In the August 2, 2011 issue of Structured Thoughts,  Morrison & Foerster discusses the SEC’s report of its sweep examination of retail structured products, the RIC commodity ruling update, and In re: Lehman Brothers and principal protection. ___________________________________ . The following is an archive of Morrison & Foerster’s Structured Thoughts publication from February 2011. . Structured... 

On July 27, 2011, Judge Lewis Kaplan issued a ruling in the case In re Lehman Brothers Securities and ERISA Litigation, in which the plaintiffs include pension funds, companies and individuals that were purchasers of various classes of equity and debt securities issued by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.  The claims relating to approximately 50 series of Lehman principal-protected notes had previously... 

Washington, DC, July 27, 2011 – The Securities and Exchange Commission staff today issued a report identifying common weaknesses seen in sales of structured securities products and describing measures by broker-dealers to better protect retail investors from fraud and abusive sales practices. The report summarizes the results of a sweep examination of the retail structured securities products... 

When Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008, the asset manager that it owned, Neuberger Berman, was successfully spun out. Neuberger, however, has not managed to completely shake its connection to Lehman. Last week, a three-member arbitration panel ordered the New York firm to pay more than $5 million to four former clients who bought structured products from Neuberger. These products, they say,... 

On May 18, 2011, FINRA announced in Regulatory Notice 11-25 that it is extending the implementation date for compliance with FINRA Rule 2090 (Know Your Customer) and FINRA Rule 2111 (Suitability). The new effective date is July 9, 2012. The notice may be found here. This new date gives firms a nine-month extension to modify their procedures, implement policy changes, and educate associated persons... 

In this article, we discuss the potential impact of these amendments on the structured notes market. In its proposing release,2 the SEC stated that it intended generally to except from Regulation M the same types and amounts of securities that are currently excepted in Rules 101(c)(2) and 102(d)(2), without referencing credit ratings. However, the approach outlined in the proposed rules does not appear... 

Principal European Structured Products Reforms (i)  EU Commission’s Consultation Paper on PRIPs: On 26 November 2010 the EU Commission published a consultation paper on legislative steps for packaged retail investment products (“PRIPS”). The paper builds upon an earlier 2009 Commission communication in relation to PRIPS and also takes into account the report of the three Level 3 Committees (see... 

Structured products are “areas of concern” for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, said Richard Ketchum, head of Wall Street’s self-funded regulator. Brokers who sell structured products, which are securities created by banks that package debt with derivatives as customized investment bets, must “truly understand the products they sell,” Ketchum said today at the regulator’s... 

The Lawyer Magazine Sometimes, saying something once is just not enough. Just four years after they were released, the combined principles for managing the relationships between those involved in selling and buying retail structured ­products (RSPs) – a document thrashed out by the Joint Associations Committee (JAC) of financial industry associations – were republished last week (23... 

Introduction On July 30, 2010, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (‘‘FINRA’’) (f/k/a National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (‘‘NASD’’)) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ‘‘Exchange Act’’) and Rule 19b–4 thereunder, ...