Compliance

WASHINGTON-Democratic leaders of the House Financial Services Committee are exploring creating a federal regulator or modifying a multi-state compact to increase oversight and provide more uniform standards for insurers of municipal bonds and other financial products.

The Supreme Court's decision in Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC v. Scientific Atlanta will mean that mutual fund companies, could be better protected from class-action investor suits involving third parties that support the administration and running of a fund's trading floor and back office.

BOSTON - Fund companies will need to plan ahead to ensure they can meet new regulations on fund disclosure without costly delays to investors and brokers.

The rapid growth in the exchange-traded fund arena is increasing the complexity of capital gains taxes, writes the Wall Street Journal.

In a move that could change the way brokers and advisers sell mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission has released a new report examining public and industry perspectives on investment advisors and broker/dealers.

Two lawsuits and two FINRA arbitration claims filed against the executives, directors, chief compliance officer, portfolio managers and independent auditor of three open-end funds and four closed-end funds managed by an affiliate of Memphis, Tenn., broker/dealer Morgan Keegan & Co., may be the tip of the subprime iceberg for the mutual fund industry.

Seeing how the biggest story of 2007 was the subprime crisis, which only a few canny hedge fund managers foresaw, let's take a look ahead to potential news headlines for 2008. Who knows, we might even be as canny as the best of them.

It wasn't long ago that Eliot Spitzer, reveling in the glory of a national media frenzy for having shaken down Wall Street scams with a power not even the entire Securities and Exchange Commission could muster, hinted he might one day run for president of the United States.

In the midst of an already crowded marketplace of exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers, two new players are making a run for the end zone hoping to score with investors.

It wasn't long ago that Eliot Spitzer, reveling in the glory of a national media frenzy for having shaken down Wall Street scams with a power not even the entire Securities and Exchange Commission could muster, hinted he might one day run for president of the United States.

A U.S. Supreme Court case of a 401(k) investor from Dallas who claimed his employer failed to execute an order, costing him $150,000, may pave the way for lawsuits by individual investors, rather than class-action suits.

Chief compliance officers should make the valuation of distressed securities their No. 1 priority, Andrew J. Donohue, director of the division of investment management at the Securities and Exchange Commission advised at last week's national CCOutreach meeting, the agency's educational program for CCOs.

The Securities and Exchange Commission continues to recognize the growing influence of the Internet on the mutual fund industry by giving investors greater access to financial information online.

Let's be realistic about New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, a man many in the mutual fund industry detest for launching the timing and late-trading investigations.

Let's be realistic about New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, a man many in the mutual fund industry detest for launching the timing and late-trading investigations.

Amid the sobering talk of a possible recession, there were two pieces of news last week that are cause for additional consternation. First, bond guru Bill Gross of Pimco warned that the subprime crisis could linger for another two years, wiping out another $250 billion in loan defaults through the end of next year on top of the $900 billion worth of current questionable collateralized debt obligations and subprime loans.

The Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a case seeking to eliminate a state's right to issue tax-free municipal bonds for paper concerning its own state, but to tax out-of-state municipal bonds.

The digital age continues to make inroads at the Securities and Exchange Commission, as the SEC said on Nov. 2 it is considering a plan to permit fund managers to file applications for exemptive relief, or variances from agency procedures, over the Internet. The industry has through Dec. 14 to comment on the proposal.

After more than a decade of fits and starts for prospectus profiles, it appears that both the mutual fund industry and the Securities and Exchange Commission are finally comfortable with the idea.

Amid the sobering talk of a possible recession, there were two pieces of news last week that are cause for additional consternation. First, bond guru Bill Gross of Pimco warned that the subprime crisis could linger for another two years, wiping out another $250 billion in loan defaults through the end of next year on top of the $900 billion worth of current questionable collateralized debt obligations and subprime loans.