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Regulatory & Enforcement Update 2012. “ Our Take ” LIVE June 19, 2012. Regulatory Focus. New regulations, more registrants Less focus on registered funds Hedge and Private Equity funds Enforcement of compliance programs Operational breakdowns
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Regulatory & Enforcement Update 2012 “Our Take” LIVE June 19, 2012
Regulatory Focus • New regulations, more registrants • Less focus on registered funds • Hedge and Private Equity funds • Enforcement of compliance programs • Operational breakdowns • Federal court hostility toward regulators and private plaintiffs • States exerting regulatory authority • Surveillance of marketing and advertising • FINRA regulating distribution • Third party liability
New Regulation: CPOs • CFTC registration for fund managers • Limited exemption • Bona fide hedging • Margin/premium < 5% or notional value < 100% • Investing in stock index futures not exempt • Not marketed as vehicle for trading futures • ICI and Chamber Sue to Stop Rules • Cost/benefit analysis • Mutual funds already highly regulated
New Regulation: Swaps & ABS • Swaps • SEC regulates securities-based swaps • CFTC regulates other swaps • “Insurance” defined narrowly • CFTC adopts anti-fraud rule for swaps and commodities (like 10b-5) • SEC proposal questions 1940 Act exemption for MBS • More ABS filings and disclosure
New Regulation:Performance Fees & Large Traders • Increased thresholds for charging performance fees • Net worth: $1.5 → $2 Million • Excludes personal residence • Assets with manager: $750,000 → $1.5 Million • Effect on private funds • Large trader filing/reporting (Rule 13h-1; Form 13H) • 2 Million shares or $20 Million in a day or 20/$200 Million in a month • Burden on BDs to monitor
New Regulation: More RIAs • Managers of private funds with > $150 AUM must register • 1400 newly registered private fund advisers (4000 total) • Approx. 1/3 of all advisers manage a private fund • Limited single family office exception • Service only family members • 10 generations of lineal descendants • Non-US advisers must register • < 15 U.S. clients & $25 Million AUM • Total private fund assets less than $150 Million • May have to file as “exempt reporting adviser”
New Regulation: Transition and Disclosure • Advisers with less than $100 Million must transition to states • NASAA announced coordinated review • SEC will cancel registration for insufficient assets (In re Gravity Partners) • New ADV Part 2 • Material risks for private funds • Material financial conditions • Publicly available
New Regulation:Who Regulates RIAs? • SEC Study on adviser exams • Insufficient resources • Self-funding, SRO, FINRA • Bachus/McCarthy bill for Adviser SRO • FINRA wants an adviser SRO operated by FINRA • GAO: SEC must enhance FINRA oversight • Fiduciary standard for BDs • BD ADV • Ketchum: put client’s interests first
New Regulation:Whistleblowers • Whistleblower program launched • Bounty of 10%-30% of awards • Bypass internal reporting • Sullivan v. Harnisch (NYS): Compliance officer can’t sue for wrongful termination • Personal trading violations • Never claimed to be whistleblower • Equity owner in firm • Fund service providers’ employees do not get SOX whistleblower protections (Lawson and Zang v. FMR)
Registered Funds • Fund Adviser pays over $3.3 Million for failing to oversee sub-adviser (In re Morgan Stanley) • ICI/IDC: risk management and compliance • Derivatives (See In re Oppenheimerfunds) • Money market fund regulation • SEC proposes red flags rule (identity theft) • CPO registration • Eighth Circuit Supports Jones (Gallus v. Ameriprise) • Global/Intl fund must invest 40% in 3 countries • SEC Chief Accountant: more AC oversight of auditors
Hedge and Private Equity:Registration and Disclosure • Registration of Hedge and Private Equity Managers • More than $150 Million AUM • Limited venture capital exemption • Extensive ADV disclosure • Reliance on single registration for affiliates • Form PF • File detailed info about funds managed • More info for hedge > $1.5 Billion and PE > $2 Billion • Quarterly filings if AUM > $5 Billion • SEC says it may use data in enforcement actions • SEC seeking to fill 102 new positions focused on hedge and PE
Hedge and Private Equity:OCIE Lists PE Issues • Fund-raising: placement fees, side letters, performance claims, overstating fund size • Investment: allocations, insider trading, transaction fees • Management: valuation, highlighting specific investments, fees • Conflicts of interest: allocations, portfolio compliance, performance/advertising, custody • Norm Champ announces sweep of new private fund advisers
Hedge and Private Equity:Enforcement • PE insider trading • Using info ahead of fund (SEC v. Duffel) • Allocating investment opportunities (In re Crisp) • Personal interest in other fund • Exemptive relief application to allow co-investments for BDC and other funds
Hedge and Private Equity:Hedge Funds • Side-by-side management (In re Martin Currie): Registered fund buys securities to bail out hedge fund • Marking the close (SEC v. RKC Capital Management) • Use of expert network firms • Side pockets (SEC v. Baystar) • Fabricating audit(or) (SEC v. Murray)
JOBS Act • Removes ban on general solicitation for private funds • 3(c)(7) funds can have 2000 investors • Should private funds register under Investment Company Act? • Boon for fund-of-funds • Awaiting SEC rules
Compliance Programs:Enforcement Lessons • Actions against firms for weak compliance programs (In re Asset Advisors et. al.; In re Wunderlich; In re JSK Associates; In re Alpine Woods) • Template or incomplete compliance manuals (BD WSPs) • Inadequate testing and annual reviews • No training • Inexperienced or absent CCO • No implementing procedures • Failure to properly resource • Ignoring Code of Ethics
Compliance Programs:SEC Focus • CCO charged with primary liability • Failure to supervise (In re Manual Lopez-Tarre) • Failure to file SARs (In re Pagliarini) • Compliance failures leading to underlying violations • Misleading statements about principals investing in funds (In re Quantek) • IAA Study shows compliance burden • More work, fewer resources • 5% of revenues; 1 basis point
Operations • Firm fined $200 Million because it hid errors in quant model (In re AXA Rosenberg) • Fund sponsor pays $300 Million for mis-pricing subprime bonds (In re Morgan Keegan) • Allowing PM to override broker quotes • Unreasonable fair valuation (In re Bunzel) • Receiving kickbacks from prop trading firm to aggregate trades (In re Pegasus) • Lying about use of org expenses to Board, administrator, investors (SEC v. Juno Mother Earth Asset Mgt) • OCIE Risk Alert on Unauthorized Trading • New Series 99 for Ops Professionals
Federal Court Hostility • Proxy access rule vacated (Business Roundtable v. SEC; D.C. Cir.) • Effect on efficiency, competition, and capital formation; empirical benefits • Fund Adviser not liable for prospectus disclosure (Janus v. First Derivative Traders; U.S. Supreme Court) • Cf. In re Oppenheimer Funds: adviser has regulatory responsibility for prospectus statements
Federal Court Hostility • Class action plaintiffs foreclosed because NAV was correct (Yu v. State Street; S.D.N.Y.) • No loss causation despite weak disclosure • FINRA can’t sue to enforce fines (Fiero v. FINRA; 2nd Cir) • FINRA is a membership organization
Federal Court Hostility • No private right of action under fund compliance rule (Smith v. OppenheimerFunds Distributor; S.D.N.Y.) • Fund-of-fund investors can’t sue underlying funds (Curran v. Principal Management; S.D. Iowa) • Offshore hedge fund can’t sue CDO sponsor (Basis Yield v. Goldman Sachs; S.D.N.Y.) • Failed to prove U.S. sales activities
State Regulation & Enforcement • NASAA Announces State Enforcement Stats • 51% increase in enforcement actions • 200% increase in funds returned • > 7000 investigations; > 3000 actions • NASAA lists deficiencies in coordinated IA exams • Form ADV, suitability docs, safeguarding client records, supervision, advertising • Failing to register in Mass. (In re Eagle Trades and Osirix FX) • rescission
State Regulation & Enforcement • Registration of private fund managers • Mass. exempts only 3(c)(7) funds and 3(c)(1) funds for qualified clients • NASAA model custody rule requires delivery of account statements even if fund is audited • NASAA President vows to defend states’ authority, criticizes NSMIA • NASAA wants renewed power to review private placements
Marketing and Advertising:Regulation • Pay-to-Play rule implementation • FINRA fines firm for MSRB violations (Southwest Securities) • SEC Sues Detroit city officials (SEC v. Kilpatrick) • Solicitor payment prohibition postponed • Social Media • OCIE Risk Alert/FINRA guidance • Content not media is what’s relevant • Supervision and retention • SEC sweep (includes personal use) • FINRA rule re point-of-sale disclosure for mutual fund revenue sharing
Marketing and Advertising:Enforcement • Lying about SEC deficiencies in RFPs (In re Aletheia) • Claiming eligibility to register with SEC (In re Delta Global Advisors) • Didn’t really manage UITs • Several cases where advisors inflated AUM • Exaggerating background (SEC v. Hicks) • Quant model developed at Harvard • Back-Tested Hypothetical performance (In re GMB Capital Management) • Falsifying solicitor disclosures (SEC v. ARVCO) • Overvaluing equity in sale to client (In re Oxford Investment Partners)
FINRA Regulates Distribution • New content standards as of February 2013 • FINRA sanctions 8 firms for insufficient private placement due diligence (In re Next Financial et.al.) • Need on-site visits • Document due diligence • Review financials and red flags • Fund wholesaler fined because marketing materials were misleading (In re Wells Fargo Investment Securities) • European bank pays $7 Million for failing to register as BD (In re Banco Espirito Santo)
FINRA Regulates Distribution • FINRA charges BD for not second-guessing NAVs (David Lerner & Associates) • Declining real estate market • Late prospectus delivery (Wells Fargo Advisors) • FINRA proposes rule to file PPMs (5123) • Content requirements (use of proceeds, offering expenses, solicitor compensation)
Third Party Liability • Audit firms • Clean audit opinion violated Martin Act (Cuomo v. Ernst & Young) • Failing to verify assets caused securities fraud (In re Sofo) • PCAOB considers mandatory auditor rotation • Only PCAOB firms avoid surprise custody audits • Collateral manager sued for allowing hedge fund to participate (SEC v. Steffelin) • Failure to oversee due diligence vendor (In re Calhoun Asset Management) • Independent directors too close to management (SEC v. Krantz)
Predictions for 2012 • PE and Hedge fund firms will ignore compliance obligations • SEC will give new registrants a grace period • Non-U.S. fund sponsors ignore registration requirements • FINRA will win jurisdiction over (retail) advisors • Mary Schapiro will resign after election • More SEC cases that firms don’t qualify • States will begin interstate exam cooperation • Whistleblower program will be a non-issue • More compliance program cases • Expanding third party liability
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