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Financing, Investor Protection And Online Securities Offerings. Chapter 21. Securities Laws. Security - A stock certificate, bond, note, debenture, warrant, or other document given as evidence of ownership in a corporation or as a promise of repayment by a corporation.
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Financing, Investor ProtectionAnd Online Securities Offerings Chapter 21
Securities Laws • Security - A stock certificate, bond, note, debenture, warrant, or other document given as evidence of ownership in a corporation or as a promise of repayment by a corporation. • “Passive Investment” (efforts of others) • Common Enterprise • Violation of securities laws include both criminal and civil penalties
Securities Act of 1933 • Governs the initial sale of stock by businesses • Put in place in response to the stock market crash of 1929 to prevent fraud in the issuance of securities by requiring disclosure of information to the public
Registration Statement • Generally, a security must by registered before it is offered for sale to the public either through the mails or other facility of interstate commerce, including stock exchanges. • Requires filing a registration statement (and prospectus which will be later distrubuted to investors) with the SEC
Registration Statement • The registration statement must include a description of the following: • Properties and business activities • Directors and officers, their compensation, securities holdings, and other benefits • Pending lawsuits • Financial Statements • Description of risks
Exempt Securities • Securities issued by states or local governments • Securities of Charitable Organizations • Commercial paper maturing in nine months or less • Insurance contracts • Instruments issued by banks
Exempt Transactions • Rule 504 - Offerings by certain companies of up to $1 million per year • Rule 505 - Offerings of up to $5 million to accredited investors • Rule 506 - Private offerings to limited number of purchasers • Rule 147 - Purely local, intrastate
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 • Regulates securities exchanges, brokers, dealers, and national securities associations • Put in place to require continual disclosure after initial issuance of stock to prevent fraud • Covers Corporations whose stock is listed on a stock exchange or who have assets in excess of $10 million and five hundred or more shareholders
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 • Section 10(b) and SEC Rule 10b-5 Most importantly regulate against: • Securities Fraud • Insider Trading
Securities Fraud • Rule 10b-5 makes it unlawful to do the following in connection with the purchase or sale of ANY security: • Make any untrue statement of a material fact • Omit a material fact, if such omission causes the statement to be misleading
Securities Fraud • Liability potential for: • accountants who prepare fraudulent or misleading financials • attorneys who drafted them • ANYONE who participates in fraud, including • Directors • Officers • Other “responsible” parties
Insider Trading • Insider Trading - Purchase or sale of securities on the basis of information that has not been made available to the investing public. • Liability extends to anyone who acquires inside information as a result of a insider’s breach of fiduciary duty to the corporation.
Insider Trading • “Insiders” (Officers, Executives and Directors). • “Outsiders” • Tipper/tippee theory--insider’s fiduciary duty must be breached. • Misappropriation theory -- one wrongfully obtains inside info and trades on it. (Court may find a fiduciary relationship where one wouldn’t normally exist.)
Insider Trading • Corporation may “recapture” any profits realized by an insider on any sale and purchase stock or other securities within any six-month period (Rule 16b) • Considered “short swing profits” • Inside information presumed
Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 Focus on accountants and public companies • Rules for auditor independence (Registered Accounting firm cannot perform audit and non-audit services at the same time) • Increased oversight by agencies and boards (Oversight by Public Company Accounting Oversight Board-reports to the SEC)) • Whistleblower protection • Document destruction • Loans to officers and directors prohibited (See p. 63-65 & 646-648)
Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 • Attempts to increase corporate responsibility by: • Stricter disclosure requirements. • Harsher penalties for legal violations. • Corporate officers take responsibility for financial statements and SEC reports. • CEO’s and CFO’s must personally certify reports.
Financing, Investor ProtectionAnd Online Securities Offerings End of Chapter 21