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To discuss possible disadvantages and other implications for private investment fund managers of issuing side letters to certain investors.

Discusses the relatively common practice of issuing side letters; issues surrounding side letters that relate to private equity funds and hedge funds; recent SEC pronouncements regarding side letters; industry practices, including disclosure issues and corporate‐related issues; and ERISA consequences.

Side letters (i.e. agreements that afford investors of a private investment fund with rights and/or benefits that are different, and often superior, to those granted to such investors under the governing documents of the fund) have been utilized for years by sponsors of private investment funds. In fact, in many cases, it has been impossible for sponsors of private investment funds to close on subscriptions from large and/or strategic investors unless they agree to provide such investors with side letters. In light of the recent focus of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on the use of side letters by hedge fund managers, fund managers should consider what affect certain side letter provisions may have on the fund and its investors, in particular, the consequences such side letters will have under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”).

Useful reference for fund managers that describes the potential issues related to side letters.

To describe how the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (the “Pension Act”) will affect the investment of plan assets subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

Describes the redefinition of “plan assets” under the Pension Act and explains new statutory prohibited transaction exemptions in areas that include transactions between plans and service providers, cross‐trading, foreign exchange transactions, block trades, the use of electronic communications networks (ECNs), correction to reverse prohibited transactions, bonding, and investment advice.

The status of existing investors as benefit plan investors under the Pension Act should be reviewed to determine whether formerly precluded investors may now be permitted. ERISA‐related purchase, sale, and transfer restrictions currently in use will need to be reviewed and likely significantly revised to reflect the decreased breadth of “party in interest” prohibitions. Investment advisers will need to review whether they want to begin providing investment advisory services to plan participants and, if so, begin developing procedural safeguards to comply with the requirements of the Pension Act.

A useful summary of forthcoming pension legislation as it affects US pension and IRA investments, particularly in its redefinition of the circumstances under which an entity's assets are treated as “plan assets” for ERISA purposes and its new statutory exemptions from the prohibited transaction requirements of ERISA.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to have a significant impact on work. It will enhance, but also displace, some professions. This paper aims to look retrospectively at the impact that previous revolutionary computing technologies have had and the institutional values that have shaped the way workers were affected.

This historical investigation relies on academic, government and trade publications of earlier periods in the development of computer technology. The analysis relies on the literature on institutional economics to understand societal outcomes. Within this framework, this paper explores both the ceremonial values associated with tradition and the instrumental values associated with the pursuit of knowledge.

The AI revolution, like previous technological evolutions, will go through stages. Initial implementations will suffer from failures that will, however, generate employment; but, as the technology improves, the AI revolution is likely to enhance productivity but displace workers. Up to this point, the US Government has not been able to respond adequately to the challenge. This paper attributes this to the ceremonial values that public officials and society entertain about personal responsibility and small government.

Given the differences in values, this study recommends fending off negative effects though education but also experimenting with other solutions at the local level.

Through the lens of history, this study provides a glimpse of what may happen. It also provides a framework that helps understand the outcomes of earlier technological revolutions.

The primary aim of revenue management (RM) is to sell the right product to the right customer at the right time for the right price. Ever since the deregulation of US airline industry, and the emergence of the internet as a distribution channel, RM has come of age. The purpose of this paper is to map out ten turning points in the evolution of Revenue Management taking an historical perspective.

The paper is a chronological account based upon published research and literature fundamentally drawn from the Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management.

The significance and success to RM is attributed to the following turning points: Littlewood’s rule, Expected Marginal Seat Revenue, deregulation of the US air industry, single leg to origin and destination RM, the use of family fares, technological advancement, low-cost carriers, dynamic pricing, consumer and price transparency and pricing capabilities in organizations.

The originality of the paper lies in identifying the core trends or turning points that have shaped the development of RM thus assisting futurists or forecasters to shape the future.

Presents a special issue, enlisting the help of the author’s students and colleagues, focusing on age, sex, colour and disability discrimination in America. Breaks the evidence down into manageable chunks, covering: age discrimination in the workplace; discrimination against African‐Americans; sex discrimination in the workplace; same sex sexual harassment; how to investigate and prove disability discrimination; sexual harassment in the military; when the main US job‐discrimination law applies to small companies; how to investigate and prove racial discrimination; developments concerning race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; developments concerning discrimination against workers with HIV or AIDS; developments concerning discrimination based on refusal of family care leave; developments concerning discrimination against gay or lesbian employees; developments concerning discrimination based on colour; how to investigate and prove discrimination concerning based on colour; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; using statistics in employment discrimination cases; race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning gender discrimination in the workplace; discrimination in Japanese organizations in America; discrimination in the entertainment industry; discrimination in the utility industry; understanding and effectively managing national origin discrimination; how to investigate and prove hiring discrimination based on colour; and, finally, how to investigate sexual harassment in the workplace.

Two common causes of failure in the UK SME sector are under‐capitalisation and poor financial management skills. In theory the objective of the banking and accountancy professions should be the provision of external advisory services that enhance the management of the financial aspects of the business. Delivery of this objective could contribute to increasing small firm survival rates. A survey of South West SME firms reveals that although owner/managers see benefits in utilising the expertise of their accountants, banks are openly distrusted and there is a preference for minimising contact with the banking community. A parallel survey of accountants and bankers confirmed these attitudes and also indicated that accountants may reinforce the owner/manager behaviour to limit the quantity of financial information which is made available to the bank. If the banking and accounting segments of the UK financial services industry adopted a strategy of actively co‐operating with each other, the quality of external advice made available to smaller enterprises would be greatly enhanced.