We want to remind you of your firm’s annual investment adviser registration amendment (Form ADV annual amendment) which must be filed on the IARD system on or before March 31, 2015. This deadline applies to all SEC and State registered advisers as well as Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) with a…
Articles Posted in Private Funds
2015 SEC Examination Priorities
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) recently released its Examination Priorities for 2015. The priorities represent certain practices and products that OCIE believes present a potentially higher risk to investors and/or the integrity of the US capital markets. In 2015, OCIE’s priorities focus on issues involving investment…
2015 Annual Compliance Obligations for Registered Firms – What You Need to Know
Annual Compliance Obligations—What You Need To Know As the new year is upon us, there are some important annual compliance obligations Investment Advisers either registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) or with a particular state (“Investment Adviser”) and Commodity Pool Operators (“CPOs”) or Commodity Trading Advisors (“CTAs”)…
Client Alert: The Second Circuit Raises the Bar for Insider Trading Convictions
By William M. Sullivan, Jr. and Jay B. Gould Under the Second Circuit’s new ruling, prosecutors have two large hurdles they must clear to convict under securities laws. First, they must prove that a defendant knew that the source of inside information disclosed tips in exchange for a personal benefit.…
CFTC Enters Consent Order for Permanent Injunction Against AlphaMetrix Group
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that on December 16, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a Consent Order for permanent injunction against AlphaMetrix, LLC (AlphaMetrix), a Chicago-based Commodity Pool Operator (CPO) and Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA), and its parent company AlphaMetrix…
What Will happen to the Hedge Fund Industry if we Experience a 2008 Type Market Decline?
With interest rates and credit spreads near historic lows and equity valuation above historical averages, many people are concerned that the Federal Reserve, by artificially keeping rates low, has created a 2007 type asset bubble in the capital markets where many securities are priced to perfection. What happens to the…
Servicing Clients Across Borders Carries Special Risks
On November 25, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) brought charges against a Swiss-based bank that should serve as notice to all non-U.S. banks that maintain relationships with clients who have moved to the U.S., as well as U.S.-based banks that provide services to clients who have relocated…
SEC Brings Custody Rule Enforcement
On October 29, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced an administrative enforcement action against an investment advisory firm and three top officials for violating rule 206(4)-2 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”), the “custody rule,” that requires firms to follow certain procedures when they control…
CFTC Exemptive Relief Harmonizes Regulations 4.7(b) and 4.13(a)(3) with Rule 506(c) of Reg. D and Rule 144A
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…
Size Doesn’t Matter: Insider Trading Charges for $11k Profit
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged Kevin McGrath, a partner at a New York investor relations firm with insider trading. According to the SEC complaint, McGrath allegedly received confidential information from clients in order to prepare press releases. The SEC discovered McGrath used non-public information from two different…