There is an ongoing debate regarding the role of state regulators in financial product oversight as Congress mulls over a proposal to expand the range of state oversight. Currently, financial advisors with under $25 million in assets are regulated by state regulators, with anything over that amount being regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission […]
In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Securities America Inc, the United States is seeing the first instance of a state regulator bringing an enforcement case against a company over private placement deals. The allegations contained in the initial complaint are partially based on the claim that Securities America failed to follow through with proper due […]
Last week Securities America CEO Steve McWhorter announced his decision to retire after 22 years of service. His stated reason for leaving is that he wishes to spend time with his family, and he has stressed that there is no underlying reason for his departure. Despite this, some are questioning the timing of his announcement […]
Black Diamond Mining Company LLC, which produces coal in Central Appalachia, said it filed a plan with a U.S. bankruptcy court to emerge from Chapter 11 and an earlier motion to convert its case to a Chapter 7 liquidation had been withdrawn. The company also said it plans to conduct a bankruptcy-court-supervised auction for substantially […]
The debate over the inclusion of a single fiduciary standard in financial reform legislation is now being hit with a new lobbyist assault under the guise of legislator education. The insurance industry lobbyist machine, perhaps the most vehement opposition to sweeping fiduciary reform, now wishes for the Senate to authorize a study over the implications […]