Ten percent of employees will never commit a crime, ten percent of employees will, while 80 percent will only do so if the opportunity arises, predict fraud experts. It is that opportunity which asset management firms need to prevent through a combination of compliance controls and technology, say panelists and attendees at a recent symposium […]
Transfer Agents, DTC Still Chilly On Issuer Freeze Policies (Updated)
(Editor’s note: On December 6, 2016 the SEC finally published its acceptance of DTC’s rule changes affecting how it will impose chills and locks on US corporate issuers. The agency’s decision marks the end of a contentious debate between DTC, issuers and their transfer agents. Still, reservations remain. “The vast majority of the new rules […]
Fund Operations Managers Weather UK’s Brexit Storm
While the UK and European Union leaders will have two years to come up with a gameplan for how the UK will separate from the European Union, middle and back-office operations professionals at fund management shops are taking it one day at a time during extreme market volatility. The UK’s legal limbo has caused higher trading […]
Hedge Funds to Prime Brokers: Getting to Yes
Once in the catbird’s seat when picking prime brokers, hedge fund managers are now faced with doing their own sales jobs. They have to persuade prime brokers to accept them as clients with expectations that align. With prime brokers becoming far more selective, hedge fund managers might not get their first choice of prime brokers or […]
RIAs: Hail to the Chief Valuation Officer?
Chief valuation officers could become just as important as chief compliance officers for registered investment fund managers. They also might discover that, like chief compliance officers, the position may carry personal risk of bruising regulatory penalties. The emergence of this new C-class executive was predicted by panelists at a recent global fund valuation forum co-hosted in New […]
Still Holes in New Tax Code for Equity Derivatives?
Foreign fund managers, prime brokers, broker-dealers and banks entering into US equity derivative transactions are facing a taxing operational challenge. Worse, at this point it isn’t entirely clear how it will work. After the US Congress passed enabling legislation in 2010 and the Internal Revenue Service floated several proposed versions of the rules to massive industry […]
New EU Insider Trading Rules Challenge: How to Monitor Intent?
No harm, no foul. That is the premise of how regulators typically work when it comes to deciding whether to fine a firm for wrongdoing. However, when it comes to new European regulations prohibiting insider trading and market manipulation, that will soon no longer be the case. The new European Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), effective […]
Blockchain: DTCC Takes the Plunge with Repo Project
The decision of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) to try out distributed ledger technology for processing repurchase agreements has drawn plenty of attention from Wall Street and blockchain enthusiasts. It also has participants in the repo business at the edge of their seats, watching to see how their bottom lines could be affected. The DTCC’s announcement […]
Mutual Funds to SEC: Change Math on Swaps Exposure
Not all derivative contracts are created equal. That is the message mutual fund managers are giving the US Securities and Exchange Commission about its proposal to limit their exposure to derivatives. The SEC fears the growth in the use of derivatives by mutual funds and other registered investment fund advisers leading to greater financial losses. […]
The Derivatives ID Dilemma: Industry Accord Suggests an ISIN Solution
Is the International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) not fit for purpose for identifying certain types of derivatives, as claimed by some partisans for other identifiers or just “concerned citizens” of the derivatives realm? Or is the only possible solution for regulatory reporting requirements a Unique Product Identifier (UPI) based on the descriptive taxonomy developed by […]