RIA State Registration Deadline Approaches

This Thursday is the deadline for mid-sized RIAs who no longer meet the $90 million AUM number to register with their states rather than the SEC, and it appears that many have not done so. Financial-planning.com sys that hundreds of medium-size RIAs are procrastinating and have not made their state registrations.

Despite numerous messages from the SEC, it appears that many advisors have not made the registration filings, and there is no guarantee that the state will accept the filings, even if filed on time.

With roughly 2,500 RIAs affected by the change in registration requirements, there could be a signficant number who are going to be late, and who may face issues with not being registered with any regulator, a potential violation of state and federal law.

If you are one of the firms that has not made your state filings, contact us at info@seclaw.com and we will see if we can assist you with your registration, or help you find someone to help you with the process.

Financial-planning.com has more details at Procrastinating RIAs Could Face SEC De-Registration

The Secrets Behind Becoming an Elite Advisor

Great article for advisors, but it leaves out one important point - before leaving your firm, joining a new one, or starting an RIA, consult a securities attorney who knows the business. Too many advisors come to us after the fact, when a couple of bucks in the beginning could have avoided or minimized the problem.

The Secrets Behind Becoming (and Remaining) an Elite Advisor

More Unusual News from Grupta Trial

Gupta ‘Highly Likely’ to Take the Stand, Lawyer Says

SEC Charges Penny Stock Companies and Promoters in Florida

The SEC charged several penny stock companies and their officers as well as three penny stock promoters involved in various stock schemes in which bribes and kickbacks were paid to hype microcap stocks and illegally generate stock sales. These charges are the latest in a series of cases in which the SEC has worked closely with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to uncover penny stock schemes.

Witnesses As Jokesters

Image via CrunchBase

Trial lawyers are not fond of their witnesses making jokes during testimony, as it can often be viewed as a lack of concern about the nature of the proceedings. However, Lloyd Blankfein, the Goldman Sachs CEO did just that at the insider trading trial of Rajat Gupta, a former Goldman Sachs Board Member.

WSJ Law Blog 

Tampering with documents?

Tampering with documents in connection with a merger investigation can land you in jail!

Zuckerberg Sold, Investors Sued

A new lawsuit claims Mark Zuckerberg pulled a billion dollar fast one on Facebook. The class action lawsuit -- filed by disgruntled Facebook shareholders -- claims the 28-year-old CEO had inside info that the stock was grossly overvalued, and he protected his own financial hide by quickly unloading a ton of Facebook stock.

The suit alleges that the sale might have contributed to the weak performance of Facebook shares, which sank on Monday and Tuesday - their second and third days of trading - to end more than 18 percent below the IPO price. The $38-per-share IPO price valued Facebook at $104 billion. Institutions and major clients generally enjoy quick access to investment bank research, while retail clients in many cases only get it later. It is unclear whether Morgan Stanley only told its top clients about the revised view or spread the word more broadly. The company declined to comment when asked who was told about the research.

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Merrill Losses Were Withheld Before Bank of America Deal

From the New York Times:

Days before Bank of America shareholders approved the bank’s $50 billion purchase of Merrill Lynch in December 2008, top bank executives were advised that losses at the investment firm would most likely hammer the combined companies’ earnings in the years to come. But shareholders were not told about the looming losses, which would prompt a second taxpayer bailout of $20 billion, leaving them instead to rely on rosier projections from the bank that the deal would make money relatively soon after it was completed.

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