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Saturday, May 2, 2015

Financial Literacy, 18yrs For Investment Fraud, FCStone Sanctioned, Pan-African Banks, Piwowar's Dissent and Alaska's $51B Fund

A summary of noteworthy news and publications from financial regulatory agencies on Friday, May 1, 2015:

The Financial Literacy and Education Commission will hold a meeting on May 21
The Alaska Permanent Fund paid out $1,884 per resident in 2014 

The Financial Literacy and Education Commission will hold a meeting on May 21 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The meeting will facilitate a discussion around financial capability and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. To register click here. The draft agenda is also available. You may also view the event via live webcast. If you have questions regarding this meeting, please email ofe@treasury.gov.

The SEC charged a father and daughter team with investment fraud. Yesterday the SEC won an order against Rudolf Pameijer and his daughter Lindsay Sayer. Pameijer presented himself as an expert foreign currency trader and offered investors a "unique" strategy with guaranteed principal protection. Starting in 2010, Pameijer and his daughter began seeking out clients to invest with Rykoworks Capital Group, LLC by selling notes that promised risk free returns though FX trading. Instead of investing the funds, the two used the majority of funds for personal use. The court sentenced Pameijer to 18 years in prison and ordered him to pay restitution of $1,819,194. Sayer's penalty was waived due to lack of income. It also appears as though she will not have to serve time in prison; perhaps this is why Pameijer's sentence is so long.

 The CFTC Sanctioned FCStone, LLC a registered broker dealer headquartered in New York for a host of supervisory charges. The charges allege the company lacks the policies and procedures it should have in place for proper governance. The company is ordered to pay a $140,000 civil monetary penalty.

The IMF published an fascinating paper on the pros (connections, infrastructure, built-in networks) and cons (regulatory challenges, risks) that go along with a rise in Pan-African Banks.

SEC Commissioner Michael S. Piwowar issued a statement at the open meeting on Pay Vs. Performance. Surprisingly, Piwowar uses the time to issue a dissenting opinion against Pay Vs. Performance citing that it is not associated with a specific law that came out of the Dodd-Frank Act. "Unfortunately," Piwowar states, "this proposal represents another questionable and imprudent use of agency resources, which I cannot support while other important rulemakings remain outstanding." I'm having a hard time getting my head around that one. Two thumbs down. Just say you don't like the ruling, don't blame it on the workload.

Source: EIA
The Alaska Permanent Fund paid out $1,884 per resident in 2014, "more than double the 2013 dividend and the highest since 2008." All residents of Alaska receive the dividend which was established in 1976. The permanent fund is currently worth more than $51 billion, making it the largest trust fund in the United States. Alaska is also the only state without a state income tax or sales tax.

Upcoming Events/Speeches/Meetings
Tuesday, May 5 @ 8:30 a.m. ET: Eric Bustillo, Director, Miami Regional Office, will participate in a roundtable at the NRS Investment Adviser and Broker-Dealer Compliance Conference. The roundtable will focus regulator issues, including core priorities and risk alerts. Location: The Westin, 321 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 
Contact: Elisabeth Law, 312-503-4213, lizzie.law@nrs-inc.com

Wednesday, May 6 @ 9am: Scott Bauguess, Deputy Director and Deputy Chief Economist, Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, will participate in the NRS Investment Adviser and Broker-Dealer Compliance Conference. Location: The Westin, 321 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Contact: Elisabeth Law, lizzie.law@nrs-inc.com 

Wednesday, May 6 @ 10:45 a.m. ET: SEC Commissioner Kara Stein will participate in a panel entitled, “Other People’s Money: Governance, Integrity and Ethics” at the Institute for New Economic Thinking’s “Finance and Society” Conference. Location: International Monetary Fund, 1900 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. Contact: events@ineteconomics.org

May 7 @ 8:30 a.m. ET: James Schnurr, Chief Accountant, will be a featured speaker at the Annual Financial Reporting Conference. Location: Zicklin School of Business, 55 Lexington Ave. Room 14-220, New York Contact: Matthew LePere, 646-312-3231, Matthew.LePere@baruch.cuny.edu
  
May 7 @ 10 a.m. ET: SEC Chair Mary Jo White will participate in a Q&A discussion with Julie Lutz, Director, Denver Regional Office, at the Rocky Mountain Securities Conference. Other SEC senior officials will also participate in the event. Location: Denver Marriott City Center, 1701 California Street, Denver Contact: Mary Dilworth, mdilworth@cobar.org

May 8 @ 8 a.m.: SEC Chair Mary Jo White will participate in a Q&A discussion with Investment Company Institute’s (ICI) President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens at their Annual Regulatory General Membership Meeting. Location: Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, N.W., Washington, D.C. Contact: Olivia Caverly, 202-326-5945,   olivia.caverly@ici.org

In case you missed it...
Last Week In Review


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