The Securities and Exchange Commission questioned the public to comment on changes to the voting system, including whether companies need more information about the identity of their shareholders.There are more than 13,000 meetings a year where shareholders can vote in person, via the Internet or by phone, or by mailing in a proxy form.The SEC issued a discussion paper to examine the accuracy and transparency of the voting process, shareholder participation and the relationship between voting power and economic interest.The agency is exploring whether rules are needed for proxy advisory firms and how to get more shareholders to participate in the governance of their companies.Schapiro has said she wants to give shareholders more say in how companies are governed.
Posts Tagged ‘Transparency’
SEC eyes changes to shareholder voting system
July 14th, 2010 
Before You Invest 
Posted in Finance Fraud 
Tags: Accuracy, Advisory Firms, Board Directors, Broker Dealers, Composition, Corporate Directors, Discussion Paper, Economic Interest, Governance, Investors, Priority, Relationship, Schapiro, Securities And Exchange, Securities And Exchange Commission, Shareholder Participation, Shareholders, Transparency, Voting Power, Voting System 
Comments OffCitigroup’s Pandit writes a letter to Obama supporting reform
April 28th, 2010 Before You Invest Vikram Pandit, CEO at Citigroup, wrote a letter to President Barack Obama in support of regulatory changes. “I believe banks should not speculate with their capital,” Pandit wrote. “I believe in transparency of markets. I believe derivatives should be cleared and settled centrally. I believe there should be a strong federal consumer authority to protect consumer interests.” Obama had questioned titans in the financial industry “to place out a statement or a letter in support of reg reform,” an industry source said. http://www.politico.com/news/tales/0410/36441.html
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Banks, Barack Obama, Ceo, Citigroup, Consumer Interests, Derivatives, Federal Consumer, Industry Source, News Stories, Pandit, Regulatory Changes, Titans, Transparency Comments OffNYSE calls for crackdown on dark pools and their brokers
April 23rd, 2010 Before You Invest NYSE Euronext said it will propose to the Securities and Exchange Commission restrictions on dark pools aimed at getting investors better prices on their trades. Duncan Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext, said the SEC should establish rules to govern how a trade is handled by a dark pool when it doesn’t quote a price in advance.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Amp, Apps, Ceo, Crackdown, Dark Pool, Dark Pools, Duncan Niederauer, Investors, Nyse Euronext, Pid, Securities And Exchange, Securities And Exchange Commission, Sid, Trades, Transparency Comments OffSEC proposes new trading system
April 16th, 2010 Before You Invest New proposals to introduce a trading system which would enable greater analysis of participants and their activity have been unveiled by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).According to the regulator, ‘larger’ traders would be required to make a filing to the SEC before receiving a number of identification.Broker dealers would then receive the number, which would enable more efficient tracking of traders and their activity, the organisation clarified.Mary L Schapiro, SEC chairman, said: “This rule is designed to strengthen our oversight of the markets and protect investors in the process.“It would give us prompt access to trading information from large traders so we can better analyze the data and investigate potentially illegal trading activity.”The SEC defines a ‘large’ trader as an individual or firm whose transactions exceed $20 million or two million shares on any calendar day.Previously, the commission has proposed a number of changes to legislation to improve fairness within the trading markets.They included banning unfiltered access to markets and providing more transparency to liquidity dark pools.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Broker Dealers, Calendar Day, Dark Pools, Fairness, Investors, Legislation, Liquidity, Oversight, Participants, Proposals, Schapiro, Sec Chairman, Securities And Exchange, Securities And Exchange Commission, Trading Markets, Transparency, Two Million Comments OffSEC moves toward tracking high-frequency firms’ trades
April 7th, 2010 Before You Invest The Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting a cost-benefit analysis of tracking transactions of high-frequency trading firms. The agency is expected to go forward with the effort, sources said. The thought is to give each firm a unique identifier that would allow the SEC to monitor traders not registered as a broker-dealer or a market maker.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Authorities, Broker Dealer, Computer Code, Cost Benefit Analysis, Dark Pools, Electronic Platforms, High Frequency, High Speed, Lawyer, Naked, Sec, Securities And Exchange, Securities And Exchange Commission, Stock, Stocks, Trades, Transparency, Wsj Comments OffGoldman Sachs criticized by financial crisis panel chief
February 27th, 2010 Before You Invest Goldman Sachs has been singled out for criticism from Phil Angelides, the chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC).In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Angelides said that he was concerned at revelations uncovered by the public hearing that suggest Goldman Sachs had been “making and selling securities and then fully betting against them”.He added that recent allegations about Goldman Sachs’ behavior in relation to debt swaps carried out on behalf of the Greek government were also a worry for him.”I find the practice troubling and it raises questions about honest dealing and trust and transparency in the marketplace,” he said.The FCIC is set to start hearing from further witnesses again today (February 26th 2010) after previously taking testimony from leading figures in the US banking sector.Mr Angelides said that the commission may choose to recall witnesses such as Lloyd Blankfein from Goldman Sachs and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase as its enquiries continue.Last month, Mr Blankfein told the inquiry that he believed the lessons of the financial crisis had been learned and such events would not occur again in his lifetime.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Allegations, Banking Sector, Fair Dealing, Fcic, Financial Crisis, Financial Times, Goldman Sachs, Greek Government, Inquiry Commission, Jamie Dimon, Jpmorgan Chase, Lifetime, Lloyd Blankfein, Panel Chief, Phil Angelides, Public Hearing, Revelations, Selling Securities, Swaps, Transparency Comments OffRevenue potential in OTC derivatives clearing, bank says
December 19th, 2009 Before You Invest Morgan Stanley estimated that $1 billion in revenue is up for grabs as over-the-counter derivatives contracts start trading through central clearinghouses. “We expect significant levels of standardized OTC derivatives to be centrally cleared in two to three years, driven by changes in legislation and regulation, decreased tolerance for counterparty risk post-Lehman, increased demand for transparency, and reduction of systematic risk,” Morgan Stanley said.
Medical Capital and Provident Charges make Broker-Dealers Think Twice
November 9th, 2009 Before You Invest The charges of fraud brought against Medical Capital Holdings Inc. and Provident Royalties LLC by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has helped bring about a shift in the securities industry. Broker-dealers who were once willing to offer Private Placement deals to their clients with abandon are now more willing to scrutinize such deals than before.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Abandon, Accounting, Broker Dealers, Business Model, Dividend Payments, Fraud, Investment Dollars, Investments, Measures, Medical Capital, Model Questions, Private Placement, Provident, Royalties, Scrutiny, Securities And Exchange, Securities And Exchange Commission, Securities Industry, Sense Of Urgency, Transparency No Comments »Paladyne Systems Partners with RiskMetrics Group to Provide Risk Reports to Hedge Funds
October 31st, 2009 Before You Invest New York, NY – October 2009Paladyne Systems, Inc., a leading provider of technology and services to the global hedge fund industry, today announced a strategic partnership with RiskMetrics Group, a leading provider of risk management and corporate governance services to the global financialcommunity, to provide intra-day, daily and monthly risk reports to hedge funds and service providers.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Accounting Position, Brian Schmid, Chief Executive Officer, Corporate Governance Services, Critical Risk, Data Aggregation, Global Hedge Fund, Independent Risk Management, Investment Risk, Investor Communication, Operational Value, Position Data, Reconciliation Tool, Reporting Solution, Risk Analysis, Risk Analytics, Risk Reports, Strategic Partnership, Timely Basis, Transparency No Comments »Goldman Sachs defends market practices in report to SEC
October 27th, 2009 Before You Invest In a lengthy report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Goldman Sachs Group defended high-frequency trading, dark pools, small-selling and other market strategies. “The investing community (especially retail) has benefited from the evolving market structure and industry competition,” Goldman said in the report. Lawmakers have criticized the practices and are looking into ways to increase their transparency.more at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ax4InQgscKws
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Amp, Apps, Dark Pools, Goldman Sachs, Goldman Sachs Group, High Frequency, Industry Competition, Lawmakers, Lengthy Report, Market Investing, Market Practices, Market Strategies, Market Structure, Pid, Sec, Securities And Exchange, Securities And Exchange Commission, Sid, Transparency No Comments »
