Articles Tagged with SEC Enforcement

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Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is pleased to present an exclusive client discount for the upcoming:

 Hedge Fund General Counsel and Compliance Officer Summit
October 19, starting at 8:00 a.m. through October 20, ending at 4:30 p.m. ET.
The University Club, New York, NY

Use Promotion Code HFPWSP for a 35% discount when registering.
Click Here to Register

Join us for our session:
“2015 Exam Priorities: Tips for Handling SEC Exams and Investigations”
taking place Tuesday, October 20, 2015, from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

 Discussion Leader:

Ildiko Duckor
Partner and Co-head, Investment Funds & Investment Management Practice,
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

 Speakers to Include:

 David Charnin, Managing Director, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer,
Strategic Value Partners, LLC

William H. Woolverton, Senior Managing Director and General Counsel,
Gottex Funds Management

Steven A. Yadegari, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel,
Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn, LLC

   For more information Click Here

or contact Deborah Bernbaum at (212) 457-7918 or DBernbaum@alm.com
For registration inquiries, contact Frank Wolson at (212) 457-9510 or FWolson@alm.com

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Kimberly Mann, co-head of Pillsbury’s Investment Funds and Investment Management Group, was interviewed and quoted at length in an article published in FundFire this week. The article explored whether regulators should permit asset managers to settle cases without admitting culpability. In response to that question, Ms. Mann, who has expertise in investment advisor regulatory and fund-related matters, commented “If you’re asking investors, they would likely say “yes”, there should be an admission required. But if you ask fund managers, the response might be a little different and it might be nuanced; it might depend on the severity of the charge and the impact of the charge.” Ms. Mann added “There’s a lot to consider when one is trying to decide whether to make an admission. So, I think most would want flexibility.” She further commented “Some investors might shy away from anyone who’s even been charged, but there are others who might not be as put off if there weren’t an admission.”  To the question of how a regulator would determine when to require an admission, Ms. Mann responded “The broader the effect, the more aggressive [the regulator] would be in pursuing an admission.”

Read the full article HERE.

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Chair Mary Jo White’s opening remarks on July 15 kicking off the annual broker-dealer compliance outreach program drew a parallel between the goals and work of the SEC and those of compliance professionals. Ms. White acknowledged the challenges and hardship that compliance professionals face, the critical importance of their role to investors and the integrity of the markets. Her acknowledgment comes after the upset that compliance professionals experienced when BlackRock’s CCO was found personally liable and slapped with a civil penalty. (See our previous post regarding BlackRock’s censure and its compliance officer’s personal liability.) Ms. White’s assurance that “it is not our intention to use our enforcement program to target compliance professionals” was hedged by her statement that “we must, of course, take enforcement action against compliance professionals if we see significant misconduct or failures by them.”

Ms. White named the following examination priorities: fee structures; suitability; order routing conflicts; recidivist representatives; microcap activity; excessive trading; transfer agent activity; and issues of importance to retail investors and investors saving for retirement.

Read more of Chair Mary Jo White’s opening remarks at the Compliance Outreach Program for Broker-Dealers HERE.

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The expense provisions of many private fund governing documents are becoming longer and more detailed for good reason – increased Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) scrutiny and prosecution relating to expense allocation and disclosure.

On April 29th, the SEC announced charges against Alpha Titans LLC, a hedge fund advisory firm, its principal, Timothy P. McCormack and its general counsel, Kelly D. Kaeser, for improper use of fund assets to pay expenses that were not previously disclosed to fund investors. According to the SEC, office rent, employee salaries and benefits and other expenses totaling more than $450,000 were paid by two affiliated private funds without adequate disclosure or authorization. The SEC further alleged that Alpha Titans, McCormack and Kaeser sent investors audited financials that did not disclose that approximately $3 million of expenses pertained to transactions involving affiliates of McCormack.

According to the SEC, the funds’ outside auditor, Simon Lesser, was aware of the manner in which expenses and assets were allocated, yet approved audit reports containing unqualified opinions that the financial statements were presented fairly. He was charged with engaging in improper professional conduct in connection with an audit of the funds’ financial statements. The advisory firm also was charged with custody rule violations relating to its distribution on non-GAAP-compliant financial statements.

All of the charges were settled without admission or denial of responsibility; however, not without significant cost. McCormack and Kaeser will be barred from the securities industry for one year and Kaeser will be unable to represent an SEC-regulated entity for one year. Lesser will be suspended from providing accounting services on behalf of an entity regulated by the SEC for at least three years. Substantial monetary penalties also were assessed and the advisory firm and its principal agreed to pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest.

The lesson for private funds, their advisers and outside auditors is simple. First, fund documents should clearly, accurately and thoroughly disclose the types and amounts of expenses to be charged to the fund or its investors. Second, fund managers must allocate expenses and use fund assets strictly in accordance with the relevant provisions in the fund documents. Finally, outside auditors must be diligent in reviewing expense allocations and the use of fund assets to determine compliance with fund documents.

There should be no doubt that the risk of non-compliance is real.

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On April 20, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an order against an investment advisory firm and its former chief compliance officer, for violating Sections 206(2) and 206(4) and rule 206(4)-7 of the Investment Advisers Act and rule 38a-1 of the Investment Company Act. The SEC charged BlackRock Advisors LLC with breaching its fiduciary duty by failing to disclose a conflict of interest involving the outside business activity of one of its top-performing portfolio managers, Daniel J. Rice III. BlackRock agreed to be censured and to settle the charges by paying a $12 million penalty and engaging an independent compliance consultant to conduct an internal review.

During his tenure as an energy sector portfolio manager at BlackRock, Rice founded an oil and gas exploration and production company, formed a joint venture with a public company held in his managed funds, and acquired a second public company also held in BlackRock portfolios. BlackRock learned of Rice’s outside business activity, but allowed him to continue his involvement. The SEC found that BlackRock failed to report the conflicts of interest to the board of directors of the affected registered funds or advisory clients and failed to monitor and reassess Rice’s outside business activity after discovering the conflicts of interest. The SEC also censured BlackRock for failing to maintain and implement internal policies regarding the outside activities of employees. While Blackrock’s policies required employees to report potential conflicts and to seek pre-approval before serving on a board of directors, the firm failed to outline how employees’ outside activities would be assessed for conflicts purposes or to identify the individuals responsible for assessing outside activities.

Additionally, the SEC found BlackRock’s former chief compliance officer personally liable for causing the failure by BlackRock funds to report material compliance matters—namely Rice’s violation of BlackRock’s private investment policy—to their board of directors. The ex-officer agreed to pay a $60,000 civil penalty to settle the charge.

If you have question concerning your firm’s internal policies on the outside business activities of employees, please reach out to your Pillsbury attorney contact.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Charles L. Hill Jr. with insider trading in connection with his purchase of shares of Radiant Systems stock the day before a merger was announced. Mr. Hill became aware of the material non-public information through a friend who obtained the information from his close friend, the Radiant COO. Mr. Hill had made no equity purchases in over four years before buying $2.2 million of Radiant stock before the announcement. The day after the merger was announced Mr. Hill sold his entire equity interest for a profit of approximately $744,000. In the eyes of the SEC, trading on material nonpublic information learned from a third party is no different from trading on information received directly from an insider.

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Now that enforcement agencies have determined that digital currencies are more than a passing fad, they are establishing more permanent efforts focused on the novel legal issues digital currencies present. The SEC’s formation of its multi-office Digital Currency Working Group may foreshadow an increase in the agency’s exercise of regulatory authority over entities offering interests in Bitcoin and other digital currencies.

Businesses that transact in digital currencies or cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Litecoin, should be aware of the SEC’s increased focus on these transactions.

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