Is Fraud Tolerance an Unofficial Policy of U.S. Regulators?

The housing fraud shockwaves that broke the U.S. banking system and had a ripple effect worldwide is going unchecked because it is part of the unofficial policy of U.S. regulators. According to Professor William Black, Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri, in Kansas City, U.S. legal and financial market regulators have adopted an “immunity doctrine” that is allowing senior mortgage and banking officials to go…
Read more...Income Inequality Has A Definite Cost

Wage-based incomes continue to decline, according to the U.S. Commerce Department’s April 2011 report. Using data from February 2011, the report found that wages, benefits and salaries accounted for 75% of total personal income in 1970. This fell to 67% in 2005 and to 64% in 2010. At the same time, spending from the middle class has dropped from 85% in 1970 to 61% today, according to the Wall Street…
Read more...Revenue Sharing Taints 401(k) Plans

While the 401(k) movement has been going strong for the past 30-plus years, it now looks like the investment managers who were administering the funds and providing the advice have been engaged in a conflict of interest with their company plan counterparts. At least that is what the U.S. Department of Labor’s Government Accountability Office now contends. In a recent study, “Improved Regulation Could Better Protect Participants from Conflicts of…
Read more...Tags:12b-1 fees , 401(k) , conflict of interest , fiduciary , financial reform , fund expenses , revenue sharing , revenus sharing , transparency
Europeans Ask Geithner About Wall Street Bonuses

In a global economy, the world’s central banks have become increasingly intertwined and interdependent. This often creates interesting confrontations, especially when they are public. This is what makes this Bloomberg news article interesting. Since this article was published in June 2011, Europeans have imposed some salary caps on their top CEOs, yet that discussion has not reached the U.S. “Geithner to Be Confronted by EU’s Barnier on Lack of Bonus…
Read more...Tags:confllict of interest , fiduciary , Governance , revenue sharing , shareholder rights , transparency
Can Mutual Fund Wholesaler’s Salaries be Justified?

One of the biggest problems facing the mutual fund industry’s relationships with its millions of shareholders is justifying fund wholesalers’ salaries. This is a contentious and sticky issue for a few reasons: First, mutual fund wholesalers really don’t add anything which directly benefits shareholders. In theory, they should be reducing overall fund expense ratios by increasing the asset base of mutual funds. This would then lower the overall expense ratio…
Read more...Tags:12b-1 fees , confllict of interest , fiduciary , fund expenses , fund wholesalers , Governance , investing , revenue sharing , shareholder rights , transparency