William Byrnes' Tax, Wealth, and Risk Intelligence

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

Posts Tagged ‘Securities and Exchange Commission’

SEC Warns Investors about Principal Protected Notes

Posted by William Byrnes on November 3, 2011


In a low-interest rate world, high-yield investments offering principal protection are enticing to investors. But the complexity of some high-end investment products has the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) warning investors to look before they leap.

In an alert titled Structured Notes with Principal Protection: Note the Terms of Your Investment, the regulators warn investors that these structured products may not be what they seem. Although they are marketed under a variety of names with a “principal protection” component—e.g. “absolute return” and “minimum return”—the true extent of their safety is never obvious . Investors need to read the fine print to decide whether they are suitable for their investing needs and risk tolerance.

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).

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SEC Softening its Stance on Private Placements

Posted by William Byrnes on September 26, 2011


The Obama Administration’s 2012 federal budget proposal has revived two budget proposals that recent scandals have directed a slew of regulatory attention on private placement. Considering examinations of private placements recently being characterized by a FINRA executive as a “major, major initiative, it would seem strange for the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to consider relaxing rules for marketing private placements.

Nevertheless, that’s exactly what SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro told members of Congress the agency is planning.

Speaking before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Shapiro said that the SEC is going to “take a fresh look” at rules relating to private placements and other securities offerings, both public and private. Specifically, she said that the agency will reconsider the private placement public marketing ban and the 500-investor threshold that categorizes a company as “public.”

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 private placements in Advisor’s Journal, see Private Placements Becoming Much Riskier for Firms (CC 11-78) and Private Placements Becoming Much Riskier for Firms (CC 11-78).

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FINRA Plans New Power Grab as SEC Falters

Posted by William Byrnes on August 2, 2011


FINRA is continuing its recent power-grab in the face of a largely impotent and underfunded Securities and Exchange Commission. As the next stage in an increasing series of regulations and information reporting requirements, plans are in the works for a new-and-improved examination program that could further increase the information reporting requirements of member firms and significantly increase their compliance burden.

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 FINRA regulatory action in Advisor’s Journal, see Broker Bonus Arbitration Bottleneck Forces FINRA to Reconsider Arbitrator Qualification Standards (CC 11-08),  SEC Approves FINRA Suitability and Know-Your-Customer Rules (CC 11-17), & New FINRA Rule Restricts Brokers’ Outside Business Activities (CC 10-110).

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Dodd-Frank Aftermath: CFTC Rule Making Process Stalls

Posted by William Byrnes on February 23, 2011


Despite Congress’s best efforts after the recent economic meltdown, a cadre of Wall Street’s biggest banks still dominates the derivatives markets, leaving some observers wondering whether the transparency the Act was supposed to bring was just a well-intentioned but overly optimistic dream.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act (Act) gave the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) extensive new authority over participants in the derivatives and swaps markets. But the transparency and equity many hoped the Act would bring to the markets is bottlenecked in the agencies charged with implementing the legislation.

The CFTC was scheduled to consider conflict of interest rules for swap execution facilities, derivatives clearing organizations and designated contract markets at their January 13, 2011 meeting, but disagreement about the scope of the rules resulted in the items being nixed from consideration at the meeting.

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 the Dodd-Frank Act in Advisor’s Journal, see Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (CC 10-35) and Wall Street Reform Act Mandates Study of Financial Planning Industry (CC 10-73).

 

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