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William Byrnes (Texas A&M) tax & compliance articles

Posts Tagged ‘Hedge fund’

Better Late than Never: SEC Implements the Switch

Posted by William Byrnes on January 10, 2012


As anticipated, the SEC will delay implementation of the RIA transition. On June 22, the SEC approved rules that will transition thousands of advisors from SEC to state regulation, but the new rules won’t be effective until June 28, 2012, almost a year later than initially expected.

Under the regulatory structure in place before the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, investment advisors with $25 million or more in assets under management (AUM) were regulated by the SEC, and those with less than $25 million in AUM were regulated by the states. Dodd-Frank changed the registration threshold so that advisors with between $25 and $100 million in AUM—so-called “midsize advisors”—will be required to withdraw their registration from the SEC and register with state regulators.

Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of the planned switch and in Advisor’s Journal, see Disarray at the SEC is Complicating the “Switch” (CC 11-83), Hedge Funds Must Now Register with the SEC under the New Wall Street Reform Act (CC 10-45) & Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (CC 10-35).

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Tax-Free Hedge Fund Investment: Private Placement Insurance

Posted by William Byrnes on April 9, 2011


Is hedge fund investment without capital gains or estate taxation possible for your high net worth clients?  Yes, through the medium of private placement life insurance (“PPLI”).   Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of topics relevant to estate planning for high net worth clients in Advisor’s Journal, see High Net Worth Clients: How to Find Them, How to Service Them (CC 10-07).

For in-depth analysis of state tax laws that are favorable for PPLI purposes, see Advisor’s Main Library: Estate Planning and the State Premium Tax.

 

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Wall Street Reform Act Mandates Study of Financial Planning Industry

Posted by William Byrnes on October 26, 2010


The federal government is taking the first steps toward regulating financial planners. The Financial Planning Association and other industry groups are welcoming the prospect of federal oversight. The federal push toward regulation is motivated by a perceived widespread misuse of “Financial Planner” and other similar designations.

The Wall Street Reform Act requires the Government Accountability Office to study state and federal regulation of persons who hold themselves out as financial planners. The study will consider whether there are regulatory gaps in federal and state law that permit unregistered financial planners and others who provide planning services to escape regulation. The use of �misleading titles, designations and marketing materials� by financial planners will also be scrutinized to determine whether current law adequately protects consumers.

Read this complete article at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act in Advisor�s Journal, see Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (CC 10-35), Hedge Fund Must Now Register with the SEC Under the New Wall Street Reform Act (CC 10-45), & The Federal Insurance Office.

We invite your questions and comments by posting them at AdvisorFYI or by calling the Panel of Experts.

 

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Life Settlements Market Ideal for Re-Expansion

Posted by William Byrnes on October 21, 2010


Why is this Topic Important to Wealth Managers?  Discusses the general market conditions of life settlements.  Also provides reasons why some policy holders may consider selling their interests.   

As discussed earlier this week, a traditional life-settlement transaction consists of an third party purchasing an unknown individual’s life insurance policy for consideration.  The purchaser continues to pay the premiums until a death benefit is collected, the contract is sold to another individual or business, or is surrendered. 

The Wall Street Journal attributes the creation of the industry “back to the 1980s, when [terminally ill] patients sold their policies to raise cash for medical treatments.”   The Journal also notes, the “market boomed earlier this decade, as hedge funds eager for offbeat alternative investments piled in.”  

Since the decline in overall macroeconomic market conditions, “the total face value of policies purchased in the secondary market fell to $7 billion in 2009 from $13 billion in 2008”.  “Prices for policies, meanwhile, fell to an average of 13% of the death benefit in 2009 from 21% in 2006.”   Nevertheless, industry experts are expecting a rise again in total market figures by the end of 2010.  It is not surprising given the SEC’s new enforcement efforts discussed below. 

For the remainder of the article see AdvisorFYI.

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