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

Displaying 51-60 out of 140 results for "ERS".

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...

Valuations of Non-Traded REITs

(May 2013)

Earlier this week, the Investment Program Association (IPA) presented their guidelines for the valuation of publicly registered non-listed REITs. According to the IPA, these guidelines are supposed to "enhance the independence of the valuation process" and "enhance the quality of valuation disclosures to the investing public." For a discussion of the guidelines, see Brian Louis's recent story on Bloomberg.com.

Non-traded REITs -- real estate investment trusts that are registered with the SEC...

ISDA Announces Market Agreed Coupon Contract for OTC Interest Rate Swaps

(Apr 2013)

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) just announced the publication of a standardized form for over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate swaps called the Market Agreed Coupon (MAC) contract. The contract attempts to standardize the offering of interest rate swaps in the OTC market by specifying available tenors (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 30 years), coupon increments (25 basis points), effective dates (IMM dates) and currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CAD and AUD).

The MAC...

FINRA Fines Merrill Lynch for Failing to Provide Best Execution to Customers

(Apr 2013)

FINRA announced yesterday that it has fined Merrill Lynch more than one million dollars "for failing to provide best execution in certain customer transactions involving non-convertible preferred securities executed on one of its proprietary order management systems (ML BondMarket)" as well as inadequate supervision.

FINRA's Department of Market Regulation found what amounts to a systematic issue in the ML BondMarket software that prevented customer orders from being evaluated at the most...

Major Tenants-in-Common Sponsor Charged with Fraud

(Apr 2013)

Four former executives of DBSI, one of the largest sponsors of tenants-in-common (TIC) interests, have been indicted on 83 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen property. The indictment is seeking approximately $169 million in forfeiture of properties and assets, alleging that the executives misrepresented the financial condition of DBSI to potential investors. The executives named wereformer president Douglas Swenson, general counsel...

Credit Spread Futures and the Futurization of CDS

(Apr 2013)

Yesterday S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the launch of three credit spread indices based upon constituents of the S&P 500. The indices are part of a suite of indices that "are designed to track the credit default swap market for global corporate credits, including those in distinct Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) sectors and sub-industries".*

S&P Dow Jones licensed the indices to the electronic exchange trueEX-- "the world's first CFTC-designated, Dodd-Frank compliant...

Fees on Structured Products Rise as Sales Increase

(Apr 2013)

Kevin Dugan recently reported that fees on structured products linked to stocks have risen to their highest level in three years. In particular Kevin notes that "issuers and underwriters earned $137.7 million in disclosed fees, or 1.95 percent of the $7.08 billion of equity-tied securities" that have a stated commission. Average fees have ranged from less than 1.5% to nearly 2% over the past three years.

The increase in average fees is likely due to the increase in average term for products...

TD Ameritrade Data Suggests Retail Investors Use ETFs in 'Sophisticated Ways'

(Mar 2013)

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are increasingly popular among retail investors. ETFs tend to have lower expense ratios than comparable mutual funds, and can be traded intraday like stock, giving them a comparable advantage that has proven attractive. The number of ETF issuers has grown, and that competition has driven down prices in what has become known in the financial press as the "ETF Fee War".

TD Ameritrade has produced an infographic that shows how their clients use ETFs, and the results...

SPIVA Scorecard Year-End 2012

(Mar 2013)

S&P Dow Jones Indices recently released their year-end 2012 report comparing the performance of actively managed mutual funds against their benchmark indices (we covered the year-end 2011 report previously). The S&P Indices Versus Active Funds (SPIVA) Scorecard once again shows that, for the most part, mutual funds tend to underperform their benchmarks:

The year 2012 marked the return of the double digit gains across all the domestic and global equity benchmark indices. The gains passive...

US Supreme Court Rules on Class Action Fairness Act

(Mar 2013)

Yesterday, Justice Breyer delivered the unanimous US Supreme Court decision in the matter of "The Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Greg Knowles." The decision could be significant for investors involved in securities class action suits, which often involve specific claims as to the total damage suffered by class members. In particular, it will likely mean that more of those cases will be handled by federal rather than state courts.

The case revolved around a particular section of the Class...

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