Blog

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

Displaying 11-20 out of 54 results for "Muni Markup Week".

SEC Approves Municipal Adviser Registration Requirement

(Sep 2013)

Late last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to adopt rules requiring municipal advisors to register with the commission if the advisor "provides advice on the issuance of municipal securities or about certain 'investment strategies' or municipal derivatives." This permanent registration requirement was required by Dodd-Frank (Section 975) and replaces the temporary registration requirement previously implemented by the SEC.

The registration requirement is meant to...

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...

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...

MSRB Proposes Rule on Muni Bond Markups

(Aug 2013)

Our colleagues' recent paper on municipal bond markups, which showed that retail investors were charged nearly $11 billion in markups from 2005-2013, has generated a lot of attention. In June we spent an entire week covering the background, methodology, findings, and implications of that paper, which we think has important implications for the municipal bond investors.

On Tuesday, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) proposed a new "fair-pricing" rulethat could help address the...

FINRA's Market Data Center

(Aug 2013)

FINRA has a number of useful web-based tools on their website. We mention their BrokerCheck tool quite often, as it allows investors to check on the professional background and disciplinary history of any particular broker or firm registered with the agency. Another very useful tool is their Market Data Center, which provides a wide variety of market data for free.

Perhaps the most useful aspect of the Market Data Center is the the TRACE (Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine) database. TRACE...

SEC Charges Indiana School District and Underwriter with Defrauding Investors

(Jul 2013)

Yesterday the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced thatWest Clark Community Schools -- and Indiana School District -- City Securities Corporation and Randy G. Ruhl have been charged with defrauding investors in connection with municipal bond offerings. The SEC order against the school district and against the underwriter can be found on the SEC website.

The action stems from the fact that the school district was contractually obligated to disclose financial information on an...

FINRA Focuses Investigation of High-Frequency Trading Firms

(Jul 2013)

In January, FINRA released their annual regulatory and examinations priorities for the upcoming year, in which they vowed to "focus significant resources" on, among other things, algorithmic trading and high-frequency trading (HFT) abuses. They have already levied a record fine against a brokerage firm for failing to supervise manipulative high-frequency trading, and their emphasis on HFT issues mirrors efforts by the SEC and CFTC to bring the HFT industry under better regulatory...

FINRA Fines StateTrust for Charging Unfair Prices in Fraudulent Bond Transactions

(Jun 2013)

We've been discussing markups a lot on the blog recently -- including an entire week devoted to markups in municipal bonds. Yesterday FINRA announced that it fined StateTrust Investments and their head trader, Jose Luis Turnes, for charging excessive markups and markdowns on hundreds of corporate bond transactions.¹ The letter of acceptance, waiver and consent (AWC) is available to view online.

According to FINRA, StateTrust charged prices customers much more, or paid them much less, than the...

SEC Charges South Miami with Defrauding Investors

(May 2013)

Yesterday the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the City of South Miami with defrauding investors over the tax-exempt status of some municipal offerings.

In 2002, the City of South Florida obtained access to tax-exempt financing through a pooled conduit municipal bond issued by the Florida Municipal Loan Council (FMLC) to fund the construction of a mixed-use retail and parking structure in the city's commercial district.* The 2002 FMLC bond offering can be found online. The...

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...

54 Results

<
1
2
3
4
...
6
>