The short answer is….there is no short answer. When FrontLine Compliance receives an email or call from a prospective client looking into our services we vet them carefully. We have learned to do this over the years for two main reasons: (1) many firms still don’t understand what compliance consulting is; and (2) firms often…
This week everyone is talking about the recent case against BlackRock Advisors and its former CCO. The allegations were clear violations of Rule 206(4)-7 but not so clear violations of Rule 38a-1. Both the firm and the advisory CCO were named in the proceeding, charged with violations and fined. The firm was fined $12 million…
SEC whistleblower cases have been in the news lately. An award was just announced this past weekend in the $500,000 range (exact amount is yet to be determined). A very large award ($30 mil) was all over the news in late 2014. So, does it really pay to become a whistleblower? I say ABSOLUTELY NOT…
Last week the SEC announced an enforcement action against a mutual fund manager. That was not the unusual part. What makes this case unique was that this money manager was a small alternative manager of open alt-funds specializing in merger arbitrage. Also, the case was mainly about custody rule violations. It is rare indeed to…