Category: Conflicts of Interest

BDC INVESTOR ALERT: Medley Capital Corp Files for Bankruptcy Protection in the Wake of Portfolio Loan Losses Attributed to the COVID Pandemic

BDC INVESTOR ALERT: Medley Capital Corp Files for Bankruptcy Protection in the Wake of Portfolio Loan Losses Attributed to the COVID Pandemic

On March 7, 2021, Medley Capital Corp. (NYSE: MCC), a direct subsidiary of Medley Management Inc. (NYSE: MDLY), filed for Bankruptcy Protection from creditors – mostly investors.  Medley Management Inc., is an “alternative asset management firm offering yield solutions to retail and institutional investors” through two Business Development Companies (“BDCs”), Medley Capital and Sierra Income Corp., a non-traded BDC. Medley Capital Corp and Sierra Income Corp, invested in non-public companies, under the direction and advice of Medley Management’s affiliate SIC Advisors, LLC.  The two BDCs made loans to non-public companies that did not have access to the traditional publicly traded…

FINRA Fines VALIC Financial Advisors $350,000 for Failure to Supervise Variable Annuity Sales Practices

FINRA Fines VALIC Financial Advisors $350,000 for Failure to Supervise Variable Annuity Sales Practices

On January 8, 2021, VALIC Financial Advisors agreed to a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) (Case No. 2018060548501)  which included a Fine of $350,000 by the Financial Industry Financial Authority (FINRA), the securities industry regulator established to protect investors.  According to the agreement with FINRA, VALIC Financial Advisors “consented to the sanctions and to findings that it failed to establish a reasonably designed system and written procedures for the surveillance of rates of variable annuity replacements and for corrective action in the case of inappropriate replacements”.  FINRA also determined. “The procedures also failed to provide guidance as to…

Stanford Law School Cornerstone Research Report Released with New Developments for IPOs and SPACs

Stanford Law School Cornerstone Research Report Released with New Developments for IPOs and SPACs

In February 2021, the Stanford Law School in collaboration with Cornerstone Research published the Class Action Filings, 2020 Year in Review, Report which detailed a wide range of statistics related to class action filings and upcoming trends.  In particular, the increase in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) for Operating Companies and Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) has grown substantially during 2020 when compared to recent periods which portends an increase in class action lawsuits related to IPOs. During 2020, Operating Company IPOs increased from 112 in the previous year to 165 for a 47% increase in class action filings compared to…

KlaymanToskes Investigates JP Morgan in Light of OCC $250 Million Civil Money Penalty Against JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. for Inadequate Supervision of Investment Advisory Business

KlaymanToskes Investigates JP Morgan in Light of OCC $250 Million Civil Money Penalty Against JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. for Inadequate Supervision of Investment Advisory Business

On November 24, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) announced it would assess a $250 million civil money penalty against JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.  The OCC is responsible for the regulatory oversight of all Commercial Banks, including Bank Holding Companies such as JP Morgan Chase, which has under its umbrella of financial companies, broker dealer JP Morgan.  According to the news release, OCC “intends to initiate civil money penalty proceedings against the Bank pursuant to 12 U.S.C. § 1818(i), through the issuance of a Notice of Assessment of a Civil Money Penalty, for engaging in unsafe…