Asset managers have to deal with trading restrictions against countries on U.S. or foreign sanctions lists every day. Trading with certain countries or in issues from certain companies is forbidden, period. The black and white requirements are clear to understand so they are easy to follow. Not so, when it comes to the new sanctions imposed by the U.S. government […]
Institutional Investors: Sniff Testing a Hedge Fund Manager’s Operations
Due diligence. It’s the homework institutional investors do when selecting fund managers as part of their asset allocation process. The selection process often resembles a courtship, with one exception. The investors– typically pension plans, endowments, non-profits and insurance companies — have the upper hand. If they aren’t satisfied with what they hear– and feel — […]
Fund Managers and FATCA: Behind the Curve Or Just Being Prudent?
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which aims to help the US Internal Revenue Service catch potential tax evaders outside its radar, has always been viewed as a difficult regulation for financial firms to follow and with key deadlines close at hand some fund managers still apparently overwhelmed. They are so overwhelmed that they are massively unprepared […]
New Swaps Clearing Rules Trigger Services Shakedown
Brave new ideas, especially when they are mandated by regulators, typically trigger a messy shakedown of systems and services — out with the old, in with the new with a lot of cost and waste lying by the roadside for others to benefit. Such is the case with the multi-faceted regulatory drive to squeeze potential systemic risk out […]
Recordkeepers Seek New Rules for Unclaimed Securities Accounts
With billions of dollars in unclaimed US securities accounts at stake, stock transfer agents are now lobbying for changes — and some consistency — in outdated state rules. As if tracking down the holders of unclaimed securities accounts weren’t hard enough for shareholder record-keepers, they must also deal with a multitude of conflicting and often […]
Proxy Season: More Work For Less Money?
US broker-dealers and banks responsible for distributing proxy materials to beneficial shareholders might have reason to be unhappy this proxy season. Not counting all the overtime they will have to do to ensure their “street name” investors receive proxy materials, financial intermediaries might just get paid a lot less to do so. The Securities and […]
Russia: Is the NSD Coming in from the Cold?
With Russia’s regulatory and settlement infrastructure on the mend, foreign fund managers appear to be slowly forgiving the market’s past indiscretions and giving Moscow its long-awaited international stature. Granted, Russia has a long way to go before it can match the likes of its more established peers across the globe. Settlement delays, stolen securities, uncertainty […]