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

Displaying 11-20 out of 26 results for "Muni Arb".

Securities-Based Lending

(Jun 2015)

In this blog post I summarize my recently published working paper, "Securities-Based Lending".

Introduction

The securities industry has long targeted the liability side of the customer's balance sheet as an opportunity to cross-sell banking products, increase wallet share, and diversify revenue streams away from cyclical trading commissions. In the current euphoric market environment, with portfolio values soaring and borrowing rates historically low, lending to customers has become "Wall...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - June 19th, 2015

(Jun 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Swiss Trader to Pay $2.8 Million to Settle Insider Trading Charges
June 15, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 119)
The SEC alleges that Swiss trader Helmut Ansheringer bought stock and call options based on non-public information that AuthenTec, a company that provides fingerprint sensors and software, would be purchased by Apple Inc. AuthenTec's public announcement that they would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Apple led to a roughly 60% increase in their stock...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - May 29th, 2015

(May 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Charges Deutsche Bank With Misstating Financial Reports During Financial Crisis
May 26, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 99)
Deutsche Bank AG has agreed to pay a $55 million penalty to settle charges that they overvalued a portfolio of derivatives by failing to properly value their "gap risk". The derivatives portfolio in question contained "Leveraged Super Senior" (LSS) trades that Deutsche Bank used in order to buy protection against credit default losses. The...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - May 22nd, 2015

(May 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Peter J. Curley, Associate Director in the Division of Trading and Markets, to Leave SEC
May 18, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 91)
Peter J. Curley, Associate Director for Clearance and Settlement in the Division of Trading and Markets, will be leaving the SEC later this month. Mr. Curley has made many contributions to the division and the agency during the time of development by heading the Office of Clearance and Settlement since October 2011. Mr. Curley's had...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - May 15th, 2015

(May 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Sues Retirement Planners for Making False Claims to Investors
May 11, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 85)
Novers Financial and its principals, Christopher A. Novinger and Brady J. Speers, were charged with falsely informing customers that interests in life settlements they sold were guaranteed and federally insured. Interests in life settlements are investments that are based on life insurance policies purchased by others. These interests are not risk-free or...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - May 1st, 2015

(May 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Announces Award to Whistleblower in First Retaliation Case
April 28, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 75)
The SEC has announced that the whistleblower connected with the SEC's first retaliation case will receive the maximum allowed award of 30% of amounts collected in relation to the case (~$600,000). Paradigm Capital Management was charged by the SEC for retaliating against said whistleblower once it was discovered they had reported potential conduct to the SEC....

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

(Apr 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Halts Investment Scheme Targeting Military Personnel
April 14, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 66)
The SEC has charged Leroy Brown Jr. and his firm, LB Stocks and Trades Advice LLC, with securities fraud and conducting an unregistered securities offering and ordered an asset freeze against Brown. Brown fabricated his stock broking experience to prospective clients telling them that he had many years of experience in securities and that he had all the necessary...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - April 3rd, 2015

(Apr 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Announces Fraud Charges Against Investment Adviser Accused of Concealing Poor Performance of Fund Assets from Investors
March 30, 2015 (Litigation Release No. 52)
The SEC has announced charges against Lynn Tilton and her firms Patriarch Partners LLC, Patriarch Partners VIII LLC, Patriarch Partners XIV LLC, and Patriarch Partners XV LLC for misleading clients of the performance of their collateralized loan obligation (CLO) funds. According to the investigation,...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - February 13th, 2015

(Feb 2015)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Proposes Rules for Hedging Disclosure
February 9, 2015(Litigation Release No. 26)
The SEC has announced the approval of the issuance of proposed rules. The proposed rules require a company to disclose whether its directors, officers, and other employees are permitted to hedge the company's equity securities. The proposed rules are mandated by Section 955 of the Dodd-Frank Act, and the rules are intended to better inform shareholders by increasing the...

Oil and Gas DPPs From Just Two Sponsors Have Caused $3.7 Billion in Losses

(Feb 2015)

We have written extensively about direct participation programs, or DPPs. See our blog posts on non-traded REITs and our discussion about equipment leasing DPPs. Oil and gas DPPs are another strain of the DPP epidemic: illiquid exposure to an existing underlying asset, loaded with confiscatory fees, conflicts of interest and unnecessary risk.

Oil and gas DPPs use some of investors' money to drill and operate oil and gas wells. Oil and gas DPPs are sponsored and managed either by investment...

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