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This 30-minute podcast orginally was presented on 10/25/05 in webinar format on the importance of effective E-mail and document retention policies and procedures and ways they can be implemented.
View this webinar and other SNSFE webinar presentations.
As part of its compliance outreach program, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to publicize some of the deficiencies and weaknesses that it has uncovered during its examinations of financial services firms. Unveiled for the first time in June, 2007, the SEC's "ComplianceAlert" is designed to alert financial professionals so that they can review their practices, procedures and programs, and make whatever improvements are necessary or desirable -- before the SEC examines them!
The scope of this first ComplianceAlert is broad, because it relates to numerous deficiencies found among investment advisers, mutual funds and brokerage firms. Let's examine two deficiency areas that relate to investment advisers. They are deficiencies in performance advertising and in disaster recovery plans.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox recently delivered an SEC staff "white paper" to Congress that calls for significant improvements in disclosure and accounting in the municipal securities market to better protect investors.
Chairman Cox is not sugar-coating his belief that investors purchasing municipal bonds, notes, and other debt securities suffer from inferior legal protection compared to that afforded to other investors purchasing corporate bonds or equities. Mr. Cox observed that the disclosure obligations and protection afforded to municipal securities investors is "not even close", despite the fact that investors (as well as analysts, investment advisers and brokerage firms) "deserve the same level" of disclosure and protection. Let's examine why Chairman Cox is so concerned, and what he has proposed to better protect municipal securities investors.
This 30-minute podcast originally was presented as an online seminar on 11/21/05 on the issues involved in buying or selling an investment advisory firm from a lawyer's perspective, including the anatomy of a deal, legal risks, compliance, and due diligence.
View this webinar and other SNSFE webinar presentations.
This 25-minute podcast originally was presented as a webinar on 2/21/06. It covers real estate offerings/investments, typical entity structures, securities law issues, due diligence, duties of loyalty and care, causes of action, remedies, and limitations.
View this webinar and other SNSFE webinar presentations.
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has issued an Informed Investor Publication entitled, What You Should Know About Exchange Traded Funds. While many ETFs are passive managed funds that track U.S. equity indexes, new ETFs may entail greater risks. Let's examine the NYSE's caution to investors.
Financial advisers, trustees, plan sponsors, and anyone else involved in investment decision-making, face a host of issues as they navigate through complex and sometimes uncertain areas. But guidance is available.
One source of guidance deserves our focus. It is, "Prudent Investment Practices", a handbook for investment fiduciaries, written by the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies. There are 5 so-called "Steps" and 27 so-called "Practices", which expand on this sound starting proposition: "To manage a prudent investment process, without which the components of an investment plan cannot be defined, implemented or evaluated." These Steps and Practices were determined after a review of the major investment fiduciary legislation -- ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974), UPIA (Uniform Prudent Investor Act) and MPERS (Management of Public Employee Retirement Systems Act).
Let's overview the 5 Steps and some of the 27 Practices.
Read the article.
To understand where we are, sometimes it is helpful to understand where we have been. That's true of trust investment law. Let's overview the past two centuries of law that have governed how advisers and fiduciaries must invest trust and retirement plan assets.
Read the article.
The head of the state securities regulators' association, Patty Struck, recently testified before the United States Senate. Her testimony, entitled,"Protecting Senior Citizens Against Investment Fraud", noted how widespread investment fraud against seniors has become. With the problem likely to become worse, Ms. Struck cautions seniors to be wary of three disturbing trends.
The New York Stock Exchange has disciplined Citigroup Global Markets for books and records violations and supervisory deficiencies. These events happened in its Englewood, Colorado and Palo Alto, California branch offices. Citigroup failed to provide for appropriate supervisory control, including a separate system of follow-up and review, and failed to properly and accurately preserve certain books and records. Relevantly, employees of at least two of the Firm's branch offices altered, concealed and fabricated certain documents in an effort to pass internal examinations. The Firm did not provide for adequate supervision, or management of books and records, with regard to trade blotters, order tickets, correspondence, trade errors and other items in that employees from both the Englewood, Colorado and the Palo Alto, California branch offices were able to hide, alter and fabricate such documents in an effort to pass the Firm's internal audits.
Investors beware. The individuals involved are the following: Kim Mastel, Patricia Fanella, Olivia Bowles-Kymer, Richard Walsh, Constance Reseigh, Madeleine McBride and William West. In addition, a disciplinary action has been commenced against David Nee, a branch office manager, for altering documents, directing employees to alter documents, supervisory failures and causing inaccurate books and records. What's up with that?
FinancialCounsel.com, hosted by James J. Eccleston, is the companion website to this blog. It contains complimentary material of general interest to investors and financial services professionals. Investors will find material on securities arbitration to recover investment losses; industry and financial markets intelligence; and strategies for estate planning. Professionals have access to material on broker/adviser registration, regulation, compliance and disciplinary proceedings; industry and financial markets intelligence; strategies for estate planning; and broker/adviser employment litigation and injunctions, including defamation and non-competition/solicitation issues. 
James J. Eccleston heads the securities group at Shaheen, Novoselsky, Staat, Filipowski & Eccleston, P.C., a business law firm dedicated to closely-held business owners, senior executives and high net worth individuals. With three core practice groups - securities, general litigation, and corporate / transactional - and many subspecialties, SNSFE provides our clients a full spectrum of legal services, from start-up to succession planning. Visit us at snsfe-law.com or call 312.621.4400 for more information. 