of Reg. D and Rule 144A, which were amended by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), to permit general solicitation or advertising subject to certain limitations.

Generally, the JOBS Act adopted SEC Rule 506(c) to permit an issuer, subject to the conditions of the rule, to engage in general solicitation or general advertising when offering and selling securities, and amended SEC Rule 144A to permit the use of general solicitation, subject to the limitations of the rule, when securities are sold to qualified institutional buyers (“QIBs”) or to purchasers that the seller reasonably believes are QIBs.  Prior to the CFTC’s exemptive relief, commodity pool operators (“CPOs”) relying on CFTC Regulations 4.7(b) and 4.13(a)(3) were not able to use general solicitation under Rule 506(c) or Rule 144A, as the CFTC exemptions prohibited general solicitation.

The new relief from provisions in CFTC Regulations 4.7(b) and 4.13(a)(3) is subject to the following conditions:

  1. The exemptive relief is strictly limited to CPOs who are 506(c) Issuers or CPOs using 144A Resellers.
  2. CPOs claiming the exemptive relief must file a notice with the Division.  The notice of claim of exemptive relief must:
  • State the name, business address, and main business telephone number of the CPO claiming the relief;
  • State the name of the pool(s) for which the claim is being filed;
  • State whether the CPO claiming relief is a 506(c) Issuer or is using one or more 144A Resellers;
  • Specify whether the CPO intends to rely on the exemptive relief pursuant to Regulation 4.7(b) or 4.13(a)(3), with respect to the listed pool(s);

 i.      If relying on Regulation 4.7(b), represent that the CPO meets the conditions
of the exemption, other than that provision’s requirements that the offering be
exempt pursuant to section 4(a)(2) of the 33 Act and be offered solely to QEPs,
such that the CPO meets the remaining conditions and is still required to sell
the participations of its pool(s) to QEPs;
ii.       If relying on Regulation 4.13(a)(3), represent that the CPO meets the
conditions of the exemption, other than that provision’s prohibition against
marketing to the public;

  • Be signed by the CPO; and
  • Be filed with the Division via email using the email address dsionoaction@cftc.gov and stating “JOBS Act Marketing Relief” in the subject line of such email.