Securities Law Commons^™

The Sec And The Public Interest, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The SEC and the Public Interest by Susan M. Phillips and J. Richard Zecher

Sec Disciplinary Proceedings Against Attorneys Under Rule 2 ( E ), Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note reassesses SEC authority to discipline attorneys under rule 2( e ). Part I explores the history of rule 2( e) proceedings against attorneys and the troublesome policy issues raised by the SEC's new approach to rule 2(e) enforcement. Part II examines the SEC's claim that general rulemaking provisions give it authority to discipline attorneys. The Note concludes that a proper construction of statutes and case law bars rule 2( e) proceedings against attorneys.

The Sec And Corporate Disclosure: Regulation In Search Of A Purpose, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Book Notice about The SEC and Corporate Disclosure: Regulation in Search of a Purpose by Homer Kripke

Rolf V. Blyth, Eastman Dillon & Co., 570 F. 2d 38 (2d Cir. 1978), Michael S. Hawley

Florida State University Law Review

Securities Regulation-THE EXTENSION OF POTENTIAL AIDING AND ABETTING LIABILITY TO BROKER-DEALERS UNDER RULE 10B-5 OF THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION.

Stock Appreciation Rights And The Sec: A Case Of Questionable Rulemaking, Stuart R. Cohn

UF Law Faculty Publications

A stock appreciation rights (SARs) program is a form of deferred incentive compensation. Grantees are awarded SAR-units representing an equal number of the grantor’s equity shares currently being traded in public markets. SARs provide grantees the benefit of stock ownership without equity interest, investment, or risk of loss. Stock appreciation rights programs offer various advantages over other forms of executive compensation and have grown rapidly in number. These advantages include the availability of benefits without the requirement of monetary payments, the utilization of SARs as an interest-free form of financing the purchase of stock under tandem stock option programs, the …

The Plight Of Small Issuers Under The Securities Act Of 1933: Practical Foreclosure From The Capital Market, Rutheford B. Campbell Jr.

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The thesis of this Article is simple: the Securities Act of 1933 does not work very well for small issuers, a premise which the Securities and Exchange Commission appeared to tacitly recognize in a series of announcements released early this year. Because of a combination of exorbitant costs, unmanageable levels of ambiguity, unworkable resale provisions and contamination caused by prior illegal sales of stock, a small issuer often is unable to comply with the 1933 Act. As a result it may be difficult or even impossible for a small issuer to raise capital by selling stock.

There are obvious pernicious …

Voluntary Recapitalization, Fairness, And Rule 10b-5: Life Along The Trail Of Santa Fe, Rutheford B. Campbell Jr.

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In corporate recapitalizations, the board of directors will sometimes propose a recapitalization plan which substantially alters the “bundle of rights” represented by preferred shares. Although these plans cannot usually be completed without the approval of a majority of the preferred shareholders, the preferred shareholders are at a disadvantage to protect their interests for several reasons. Thus preferred shareholders who are dissatisfied with the change in their rights will sometimes call upon state courts to enjoin the recapitalization on the grounds that it is unfair or fraudulent; state courts, however, have provided only slight protection for preferred shareholders. In this article, …

Rule 10b-6: Options Trading By Participants In A Distribution, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

After briefly discussing the history of options trading, this Note argues that where participants in a distribution trade options, the potential for abuse is sufficient to warrant regulation of this activity. It then evaluates existing statutes and SEC rules that seek to prevent similar abuses and concludes that language in some of these provisions -- particularly rule 10b-6 -- can be construed to prohibit participants in a distribution from engaging in certain put and call transactions that might manipulate the price of the security being distributed.

Definition Of Control In Secondary Distributions, Rutheford B. Campbell Jr.

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Section 2(11) of the Securities Act of 1933 (Act) generally subjects the sale of securities by a person "controlling an issuer" to the same rules that govern the sale of securities by an issuer. Accordingly, before a "control" person may sell the securities he holds in the controlled corporation he must either register them with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) or qualify for an exemption from the registration requirement. While the Act clearly requires that a "control" person either register or qualify for an exemption, it fails to define "control." Thus, the task of defining has fallen to the …

Controlling Administrative Sanctions, Fredrich H. Thomforde Jr.

Michigan Law Review

This Article will consider some of the possibilities for controlling and guiding the SEC's discretion to impose sanctions upon broker-dealers. Although it is limited to an examination of the Commission's practice and a discussion of possibilities for reform, the analysis contains obvious implications for any agency with the power to impose sanctions.

Private Causes Of Action Under Section 206 Of The Investment Advisers Act, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines the propriety of implying a cause of action for damages under section 206. Upon concluding that such an implication is appropriate, it then suggests a scope for section 206 actions that implements the Act's underlying purposes.

Sec Enforcement And Professional Accountants: Philosophy, Objectives And Approach, John C. Burton

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Commission's enforcement program in regard to professional accountants is one of the means by which it seeks to improve the quality and reliability of financial reporting in the United States. Effective utilization of this program can achieve an increasing quality of professional performance and the implementation on an industry-wide basis of improved quality control procedures, thereby assuring the vitality of auditing standards and public confidence in the profession as a whole. These objectives are being achieved through a selective, albeit vigorous, application of enforcement powers and the continued use of flexible and innovative approaches by the SEC. While the …

The Establishment Of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles And Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, James F. Strother

Vanderbilt Law Review

This article will discuss accounting principles and auditing standards and the respective roles played in their development and regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the organized accounting profession and other public and private agencies. Accounting principles and auditing standards comprise two fundamentally different and distinct bodies of convention and practice. Generally accepted accounting principles and generally accepted auditing standards are those principles and standards which for a number of reasons have come to be accepted and applied by issuers, accountants, and auditors. Combined with the procedures and techniques attending their observation and application, generally accepted accounting principles and auditing …

Competition And Regulation In The Stock Markets, Robert Pozen

Michigan Law Review

Part I of this article suggests that the courts have not satisfactorily resolved the tension between competition and regulation in the stock markets, and that the proposed legislation would in fact aggravate that tension. Part II uses an economic model of stock transactions to derive an alternative approach for reconciling competitive and regulatory considerations. Part III applies this approach to several key governmental decisions in the transition from fixed commission rates to the central market system.

Securities Law--Prospectus Must Reflect Developments Subsequent To Effective Date Of Registration Statement To Meet Requirements Of Section 10(A) Of Securities Act Of 1933--Sec V. Manor Nursing Centers, Inc.*, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Manor Nursing Centers, Inc., made a public offering of 450,000 shares of its common stock at a price of ten dollars per share. Under the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, a registration statement containing a prospectus was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These documents represented that the offering would be on a best efforts, "all-or-nothing" basis-that is, if all the 450,000 shares were not sold by a specified selling deadline, the proceeds of any sales would be returned to subscribers. The prospectus stated that subscribers' funds would be segregated in an escrow account and that arrangements …

Proposed Regulation Of Limited Partnership Investment Programs, Ivan J. Schell

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Limited partners have long been admonished to scrutinize potential investments; this advice is often ignored, however, by investors eager to reap quick profits. Furthermore, the proliferation of limited partnership interests in a single enterprise diffuses the focus of investor vigilance and increases the potential for undetected abuses. Thus a need for regulation, either governmental or private, has developed. Currently the Uniform Limited Partnership Act and blue sky laws provide some control of limited partnership abuses at the state level. On the interstate level, the Midwest Securities Commissioners Association, the National Association of Securities Dealers, and the Securities and Exchange Commission …

Rule 144: Sec Regulation Of Dispositions Of Securities By Controlling Persons And Private Places, Paul L. Sloan, Iii

Vanderbilt Law Review

In recent years, dissatisfaction with the law that governs the disposition of securities by controlling persons' and private places under the Securities Act of 1933 has been voiced in numerous commentaries.Although criticism has been directed at varying facets of the problem,the displeasure of critics has resulted from two fundamental objections: first, the unnecessary ambiguity that heretofore has enveloped public resale of privately placed securities and, to a lesser degree, resale of securities by controlling persons; and secondly, the failure of the present law adequately to effect the disclosure policy of the Securities Act of 1933 and of the Securities Exchange …

Duties Of The Independent Director In Open-End Mutual Funds, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Comment will analyze the role of independent directors in open-end mutual funds. It will consider the potential impact of recent decisions and statutory amendments and explore the possibilities of a more significant role for such directors. The discussion will focus on the following aspects of the directors' role: (1) the duty to review contractual arrangements between the fund and the external adviser; (2) the duty to serve as a "watchdog" over fund policy, brokerage allocation on portfolio transactions, and miscellaneous fund operations; and (3) the responsibilities upon the sale or merger of the investment adviser. In order to appreciate …

Baruch: Wall Street: Security Risk, Lewis D. Lowenfels

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Wall Street: Security Risk by Hurd Baruch

Sec Financial Requirements For Broker-Dealers: Economic Implications Of Proposed Revisions, James F. Mofsky

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Judicial Review Of Sec Rule 14a-8: No Action Decisions, Andrew A. Markus

Cleveland State Law Review

A recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has focused attention on the dissident stockholders' right to have the courts review the Securities and Exchange Commission's informal acquiescence to management's refusal to include in its proxy statement a proposal of the dissidents. The controversy centers around proxy regulation 14a-82 promulgated pursuant to section 14 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934.

Short Tendering Rule In The Sale Of Securities, Larry A. Oday

Cleveland State Law Review

Rule 10b-4 of The Securities and Exchange Commission, also known as "the short tendering rule," might be described as one of the best kept secrets in securities regulation. Although it has been in effect for more than three years, very few attorneys or brokers know anything about it or have even heard of it.

Proposed Sec Rules For Private Offerings: The Impact On Venture Capital Financing, Gregory A. Kearns

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In order to facilitate venture capital financing, corporations rely upon the private offering exemption from the registration and prospectus requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. In an attempt to prevent this exemption from serving as a conduit for the flow of securities into the public securities markets, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed new rules regulating the resale of securities purchased in a private offering. These proposals would alter, among other things, the existing holding period, sales limitation, and financial information requirements. This article will examine the impact of the proposed *rules on venture capital financing of …

Insider Trading And The Law Professors, Henry G. Manne

Vanderbilt Law Review

When Insider Trading and the Stock Market' appeared in November, 1966, I was fully prepared for a goodly amount of disagreement. I was not prepared however for the emotional, almost hostile response my book received from some members of the academic community. This is not to say that all the reviews by law professors were unsympathetic and emotional in tone. Indeed the majority of them were not, and while critical reviews outnumbered favorable ones, most were in some degree mixed, and the tone was generally scholarly, impersonal, and in many cases constructive But the response to my book in the …

Recent Developments, Various Editors

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The Decline Of The Purchaser-Seller Requirement Of Rule 10b-5, Edward J. Ciechon Jr.

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Securities-Stocklist Authorizations-Solicitation Of Stocklist Authorizations Is Within The Proxy Regulations Of The Securities Exchange Act-Studebaker--Corp. V. Gittlin, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Gittlin, a shareholder of the Studebaker Corporation, planned to solicit proxies for the election of directors in opposition to the existing management. As an initial step in the implementation of this plan, he sought to obtain a stockholder's list and accordingly initiated proceedings in a New York court under section 1315(a) of the New York Business Corporation Law which grants a right of access to a shareholder who has obtained authorizations in writing from the holders of at least five per cent of the outstanding shares of the corporation. In order to meet the five per cent requirement, Gittlin had …

The Federal Securities Act And The Locked-In Stockholder, Neil Flanagin

Michigan Law Review

The Securities Act of 1933 is generally identified with Securities and Exchange Commission registration and the attendant disclosure for primary and secondary public offerings of securities. Because of the uncertain scope of the registration requirements, however, it has the practical effect of seriously restricting certain security holders in selling or dealing in their securities. Security holders so restricted may be underwriters themselves or persons considered to be underwriters for the particular transaction. The difficulties arise in determining which security holders are included within this class and which transactions by those parties are affected. It is to these problems that the …

Proof Of Scienter Necessary In A Private Suit Under Sec Anti-Fraud Rule 10b-5, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Of the vast amounts of statutory and quasi-statutory material governing the securities business, the Securities and Exchange Commission's rule 10b-51 has potentially the greatest direct importance to the largest number of people. While several provisions in the government's regulatory scheme set more or less specific standards of conduct for securities issuers, broker-dealers, or corporate insiders, the anti-fraud provisions of rule 10b-5 apply to all persons directly or indirectly connected with any sale or purchase of securities transacted through a facility of interstate commerce, the mails, or on a national exchange. In its three clauses, rule 10b-5 forbids any person (1) …

The Expanding Jurisdiction Of The Securities And Exchange Commission: Variable Annuities And Bank Collective Investment Funds, John W. Erickson

Michigan Law Review

The Securities and Exchange Commission is presently attempting to assert jurisdiction over certain aspects of two industries traditionally exempt from federal securities regulation-insurance and banking. The SEC claims that two recently developed investment vehicles-variable annuities in the insurance field and pooled funds of managing agency accounts in the banking field-are virtually the same as mutual funds, which are subject to SEC regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940. (A mutual fund is essentially a fund (usually in corporate form), the participants' contributions to which are collectively invested in a portfolio of securities, each participation representing a pro rata interest …