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Our experts frequently write blog posts about the findings of the research we are conducting.

Displaying 41-50 out of 142 results for "Structured CDs Week".

SLCG Research: Structured Product Based Variable Annuities

(Sep 2013)

In 2010, AXA Equitable began issuing a new kind of variable annuity that, in addition to traditional mutual fund-like subaccounts, also included an option for a structured product-like crediting formula linked to an underlying index such as the S&P 500. Our firm had done a lot of work on both structured products and variable annuities, so in late 2011 we started analyzing the structured product embedded in AXA's product, eventually writing a short research paper on the subject which we...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - September 13th, 2013

(Sep 2013)

SEC Charges Atlanta-Based Investment Adviser Representative with Securities Fraud
September 12, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22797)
Earlier this week, the SEC chargedPaul Marshall, Bridge Securities, LLC, Bridge Equity, Inc. and FOGFuels, Inc. with misappropriation of client funds as well as violations of Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The SEC alleges that over the past two years, Marshall has misappropriated "at least $2...

SEC Halts Florida-Based Prime Bank Investment Scheme

(Sep 2013)

On Monday, the SEC charged a Miami-based group with perpetrating a prime bank investment fraud. The group, which includes Florida attorney Bernard H. Butts, Jr., purported financial services provider Fotios Geivelis, Jr. (a/k/a "Frank Anastasio"), several sales agents, and their allegedly fraudulent business entities (Express Commercial Capital LLC and Worldwide Funding III Limited LLC), are also subject to an emergency asset freeze. View the full complaint.

Prime bank programs promise high...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - September 6th, 2013

(Sep 2013)

SEC Charges Perpetrator of Fraudulent Free-Riding and Securities Offering Schemes
September 3, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22791)
According to the complaint, Ronald Feldstein and his entities, Mara Capital Management LLC and Vita Health of America LLC, "engaged in illegal free-riding by purchasing stock" through broker-dealers to whom Feldstein portrayed himself as a money manager. The alleged "free-riding" scheme resulted in "over $2 million in losses" to the broker-dealers. Additionally,...

Risk Retention in Collateralized Loan Obligations

(Sep 2013)

Last week we covered the SEC's proposed risk retention rules for securitized assets such as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and mortgage backed securities (MBS). One of the reasons why these types of structured deals are so complex is because they are divided into many different securities, called 'tranches,' with different levels of risk. We explained tranching in our post, What is a CDO, Anyway?

The new proposed rules require sponsors of securitizations to keep at least 5% of each...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - August 30th, 2013

(Aug 2013)

SEC Charges Oklahoma Investment Adviser and Cohort with Fraud
August 27, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22789)
According to the complaint, former investment adviser Larry J. Dearman, Sr. "invested his clients in various businesses that" his close friend, Marya Gray, "owned in Bartlesville, Oklahoma." According to the SEC, Dearman and Gray misled investors "about the safety of the investments and how their funds would be used, telling them, for instance, that investor funds would be used to...

Cat Bonds and Contamination Risk

(Aug 2013)

Many pension funds have struggled to achieve sufficient return on their investments in the current low interest rate environment. Some have begun investing in insurance-linked securities, particularly catastrophe ('cat') bonds. You can find our primer on insurance-linked securities on our blog post, "The Basics of Insurance Linked Securities"; essentially, insurance companies issue cat bonds to transfer the risk of catastrophic losses to investors, meaning cat bond investors suffer losses in...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - August 23rd, 2013

(Aug 2013)

SEC Settles Claims Against Ebrahim Shabudin Arising from Understated Bank Losses During Financial Crisis
August 22, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22786)
Earlier this month, the SEC's claims against Ebrahim Shabudin (the former Chief Operating Officer of UCBH Holdings, Inc.) were settled. The SEC "alleges Mr. Shabudin and other defendants concealed losses on loans and other assets from the bank's auditors and delayed the proper reporting of those losses." To settle the charges, Shabudin has...

Morgan Stanley Fined over Excessive Bond Markups

(Aug 2013)

Morgan Stanley has been fined by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for "failing to provide best execution in certain customer transactions involving corporate and agency bonds, and failing to provide a fair and reasonable price in certain customer transactions involving municipal bonds" according to today's news release. The story has also been picked up by the Bond Buyer and Law360, and you can find the complete acceptance, waiver and consent .

This action reflects the...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - August 16th, 2013

(Aug 2013)

SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Conrad M. Black
August 15, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22781)
According to the complaint, Conrad M. Black, former Chief Executive Officer of Hollinger International, Inc., "fraudulently diverted money from Hollinger International to himself and other corporate insiders in the form of purported non-competition payments in the PMG Acquisition and Forum Communications Company newspaper sale transactions." Additionally, Black allegedly "made misstatements and...

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