December 11th, 2009 
Before You Invest The House passed an amendment killing a proposal that would have given the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the power to allow the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to carry out oversight on investment advisers working at broker-dealer firms.
The amendment, submitted by Republican Representative Spencer Bachus, R-Alabama, was part of the Investor Protection Act of 2009.
Posted in Finance Fraud 
Tags: Broker Dealer, Congress, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Independent Broker Dealers, Investment Broker, Investment Firms, Investor Protection Act, Oversight, Power House, Proposal, Registered Investment Advisers, Republican Representative, Sec, Securities And Exchange, Securities And Exchange Commission, Spencer Bachus 
No Comments » October 6th, 2009 Before You Invest Donors will be able to use 25 different iShares offerings to customize their investments
Barclays Global Investors has launched the iShares Charitable Giving Program, which offers clients access to donor-advised funds using pools of its exchange-traded funds.
It’s thought to be the first time that a major fund firm has offered a charitable-giving program using only ETFs, said Eileen Heisman, president and chief executive of the National Philanthropic Trust, a national donor-advised fund program and charity with $660 million in assets under management.
“To my knowledge, it’s very unique among [large financial] firms,” said Ms.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Assets Under Management, Barclays Global Investors, Charitable Causes, Donor Advised Fund, Donor Advised Funds, Endowment Foundation, Exchange Traded Funds, Financial Advisers, Heisman, Industry Officials, Investment Account, Investment Firms, Investment Pools, John Tobin, Michael Latham, Minimum Investment, National Philanthropic Trust, Natural Fit, Philanthropic Legacy, Philanthropic Projects No Comments » August 4th, 2009 Before You Invest J. Ezra Merkin made $688 million over 20 years for funneling $4.4 billion of investor funds to jailed swindler Bernard Madoff and others
Posted in Ezra Merkin, Finance Fraud, Madoff Tags: 740 Park Ave, Art Collection, Bernard Madoff, Bernie Madoff, Court Document, Ezra, Floor Apartment, Hefty Fees, Incentive Fees, Investment Firms, Investment Gains, Investor Funds, Management Fee, Mark Rothko Paintings, Merkin, Money Manager, New York Attorney General, Schemer, Swindler, York Attorney No Comments » July 14th, 2009 Before You Invest Algorithmics, provider of risk management systems, announced today that it has been voted the Best Risk Analytics Solution Provider by Waters readers in the 2009 Waters annual financial technology rankings.
Algorithmics’ analytics solutions, which measure and manage market, credit, liquidity and operational risk, help financial organizations make risk-aware business decisions, maximize shareholder value, and meet regulatory requirements.
Commenting on the results, John Macdonald, Executive Vice President, Algorithmics, said: “We are delighted that Algorithmics has received this recognition from Waters readers and we would like to thank everyone who voted for us.
“At a time when there is a renewed focus on managing risk across the enterprise and on the interconnectedness of all risk types, this endorsement for the analytics, which underpin our enterprise risk solutions, is very welcome.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Algorithmics, Business Decisions, Executive Vice, Financial Technology, Interconnectedness, Investment Firms, John Macdonald, Liquidity Risk, Managing Risk, Operational Risk, Regulatory Requirements, Risk Analytics, Risk Exposure, Risk Management Systems, Risk Solutions, Runners, Shareholder Value, Solution Provider, Waters Magazine, Winning Solutions No Comments » April 15th, 2009 Before You Invest Carlyle Group is being probed by New York prosecutors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over whether the world’s second-largest private- equity firm made illegal payments to intermediaries to secure $1.3 billion in investments from the state’s pension fund, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and SEC lawyers are investigating Carlyle, hedge funds and other private-equity firms that did business with New York’s employee pension fund, according to the person, who declined to be identified because the probe isn’t public.
The probe is related to civil lawsuits and criminal charges filed last month by Cuomo and the SEC against former New York state Deputy Comptroller David Loglisci and political adviser Hank Morris for allegedly soliciting millions of dollars in kickbacks from firms managing the state’s retirement fund.
Morris was a so-called placement agent for Searle & Co., a registered broker-dealer that arranged deals between Carlyle and the New York State Common Retirement Fund, the person said.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Carlyle Group, Civil Lawsuits, Court Filings, Deputy Comptroller, Employee Pension, Illegal Payments, Investment Firms, New York Attorney General, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Pension Fund, Political Adviser, Private Equity Firm, Private Equity Firms, Retirement Fund, Searle, Securities And Exchange Commission, State Deputy, York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, York Prosecutors No Comments »
SEC to Tighten Rules Regarding Rating Agencies
On Thursday the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rules intended to stem conflicts of interest and provide more transparency for credit rating companies. In addition to this they proposed banning “flash orders.” Flash orders give some traders a split-second edge in buying or selling stocks.
Click to continue reading