David G. Tittsworth and Geoffrey I. Edelstein
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has defined “soft dollar” practices as arrangements under which products or services, other than execution of securities transactions…
Abstract
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has defined “soft dollar” practices as arrangements under which products or services, other than execution of securities transactions, are obtained by an investment adviser from or through a broker‐dealer in exchange for the direction by the adviser of client brokerage transactions to the broker‐dealer. In the wake of the mutual fund scandals of 2003, soft dollar practices have come under increased scrutiny by the SEC, the U.S. Congress, and others. This article is based on testimony presented by the Investment Counsel Association of America (ICAA) to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs at a hearing on soft dollars held on March 31, 2004. The article outlines the following positions: (1) the SEC should ensure that there is adequate disclosure about soft dollar practices, combined with appropriate inspection and enforcement of regulations governing such practices; (2) the consequences of abolishing soft dollars ‐ an outcome that would require Congressional action ‐ most likely would affect smaller investment advisory firms adversely, create entry barriers for new investment advisory firms, and diminish the quality and availability of proprietary and third‐party research; (3) investment advisers should be required to keep appropriate records relating to soft dollar arrangements and to develop and implement internal controls and procedures designed to ensure that soft dollar arrangements are supervised, controlled, and monitored; and (4) eliminating the use of soft dollars for third‐party research would harm investors, diminish the availability of quality research, provide a regulatory‐driven advantage for full‐service brokerage firms, disadvantage third‐party research providers, and result in less transparency to investors, regulators, and market participants.
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The purpose of this article is to explore what the author believes to be some of the key challenges facing hedge fund managers that are preparing for registration with the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to explore what the author believes to be some of the key challenges facing hedge fund managers that are preparing for registration with the Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”).
Design/methodology/approach
Discusses marketing issues, including promotional use of track records from predecessor firms, use of target returns, use of selected investment performance, explicit or implicit promises of low volatility, and promises of specific fund characteristics. Discusses protection and proper use of fund assets, including asset safeguarding policies and procedures, and allocating expenses to funds. Discusses managing material, non‐public information; valuation of fund assets; side letters; and compliance program requirements.
Findings
The impacts of the new requirements will be significant for many hedge fund managers. Unregistered hedge fund managers will soon become subject to the full scope of the Advisers Act, including detailed compliance program requirements, obligations, and restrictions with respect to marketing, affiliated transaction prohibitions and restrictions, custody requirements, books and records creation and retention obligations, and a broad array of other standard and situational requirements. The organizations that meet these challenges successfully will be those that understand their risk profiles, foster top‐down “cultures of compliance,” and dedicate sufficient human and other resources to develop appropriate compliance programs and to monitor and continuously evaluate their exposures to potential compliance issues.
Originality/value
Provides a useful discussion of what the author believes to be some of the most important regulatory concerns and challenges faced by hedge fund advisers as they prepare for a new regulated environment.
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The challenges involved in meeting the new requirements of Rule 206 (4)‐7 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 38a‐1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 will be…
Abstract
The challenges involved in meeting the new requirements of Rule 206 (4)‐7 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 38a‐1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 will be substantial for some organizations. At a minimum, all organizations will be required to document their compliance policies and procedures. Also, many firms, particularly fund managers and advisers with large or complex operations, most likely will be required to institute a number of additional control processes as a result of the new rules. Additionally, many organizations probably will need to reevaluate their compliance resource needs in order to successfully implement the new rules by their compliance date. Among the issues this article highlights are coverage of compliance programs in SEC examinations; development of functional policies, procedures, and controls; compliance staffing needs; and oversight by funds’ boards of directors.
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Alexandra L. Ferrentino, Meghan L. Maliga, Richard A. Bernardi and Susan M. Bosco
This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in…
Abstract
This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in business-ethics and accounting’s top-40 journals this study considers research in eight accounting-ethics and public-interest journals, as well as, 34 business-ethics journals. We analyzed the contents of our 42 journals for the 25-year period between 1991 through 2015. This research documents the continued growth (Bernardi & Bean, 2007) of accounting-ethics research in both accounting-ethics and business-ethics journals. We provide data on the top-10 ethics authors in each doctoral year group, the top-50 ethics authors over the most recent 10, 20, and 25 years, and a distribution among ethics scholars for these periods. For the 25-year timeframe, our data indicate that only 665 (274) of the 5,125 accounting PhDs/DBAs (13.0% and 5.4% respectively) in Canada and the United States had authored or co-authored one (more than one) ethics article.
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Very little Australian literature looks at women as leaders ineducation. Using theoretical viewpoints emerging out of a biographicaland historical analysis, it is possible to…
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Very little Australian literature looks at women as leaders in education. Using theoretical viewpoints emerging out of a biographical and historical analysis, it is possible to construct a more inclusive model of leadership which includes both men and women in the past. Mapping such a process historically and biographically can give a detailed assessment of the social, historical and political dimensions of particular women leaders′ lives and also develop a theoretical framework, which gives equal status to the leadership experiences more common to women. Presents a historical narrative where recording lives raises critical questions at the same time as it unearths new evidence of the history of women educationists in Australia.
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…
Abstract
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.
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The following bibliography focuses mainly on programs which can run on IBM microcomputers and compatibles under the operating system PC DOS/MS DOS, and which can be used in online…
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The following bibliography focuses mainly on programs which can run on IBM microcomputers and compatibles under the operating system PC DOS/MS DOS, and which can be used in online information and documentation work. They fall into the following categories:
HIS holidays over, before the individual and strenuous winter work of his library begins, the wise librarian concentrates for a few weeks on the Annual Meeting of the Library…
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HIS holidays over, before the individual and strenuous winter work of his library begins, the wise librarian concentrates for a few weeks on the Annual Meeting of the Library Association. This year the event is of unusual character and of great interest. Fifty years of public service on the part of devoted workers are to be commemorated, and there could be no more fitting place for the commemoration than Edinburgh. It is a special meeting, too, in that for the first time for many years the Library Association gathering will take a really international complexion. If some too exacting critics are forward to say that we have invited a very large number of foreign guests to come to hear themselves talk, we may reply that we want to hear them. There is a higher significance in the occasion than may appear on the surface—for an effort is to be made in the direction of international co‐operation. In spite of the excellent work of the various international schools, we are still insular. Now that the seas are open and a trip to America costs little more than one to (say) Italy, we hope that the way grows clearer to an almost universal co‐working amongst libraries. It is overdue. May our overseas guests find a real atmosphere of welcome, hospitality and friendship amongst us this memorable September!
Labor management cooperation, and the adoption of high-performance work systems (HPWS), are central topics in recent industrial relations research, with much emphasis given to…
Abstract
Labor management cooperation, and the adoption of high-performance work systems (HPWS), are central topics in recent industrial relations research, with much emphasis given to “best-practice” success stories. This paper uses a case study analysis, relying on conventional, and oral history interviews, to explore why managers, union leaders, and workers in two Maine paper mills rejected the cooperation and the HPWS model. It explores how local history and culture, regional factors like the dramatic International Paper (IP) strike in Jay, Maine, instability in industry labor relations, management turnover, and instability in corporate governance contributed to these two mills’ rejection of Scott Paper Corporation's “Jointness” initiative during the period from 1988 to 1995. The study argues that intra-management divisions blocked cooperation on the management side, and that the Jay strike created a “movement culture” among Maine's paper workers, who developed a class-conscious critique of HPWS as a tactic in class warfare being perpetrated by paper corporations.
The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and…
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The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.