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On October 11, 2017, the Iowa Insurance Division announced that it has adopted amendments to the Iowa Administrative Code, adding notice filing requirements for federal crowdfunding offerings and updates to the notice filing requirements for Regulation A, Tier 2 offerings.  In addition, the amendments adopt two policy statements published by the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”).  The amendments went into effect on November 15, 2017.

Under the amendments, an issuer who plans to make a crowdfunding offering under the federal Securities Act must file notice in Iowa if the issuer has its principal place of business in Iowa or plans to sell 50 percent or more of the total offering to residents of Iowa.  The issuer’s notice filing must include either a completed Uniform Notice of Federal Crowdfunding Offering form (“Form U-CF”) or a Uniform Consent to Service of Process form (“Form U2”).  The issuer must also pay a filing fee of $100.  If the issuer’s principal place of business is in Iowa, the notice filing must be completed as soon as the issuer files its initial Form C filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  If the issuer’s principal place of business is not in Iowa but Iowa residents have bought 50 percent or more of the offering’s total amount, the notice filing should be completed “when the issuer becomes aware that such purchases have met this threshold and in no event later than 30 days from the date of completion of the offering.” Continue reading ›

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Earlier this year, the Kansas Court of Appeals affirmed a district court decision holding that Mark R. Schneider (“Schneider”), an investment adviser representative and broker-dealer, violated the Kansas Uniform Securities Act by recommending nontraditional exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) to a client whose investment objective was to produce income.  Schneider was ordered to pay $94,720.60 in restitution and a $25,000 civil penalty.

For over 20 years, Schneider acted as investment adviser to Mary Lou and Jeffrey Silverman.  Schneider oversaw the Silvermans’ assets, tax returns, and life insurance, and he had discretionary authority over their investments.  In 2010, Mr. Silverman died, and Mrs. Silverman obtained $1,150,000 from Mr. Silverman’s life insurance policy.  In May 2010, Schneider formulated a financial plan to help Mrs. Silverman garner income from investments she would make using the money from the life insurance policy. Continue reading ›

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In August of this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an Order Instituting Cease-and-Desist Proceedings (“Order”) against Capital Dynamics, Inc. (“CDI”), a New York-based investment adviser.  The SEC alleged that from March 2011 to July 2015, CDI allocated certain expenses to private funds it was advising when the funds’ governing documents did not authorize the funds to pay these expenses.  CDI submitted an Offer of Settlement in conjunction with the Order.

According to the SEC’s complaint, CDI and its affiliates formed the private funds, collectively known as the “Solar Fund,” “to introduce a new investment program focused on clean energy and infrastructure.”  The documents that governed the funds provided that CDI and the funds’ general partners were obligated to pay “normal operating expenses,” such as employee expenditures and fees for specified services.  They could not charge these expenses to the funds. Continue reading ›

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On October 24, 2017, Morgan Stanley declared that it has decided to withdraw from the Protocol for Broker Recruiting (“Protocol”).  Morgan Stanley stated that the Protocol is “replete with opportunities for gamesmanship and loopholes” and that the Protocol is “no longer sustainable.”  It believes that leaving the Protocol will be beneficial for its growth as a company.  However, it is expected that Morgan Stanley’s withdrawal from the Protocol might bring significant consequences to the investment management industry, including potentially the end of the Protocol itself. Continue reading ›

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Earlier this year, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton appointed Stephanie Avakian and Steven Peikin as co-directors of the SEC’s Enforcement Division.  In an interview with Reuters, Avakian and Peikin expressed particular concern about cyber threats and how the SEC should make cybersecurity an enforcement priority.  According to Peikin, “The greatest threat to our markets right now is the cyber threat… That crosses not just this building, but all over the country.”

The SEC has expanded of investigations relating to cybercrimes.  There also appears to be an increase in incidents of hackers attempting to gain access to brokerage accounts.  In response, the SEC has begun obtaining statistics about cybercrimes to assess market-wide issues. Continue reading ›

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On October 2, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Tweed Financial Services, Inc. (“TFSI”), an investment advisory firm, and its proprietor, Robert Russel Tweed (“Tweed”).  The SEC’s complaint alleges that TFSI and Tweed “defrauded their clients by misleading them about how their money had been invested and how poorly those investments were performing.”  According to the SEC, TFSI and Tweed violated the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 by deceiving their clients.

According to the SEC’s complaint, TFSI and Tweed formed Athenian Fund L.P., a private fund, in 2008.  Twenty-four investors placed money in the Athenian Fund, and the fund raised approximately $1.7 million.  The Athenian Fund’s private placement memorandum informed investors that money invested in Athenian Fund would be invested in a master fund that “had been established to trade stocks using an algorithmic trading platform developed by acquaintances of Tweed.”  However, beginning in March 2010, Tweed transferred all of the Athenian Fund’s assets to another fund.  In March 2011, TFSI and Tweed had the Athenian Fund loan $200,000 to a startup software company.  The SEC alleged that these two ventures resulted in the Athenian fund losing approximately $800,000. Continue reading ›

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If you build it, will they come? In the movie Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner’s character Ray Kinsella was promised by a mysterious Voice that if he built a baseball field in the middle of an Iowa cornfield, “they”- ghost baseball players which ultimately included his deceased father – would come. As the formerly cynical, suspicious sportswriter Terrance Mann (James Earl Jones) promised would happen, Ray’s faith in the Voice was rewarded. [1]

The same question might be asked about Crowdfunding Portals, although with decidedly less fantasy and romanticism and no sign of James Earl Jones: If you build it, will they come?

So far, 36 portals have registered with FINRA under Regulation CF, which went effective on May 16, 2016. Two registrations have already been withdrawn, leaving 34 portals in various stages of activity and levels of success.

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In September 2017, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority updated a previously published Notice related to FINRA Rules 12805 and 13805, which “establish procedures that arbitrators must follow before recommending expungement of customer dispute information related to arbitration cases from a broker’s Central Registration Depository (CRD®) record.”  When details are expunged from the CRD system, those details are permanently deleted and cannot be accessed by members of the general public, regulators, or potential broker-dealer employers.  As a result, FINRA regards expungement as an extreme remedy that should only be exercised in circumstances in which one of the three “narrow grounds specified in Rule 2080” are met.  These three grounds are a finding that the claim, allegation or information is factually unfeasible or obviously erroneous, a finding that a registered person did not participate in the alleged investment-related misconduct, or a finding that the claim, allegation, or information is untrue.

The updates to the Notice added instructions regarding expungement requests before an underlying arbitration case has concluded.  According to FINRA, a broker is not permitted to file an expungement request pertaining to customer dispute information until after the underlying customer arbitration involving the information has concluded.  Likewise, a broker is forbidden from filing an expungement request in a distinct, expungement-only case before an underlying customer arbitration ends.  The updates to the Notice also provide that FINRA allows the Director of the Office of Dispute Resolutions to deny use of the FINRA arbitration forum if the Director concludes that the subject matter of the dispute is unsuitable, or that consenting to hear the matter would create a risk to the health and safety of the parties and arbitrators.  The updates conclude by saying that the Director has decided to not allow requests for expungement to be heard before the underlying customer arbitrations conclude in order to keep results consistent and to ensure efficiency. Continue reading ›

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Parker MacIntyre has recently published a whitepaper entitled Forming a Hedge Fund or other Private Investment Fund: A Top 10 List for the Entrepreneurial Fund Manager.  If you are a money management or other financial services professional currently giving some serious thought to setting-out on your own as an entrepreneurial private investment fund manager, this publication is the right place to start.  In it you will find a roadmap for entrepreneurial fund managers which aims to identify and discuss the top 10 areas of attention/concern relevant to a fund launch.  Our whitepaper address such areas as:

  • Basic structure and formation considerations for managers, including compensation.
  • Service providers and partners needed for a successful start-up fund.
Continue reading ›

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The Department of Labor (DOL) recently published its proposal to extend the transition period of the Fiduciary Rule and delay the second phase of implementation from January 1, 2018 to July 1, 2019. Currently only adherence to the impartial conduct standards is required for compliance with the Best Interest Contract (BIC) exemption during the transition period, as well as for certain other prohibited transaction exemptions issued or revised in connection with the Fiduciary Rule. Compliance with the full provisions of the BIC exemption and the other related exemptions is not required until the second phase of implementation of the Fiduciary Rule, which is currently set for January 1, 2018.

If adopted, the same requirements in effect now for compliance with the BIC exemption and related exemptions would remain in effect for the duration of the extended transition period. The DOL stated that the primary purpose for seeking to extend the transition period was to allow the DOL sufficient time to review the substantial commentary it has received and consider possible changes or alternatives to the Fiduciary Rule exemptions. The DOL noted its concern that without a delay in the applicability date, financial institutions would incur expenses attempting to comply with certain conditions or requirements of the newly issued or revised exemptions that are ultimately revised or repealed.

The DOL stated that it anticipates it will propose in the near future a “new and more streamlined class exemption built in large part on recent innovations in the financial services industry.” These recent innovations include the development of “clean shares” of mutual funds by some broker-dealers, which the DOL discussed approvingly in its first set of transition period FAQ guidance. “Clean shares” would not include any form of distribution-related payment to the broker, but would instead have uniform commission levels across different mutual funds that would be set by the financial institution. In this way, the firm could mitigate conflicts of interest by substantially insulating advisers from the incentive to recommend certain mutual funds over others. However, these types of innovations will take time to develop.

Continue reading ›
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