Proxy advisory firms are supposed to help fund managers decide how to vote their shares in annual or other corporate meetings and even cast votes for them. But that doesn’t mean fund managers should just let them do all the work and forget about it. Apparently that’s what the US Securities and Exchange Commission thinks […]
Countdown to AIFMD: Addressing the New Risk Management Landscape
With the deadline for fund managers to apply for regulatory recognition as alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) less than a week away, one would think they have already crossed their T’s and dotted their I’s when it comes to being prepared. But that’s not the case for many, according to industry research. Surprisingly, most small […]
BNP Paribas $9B Fine: Dirty Messages and Dirty Money
Motive, means and opportunity. Those are the three elements that criminal prosecutors look for, when setting up a criminal conviction. In a case involving BNP Paribas (BNPP) — the largest bank in France and the fifth largest in the world — prompting US$8.97 billion in fines and a guilty plea to a criminal charge in a […]
FATCA: Four Steps to Meeting IRS Reporting Requirements
When the US Treasury made foreign financial institutions responsible for catching potential American tax evaders overseas, it also gave them a major migraine they are now finding difficult to alleviate. Determining with certainty who is responsible for paying US taxes just became their job. If they choose not to cooperate with the US’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance […]
October 8: The Witching Day for European Settlement
With at least ten European markets set to implement a two-day settlement cycle on October 6, financial firms need to get ready to complete more than just one goal. They should brace themselves for a double-duty workday on October 8, warn settlement experts. That’s when they will have to settle trades in equities in at […]
Bitcoins: What Compliance and Operations Experts Should Know
Bitcoins may sound like just a passing fad to compliance and operations specialists at fund management shops, but they would be foolish to presume that bitcoins won’t be part of their operations, and possibly soon. As the virtual currency gains momentum, they will need to brace themselves for new world of regulatory oversight. In recent weeks bitcoin has received […]
Phone Monitoring Records: Mining for Profit?
Three years after the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) began requiring financial firms to record all mobile phone communications related to securities transactions, compliance remains dangerously weak. “Financial firms need to start thinking about just how they will comply and what additional benefits they can obtain for the costs involved,” says Rik Turner, senior analyst at […]
FINRA’s CARDS: Time to Get Ready
jordana brewster nude Skylar The US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s proposal to collect megatons of customer account information is far from being implemented, but behind the scenes, operations, technology and data management specialists are rushing to make the necessary preparations for the first phase expected in 2015. The reason: despite all the lobbying against the initiative […]
FATCA Responsible Officers: Be Careful, Very Careful
You’ve just been named by your financial firm as a responsible officer under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA for short. Should you hand in your two-week notice, take the job in stride, or brace– and protect yourself — from hefty operational and legal liabilities? Those are the decisions and options now faced by potential FROs, or thousands of […]
Fund Managers: Get Ready to Monitor Phone Calls on Swap Deals
It isn’t often that regulators take into account the concerns of market participants on the difficulties in implementing new rules. When it happens it is a great relief — particularly for some fund managers who are already struggling to meet new trading and clearing requirements for swap contracts. But when it comes to the recent […]