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

Displaying 51-60 out of 73 results for "Muni Arb".

New FINRA Guidelines for Non-Traded and Private REITs

(May 2013)

In recent months, FINRA has been investigating how non-traded and private real estate investment trusts (REITs) are presented to retail investors. Last week, FINRA alerted broker-dealers that they had uncovered "deficiencies" in how these investments are sold, and issued Regulatory Notice 13-18 "to provide guidance to firms on communications with the public concerning unlisted real estate investment programs, including unlisted real estate investment trusts (REITs) and unlisted direct...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - May 3rd, 2013

(May 2013)

Commission Obtains Temporary Restraining Order and Asset Freeze Against Massachusetts Man Who Defrauded Investors of At Least $5.5 Million
May 1, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22694)
Earlier this week, the SEC obtained an asset freeze and temporary restraining order on Steven Palladino and his MA-based Viking Financial Group, Inc. in which he served as owner, president and vice president at various times. According to the SEC's complaint, Viking Financial Group raised almost $5.5 million from...

SEC Charges Victorville, CA and Airport Authority with Securities Fraud

(May 2013)

Earlier this week, the SEC charged the City of Victorville, California and several other entities with municipal bond fraud. The charges relate to a $13.3 million 2008 bond offering by the Southern California Logistics Airport (SCLA) Authority, which was intended to refinance an "ill-conceived" redevelopment project for airplane hangers at the former George Air Force Base, which closed in 1992.

Municipal bonds are sometimes considered among the safest investments available. Municipal bond...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - April 19th, 2013

(Apr 2013)

SEC Files Subpoena Enforcement Action Against Andrew Farmer and Iridium Capital, Ltd. for Failure To Produce Documents in Market Manipulation Investigation
April 18, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22680)
Last week, the SEC filed a subpoena enforcement action against Andrew Farmer and Iridium Capital, Ltd. "According to the filing, the SEC is investigating possible market manipulation in connection with transactions in the securities of Chimera Energy Corporation." Subpoenas were issued last...

Goldman Sachs Uses JOBS Act to Sidestep Volcker Rule

(Apr 2013)

Evan Weinberger at Law360 is reporting that Goldman Sachs may have found a way around the Volcker Rule--the ban on proprietary trading by banks, which also prohibits sponsoring hedge funds and private equity funds--by using another controversial regulatory measure, the 2012 JOBS Act (of which we have spoken before):

By setting up an independent business development company in which it will hold a minority stake and limited leverage exposures, Goldman will be able to engage in at least limited...

Stockton California May Proceed with Chapter 9 Bankruptcy

(Apr 2013)

Yesterday a federal judge in California ruled that, despite the objections of bondholders and bond insurers, the city of Stockton could proceed in the process of Chapter 9 bankruptcy. Stockton is a city of almost 300,000 located about 90 minutes east of SanFrancisco Stockton was hard hit by the housing bubble and saw a 16% decline (page 345 of the PDF) in general fund revenue from FY 2008-2009 to FY 2009-2010.

After facing "an immediate and severe fiscal crisis" in early 2012, Stockton became...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - March 29th, 2013

(Mar 2013)

SEC Charges California-Based Hedge Fund Analyst and Two Others with Insider Trading
March 26, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22660)
Hedge fund analyst, Matthew Teeple, has been charged by the SEC for allegedly trading on material non-public information regarding Brocade Communication Systems Inc.'s 2008 acquisition of Foundry Networks, Inc. According to the SEC, Teeple received the information from Foundry's chief information officer, David Riley, and then caused the "hedge fund advisory firm...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - March 22nd, 2013

(Mar 2013)

Fake Hedge Fund Manager Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison
March 20, 2013, (Litigation Release No. 22655)
Andrey C. Hicks was sentenced to "40 months in prison in connection with criminal charges...[of] committing wire fraud, attempting to commit wire fraud, and aiding and abetting wire fraud." Hicks was also "ordered to pay $2.3 million in restitution." In 2011, the SEC charged Hicks and his investment advisory firm, Locust Offshore Management, LLC, "with misleading prospective investors about...

Private Equity Fund Advisers Charged with Misleading Investors about Valuation and Performance

(Mar 2013)

Earlier this week, the SEC charged Oppenheimer Asset Management (OAM) and Oppenheimer Alternative Investment Management (OAIM) with misrepresenting the performance of the Oppenheimer Global Resource Private Equity Fund I L.P. (OGR) in their marketing materials. The SEC found that OGR's manager used his own valuation methodology to value the fund's largest investment, Cartesian Investors-A LLC ("Cartesian"), at a significant markup. This inflated valuation led to a ten-fold increase in OGR's...

SEC Charges the State of Illinois for Misleading Pension Disclosures

(Mar 2013)

Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the State of Illinois with misleading municipal bond investors by making inaccurate or incomplete statements concerning their statutory plan to fund the state's pension obligations. In particular, the "SEC investigation revealed that Illinois failed to inform investors about the impact of problems with its pension funding schedule as the state offered and sold more than $2.2 billion worth of municipal bonds from 2005 to early...

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