Blog

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

Displaying 471-480 out of 692 results

Holding an ETF During the Day vs. Holding Overnight

(Oct 2012)

Lately we've been reading the interesting new book by Eric Falkenstein on risk premia and low volatility investing. We are long time followers of Eric's blog, which has a variety of interesting analyses of equity markets.

Following one of the figures in his book, we decided to look at two different strategies of investing in a given ETF where the holding period is on average one trading day. In particular, we looked at the pricing data of SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) since inception and constructed two...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - September 28th, 2012

(Sep 2012)

Court Enters Final Judgments by Consent Against SEC Defendants Shay Keren and Lawrence Steven Cohen
September 27, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22498)
The SEC announced that final judgments have been entered against Shay Keren and Lawrence Steven Cohen which permanently enjoins them from violating sections of the Securities Act and Exchange Act as well as bars them from "participating in an offering of penny stock for a period of five years." The SEC filed a complaint in September 2008 against...

Regulators Fine High-Frequency Trader for Manipulative Trading

(Sep 2012)

FINRA recently announced the censure and fining of Hold Brothers On-Line Investment Services, LLC ("Hold Brothers"). This action is in lockstep with that of NYSE Arca, NASDAQ, NASDAQ OMX BX and BATS as well as the SEC . Hold Brothers isa registered self-clearing broker-dealer and a member of FINRA operating as a "day-trading firm by facilitating direct market access to customers and to its proprietary traders."

The action centers primarily on the trading activity in one large account...

Repackaging Securities Means Repackaging Risks: the Case of STRATS 2005-2

(Sep 2012)

On July 12, an exotic structured security that was trading at approximately $25 per share was suddenly redeemed at $14.69 by its issuer, Wells Fargo Advisors. Needless to say, some investors were surprised by the event, which did not appear to be anticipated by the market. Indeed, the securities -- Floating Rate Structured Repackaged Asset-Backed Trust Securities Certificates, Series 2005-2 (abbreviated STRATS 2005-2) -- had embedded risks that resulted from repackaging the same underlying...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - September 21st, 2012

(Sep 2012)

SEC Charges Atlanta-Based Adviser with Operating Ponzi-Like Scheme Involving Private Investment Funds
September 19, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22485)
Earlier this week, the SEC filed a civil complaint charging Angelo A. Alleca with "defrauding investors in a purported "fund-of-funds" and then trying to hide trading losses by creating new private funds to make money to pay back the original fund investors in Ponzi-like fashion." Rather than investing investor funds in Summit Investment Fund,...

SEC Litigation Releases: Weekly Review

(Sep 2012)

SEC Charges a Solar Panel Manufacturer and Three of its Former Executives with Defrauding Investors
September 6, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22475)
The SEC charged Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA Inc. (WEMU), a San Francisco based solar panel manufacturer, and WEMU executives Jimmy Wang, Mindy Wang, and Jeffrey Watson with "concealing the transfer of nearly half of the ownership stake in its Chinese subsidiary to three individuals in China who manage the subsidiary." According to the ...

As New ETFs Come and Go, Big Ones Remain Big

(Sep 2012)

A recent Seeking Alpha article argues that with six new ETFs coming into the market and 18 being closed or redeemed, the past August signaled the beginning of a consolidation process in the ETF industry. There are good reasons to believe the author is right: with ETF issuers rolling out more and more ETFs each month, those having failed to catch investors' eyes quick enough are bound to disappear with the ever-intensifying competition. On the other hand, it also got us curious: what about...

ETFs: Easy Come, Easy Go

(Sep 2012)

Last month we pointed out a growing number of ETF closures across a variety of issuers. Hot on their heels, several issuers announced new ETF issuances offering a wide variety of strategies, including many actively managed ETFs, which seem to be all the rage these days.

UBS recently announced that it would redeem 12 of its 13 volatility-linked ETNs on September 12. These twelve funds are actually six pairs of 1x long and 1x inverse notes linked to the performance of VIX futures portfolios...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - September 7th, 2012

(Sep 2012)

SEC Files Settled Insider Trading Action Against Pharmaceutical Company Executive and His Father-In-Law
September 6, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22474)
On September 6, 2012, the SEC filed a civil injunctive action against APP Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s former Director of Contract Marketing, Arthur H. Reed, as well as Reed's father-in-law, Allan F. Derusha. According to the complaint (opens to PDF),the pair engaged in "insider trading and/or tipping in advance of APP's July 7, 2008 public...

Is FINRA Arbitration Constitutional?

(Sep 2012)

Since 1987, when the Supreme Court upheld the mandatory arbitration provision found in brokerage customer agreements (Shearson/American Express v. McMahon - 482 U.S. 220 (1987)), most disputes between broker-dealers and their customers or employees have been adjudicated through the FINRA Dispute Resolution process. Their proceedings are not open to the public, no public record is kept, and most decisions are not explained. FINRA arbitrators come from all walks of life, although many are...

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