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Retirement Plans and the Great Mutual Fund Scandal
During the past 2 years, the public has been inundated with reports of widespread misconduct by mutual funds and their managers. According to published studies (Zitzewitz E: Who Cares About Shareholders? Arbitrage-Proofing Mutual Funds. J Law, Economics and Organization (Oct. 2003); Zitzewitz E: How Widespread Is Late Trading in Mutual Funds? Stanford Graduate School of Business, Research Paper No. 1817 (Sept. 2003)), this misconduct accounts for an annual loss of approximately $5 billion a year due to the increased costs associated with market timing – quick trades to achieve short-term profits based on anticipated price swings — and $400 million a year due to late trading — an illegal practice allowing investors to buy or sell mutual fund shares at the fund's previously established net asset value (NAV) rather than the next day's NAV price.
Employee retirement plans subject to ERISA constitute a significant segment of the long-term investor community potentially harmed by late trading and market timing practices, raising the important issue of what fiduciaries who administer ERISA retirement plans must now do in the face of widespread mutual fund scandals. This article summarizes the steps that should be taken by trustees, investment committee members, and other fiduciaries of retirement plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
The Fiduciary Duty to Re-evaluate Component Mutual Funds
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.