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

Displaying 11-20 out of 53 results

The Recent Market Turmoil Spells Trouble for "Auto-liquidators" like Interactive Brokers

(Aug 2015)

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (IB) caters to active traders including those who trade futures and options. These active traders' accounts typically are subject to "portfolio margin" requirements which we have written about at length. ¹ IB requires its customers to agree to have IB auto-liquidate positions when accounts are in a margin deficit.

IB's auto-liquidation procedures were the focus of a FINRA arbitration earlier this year in which the Claimant, Glen Lyon Long-Term Options, LP,...

UBS of Puerto Rico Continues to Wreak Havoc on Clients

(Aug 2015)

In October 2014, UBS Puerto Rico settled with the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("OCFI") over UBS's lack of compliance and supervision as some brokers recommended some "mostly senior, low net worth investors with conservative investment profiles" use non-purpose loans to further concentrate their accounts in UBS PR closed-end bond funds. The UBS-OCFI settlement is available to view on our website.

As part of the settlement, UBS paid...

Why Citigroup Paid the SEC $180 Million Over MAT/ASTA

(Aug 2015)

I. Introduction

This week Citigroup paid $180 million to the SEC to settle allegations that Citigroup improperly sold high risk hedge funds known as MAT, ASTA and Falcon. The SEC Order is available to view online.

The SEC Order makes clear that Citigroup did not effectively monitor the portfolio manager or the sales force as it sold billions of dollars of high risk MAT ASTA funds with false and misleading sales presentations. In the end, Citigroup lost hundreds of wealthy clients and likely...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - August 14th, 2015

(Aug 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Guggenheim Partners Investment Management LLC Settles Charges it Failed to Disclose Conflict to Clients
August 10, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 162)
The SEC has announced that charges against Guggenheim Partners Investment Management LLC have been settled for $20 million. The charges were over a breach of fiduciary duty in which Guggenheim failed to disclose a $50 million loan that an advisory client had given to a senior Guggenheim executive. The SEC order found...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - August 10th, 2015

(Aug 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Charges Houston-Area Businessman in Ponzi Scheme
August 3, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 158)
Frederick Alan Voight, owner of F.A. Voight & Associates LP and DayStar Funding LP, has been charged with defrauding investors while operating a $114 million Ponzi scheme. As Ponzi scheme's tend to go, Voight's scheme was caught after he could not find enough new money to pay previous investors his promised 42% annual return rate. Recently, Voight raised $13.8 million...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - July 31st, 2015

(Jul 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Charges Three Penny Stock Promoters Behind Pump-and-Dump Schemes
July 21, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 152)
Former Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. employees: Scott A. Eisler, Arthur W. Lewis and Robert Okin, agreed to settle the SEC's charges involving unregistered sales of billions of shares of penny stocks on behalf of an Oppenheimer customer. Lewis and Okin failed to respond to red flags associated with sales that violated the federal securities laws and allowed...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - July 17th, 2015

(Jul 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Announces Settlement With Cooperator in Grand Central Post-It Notes Insider Trading Case
July 13, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 143)
The SEC announced a settlement with Frank Tamayo for cooperating in a continuing insider trading investigation where illegal information was passed via Post-It notes at Grand Central Terminal. Tamayo was alleged to distributing received tips from a law firm clerk to a stockbroker that he would meet up with at Grand Central Terminal,...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - July 10th, 2015

(Jul 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Charges Oil Company and CEO in Scheme Targeting Chinese-Americans and EB-5 Investors
July 6, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 141)
The SEC has charged CEO Bingqing Yang and her company Luca International Group for fraud. The SEC alleges that Yang gave presentations with falsely depicting a large, successful company. Yang allegedly used new investors' funds, in a Ponzi-scheme fashion, to make payments to older investors. The SEC also claims that over $2.4 million of...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - July 2nd, 2015

(Jul 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Charges KKR With Misallocating Broken Deal Expenses
June 29, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 131)
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) has agreed to pay nearly $30 million to settle the SEC's charges of misallocating more than $17 million in broken deal expenses. The SEC also found that KKR incurred $338 million in broken deal or diligence expenses during a six-year period ending in 2011. KKR failed to expressly disclose how fund expenses would be allocated; KKR did...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - June 26th, 2015

(Jun 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Charges Unregistered Brokers in EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
June 23, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 127)
Ireeco LLC and its successor Ireeco Limited were charged with being unregistered brokers after the firms handled more than $79 million of investments. Ireeco brokered investments for more than 150 foreign investors through the governments EB-5 program. The EB-5 program allows foreigners who invest directly in a U.S. business or private "regional centers"...

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