As expected, SEC Chair Gary Gensler is taking the regulatory agency in a different direction than the most recent chairman Jay Clayton. Recent actions are pointing to a more activist environment and a new era of rulemaking. For starters, Gensler recently announced his policy team, which will be led by Heather Slavkin Corzo, policy director…. Read More >>
Settlement Helps Steven A. Cohen Return in 2018
The ongoing saga of billionaire hedge fund manager, Steven A. Cohen, completed another episode with his settlement this week with the CFTC, which may help him create a path back to investing other peoples’ money by 2018 or beyond. The former hedge fund heavyweight Cohen settled with the SEC this past January after the regulator… Read More >>
Galleon PM to Pay $840K to Settle SEC Charges
The SEC reports that former hedge fund portfolio manager Rajarengan “Rengan” Rajaratnam has agreed to pay more than $840,000 and accept securities industry bars in order to settle the agency’s insider-trading case brought against him for “his role in the widespread insider-trading scheme conducted by his brother Raj Rajaratnam and hedge fund advisory firm Galleon… Read More >>
SEC Atlanta’s Dignam to Be OCIE Senior Counsel
The SEC reports that Rhea Kemble Dignam, currently director of the SEC’s Atlanta regional office (ARO), has been named senior counsel to the director of the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE). Dignam, who joined the SEC as the Atlanta regional office director in March 2010, will assume her new post when Liban… Read More >>
Regulators Hit Barclays with $62 Million in Fines
Taken together, Barclays Capital and Barclays Bank will be paying a total of $61,913,453 in penalties to U.S. and U.K. regulators for two past incidents — an inadequate compliance system for wealth management efforts, and a failure to properly protect clients’ custody assets. In the U.S., Barclays Capital is paying a $15 million penalty to… Read More >>
SEC Appoints First Ombudsman
The SEC has appointed Tracey L. McNeil to be the agency’s first ombudsman, a position created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, officials say. McNeil, who will assume her new post on Sept. 22, will be responsible for establishing safeguards to maintain the confidentiality of communications with investors, SEC officials say. In her new role, she… Read More >>
SEC Charges Hedge Fund with Portfolio-Pumping
The SEC on Monday filed charges against a Minneapolis-based hedge fund manager, his investment advisory firm and an employee for portfolio pumping and bilking investors in two hedge funds out of more than $1 million, officials say. As management fees earned by Archer Advisors LLC were dwindling due to the funds’ poor performance, the SEC… Read More >>
SEC’s L.A. Examinations Director to Retire
The SEC reports that Martin Murphy, its associate regional director for examinations in the agency’s Los Angeles office, is retiring after more than 36 years of public service, including 24 years at the SEC, officials say. As associate regional director for the SEC’s office of compliance inspections and examinations since 2008, Murphy has led a… Read More >>
FDIC, SEC Slam BofA with $1B in Settlements
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and the SEC have announced more than $1 billion in settlements against Bank of America Corp. (BofA) and its entities in efforts to resolve claims against BofA related to residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and securities fraud charges, FDIC and SEC officials say. The SEC settlement of $245 million is… Read More >>
SEC’s CIO to Leave in October
Thomas Bayer, the chief information officer (CIO), is leaving the SEC in October after a four-year tenure marked by “significantly reduced operation and maintenance costs,” say SEC officials. For the moment, there is no immediate replacement for Bayer and it is not known what his next move will be, say sources familiar with the situation…. Read More >>
