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The year 1986 did not bode well for investment banker Dennis Levine. In a civil injunctive action the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission) alleged that Levine, through an insider dealing scheme, violated several anti‐fraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Without admitting or denying that he obtained over $12m in illicit profits from secretly trading in the securities of 54 companies, Levine settled the SEC action and was ordered to disgorge over $10m to the court.

In a high‐profile case that first drew big media headlines last February, a New York brokerage firm and a ring of eight brokers on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange were charged with perpetrating a scheme in which they made over $11.1m in illegal profits and at the same time covered their tracks with an elaborate fraud.

To provide a brief overview of US securities laws that apply to the marketing of hedge funds.

Summarizes US securities offering rules, including Regulation S and Regulation D at the federal level, state securities laws, antifraud standards, and broker‐dealer regulation.

All securities offered and sold in the USA must be registered with the SEC unless an exemption is available under the Securities Act. Offerings offshore under Regulation S and private placements in the USA under Regulation D offer two such exemptions. Most states have private placement exemptions similar to Regulation D. While certain state‐level regulation over the registration of securities has been preempted by federal law, a level of state regulation continues to exist. All US offers and sales of securities are subject to general antifraud standards under both US federal and state laws. Funds and their employees, investment managers and their employees, and any placement agents may not contact any US investor in the USA or any non‐US investor from the USA without registering as broker‐dealers.

Provides a concise overview of laws and regulations that apply to the marketing of hedge funds.

The paper seeks to address the problems facing securities regulators arising from the internationalisation of markets by considering the efficacy of three means of effecting international uniformity or harmonisation of the substantive rules of law for securities and their enforcement. These are multilateral arrangements, bilateral arrangements and mutual recognition and harmonisation of securities laws. In doing so, the paper examines a number of current arrangements for international cooperation on securities regulation and enforcement, in particular Australia's use of MOUs and its adaptation of the Corporations Law.

To discuss general legal considerations for non-US private equity sponsors who seek to market their funds to US institutional investors.

Explains relevant aspects of US securities laws, commodity exchange laws, pension and employee benefit plan laws, federal income tax laws, and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

The evolving US regulatory regime necessitates careful planning and thorough knowledge of relevant laws and regulations to effect a successful US marketing effort.

Practical guidance from experienced investment funds and tax lawyers.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the background and reasoning behind the June 18, 2007 US Supreme Court decision in Credit Suisse Securities (USA) v. Billing et al.

The paper explains the US District Court for the Southern District of New York's dismissal of two antitrust class action lawsuits filed against a group of investment banks in 2002, the reversal by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2005, and the Supreme Court's rejection of the Second Circuit's analysis in 2007.

The Court found that, due to the specialized knowledge required to parse the SEC's rules and distinguish permissible from prohibited conduct, there was a “serious risk” that antitrust courts would produce inconsistent results. The Court also expressed a concern that allowing antitrust claims here would weaken the heightened pleading requirements in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, which Congress passed to weed out “umeritorious securities lawsuits.”

The decision undoubtedly will have important implications regarding the extent to which the antitrust laws may be applied to other conduct regulated by the securities laws, or in the context of other regulated industries.

The paper provides practical interpretation and guidance by experienced securities lawyers.

For the sponsor or manager of a non‐US investment fund, the mantle of US laws and regulations surrounding the offering of fund shares to US investors can be mystifying. In an effort to simplify and clarify the legal miasma, the US Congress and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have in the past year taken action to facilitate the offering of interests to more sophisticated investors in both foreign and domestic private investment funds. This paper describes the recent legislation enacted by Congress, rules and interpretations issued by the SEC and its staff to implement and effectuate the legislation and strategies for privately offered investment companies to take advantage of the new, more liberal regulatory scheme.

Information intensive industries such as financial services are being transformed by the Internet. Specifically, it is the interactive, multimedia side of the Internet, known as the World Wide Web (Web) which is driving this transformation. Without the intense graphics, sound bites and other capabilities provided by the Web, the Internet would be a pretty dull place to visit.

The last decade of the prior millennium witnessed many revolutionary, not evolutionary, changes in the way business is done and information is exchanged globally. The Internet has changed and speeded up the ways we exchange and use information and the time necessary for doing so. This revolution has the potential to reshape the world we live in; to draw us closer together in a global community; and to allow businesses to sell products and services and to raise capital on a global basis simultaneously. Instantaneous satellite transmission of television news coverage informs us of critical events, including financial developments, in distant lands. E‐mail allows us to establish business and personal relationships and communicate ideas rapidly with foreign individuals. And we have also seen increased interest among businessmen and others in investing capital in foreign nations and in the securities of companies publicly traded in foreign or international markets. The Internet allows investors to create ‘chat rooms’ to exchange information and ideas about issuers.