US Legal & Regulation

The Securities and Exchange has charged an investment advisory arm of UBS with failing to properly price securities in three mutual funds that it managed, resulting in a misstatement to investors of the net asset values (NAVs) of those funds. The misconduct was revealed during the course of an SEC examination, minimising investor harm. »

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Texas-based financial services firm Life Partners Holdings Inc and three of its senior executives over their involvement in a fraudulent disclosure and accounting scheme involving life settlements. »

The Securities and Exchange Commission has amended its rules to exclude the value of a person’s home from net worth calculations used to determine whether an individual may invest in certain unregistered securities offerings. The changes were made to conform the SEC’s definition of an “accredited investor” to the requirements of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. »

A federal jury has returned a verdict in the SEC's favour on securities fraud charges against Frederick J O'Meally of Bay Shore, New York, a former registered representative of broker-dealer Prudential Securities Inc alleged to have used deceptive practices to evade blocks on his trading by mutual fund companies. »

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a longtime Bernie Madoff employee with falsifying books and records in order to hide Madoff’s fraudulent investment advisory operations from regulators. »

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil injunctive action against Stephen M Folan, a former registered representative in the Chicago office of FTN Financial Securities Corp (FTN), for assisting Sentinel Management Group, Inc (Sentinel), a bankrupt former investment adviser, in its fraud against its advisory clients. »

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed an emergency enforcement action to stop a fraudulent scheme targeting investors seeking coveted stock in Internet and technology companies like Facebook and Groupon in advance of a public offering. »

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has supported the Trustee’s application for an expedited claims process in the MF Global, Inc. (MFGI) liquidation, and authorised the transfer of funds for customers with “cash-only” accounts outside of the claims process. »

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) with violating securities laws in a fee arrangement that repeatedly charged a fund and its investors for advisory services they weren’t actually receiving from a third party. »

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a record 735 enforcement actions in the fiscal year that ended 30 September, 2011. This record number includes many cases involving highly complex products, transactions, and market practices, including those related to the financial crisis as well as insider trading by market professionals. »