Finra seeks to delay nontraded REIT pricing rule

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Brokerdealer.com blog post courtesy of extract from industry publication InvestmentNews.com

investmentnewFinra is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to give the independent broker-dealer industry much longer than it originally sought to implement rule changes that would give investors a clearer picture of what it costs to buy shares of a nontraded real estate investment trust or private placement.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. filed the changes and also sent a letter to the SEC on Friday that contained its final proposed rule changes to rule 2340, or rules affecting customer account statements.

In the letter, Finra associate general counsel Matthew Vitek asked the SEC to give broker-dealers and nontraded REIT sponsors 18 months to adjust to the new guidelines. Finra earlier this year had proposed giving the industry just six months after the SEC approves the rule to make those changes.

For the full story from InvestmentNews.com, please click here.

BrokerDealers and Buyside: Bitcoin Coming to A Screen Near You

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Brokerdealer.com blog update courtesy of extract from Traders Magazine, the leading publication within securities industry’s sell-side (otherwise known as the universe of registered broker-dealers). Coverage for this story provided by TradersMag writer Gregg Wirth. Visitors to this page who may wish to know more about brokerdealers and institutional investors having an interest in bitcoins are invited to search the brokerdealer.com database.

bitcoinBitcoin, the crypto-currency that initially became infamous as the tender of choice for drug traffickers and mercenaries, may be coming to a trading desk or institutional portfolio near you – and sooner than you think.

“2014 is going to be the year Bitcoin hits Wall Street,” said Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of SecondMarket, a capital-raising platform for private companies and investment funds. Indeed, there is a growing consensus in some corners of Wall Street and the buyside community that the $7.8 billion  Bitcoin industry is going to become the new, flashy darling of investors, with dedicated digital currency funds, venture capitalists and asset managers all chasing after those 12 million bitcoins currently in circulation.

“Digital currencies like Bitcoin are not going away,” Silbert explained. “And Wall Street and the regulators know this, they’ve studied how to deal with it, and now they are starting to understand its potential.” SecondMarket has gone heavy into the Bitcoin phenomenon, launching the Bitcoin Investment Trust, a $70 million open-ended trust that invests exclusively in bitcoins, as well as a dedicated desk of 10 traders who buy and sell bitcoins for the trust and other institutional clients. SecondMarket is also creating what it hopes to be the largest, best-capitalized and well-run Bitcoin exchange in the U.S., and is enlisting banks and Bitcoin-related firms to be exchange members.

“The number of inquiries and requests from finance industry professionals for us to prepare compliant investor offering documents for crypto-centric funds is certainly keeping us busy”, said Paul Azous, CEO of Prospectus.com. “We don’t see this as some type of anomaly that is connected to a short-term fad, many of the funds we are working with are forward-thinking folks who realize that blockchain applications will be expressed in nearly every business process.”

In addition to preparing investment fund offering documents, Prospectus.com helps blockchain-based startups craft white papers, presentation decks that resonate with accredited investors and through a captive network of crypto industry consultants, the firm guides those advancing Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).

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International Equities Execution Expert Enlists With BrokerDealer Industry’s Oldest Firm Owned-Operated By Service-Disabled Veterans

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Mischler Financial Group Adds To International Equities Best Execution Team;

Global Bank Trading Veteran Appointed to Senior Role for 24/6 Agency-Only Platform

Immediate News Release

Stamford, CT July 14, 2014—Mischler Financial Group (“MFG”), the securities industry’s oldest minority investment bank/institutional brokerage owned and operated by service-disabled veterans announced that Eric Michalisin, a close on 20-year sell-side industry veteran and a recognized specialist in international equities execution has joined the firm’s agency-only trading desk. Mr. Michalisin has been appointed, Director, International Equities Sales/Trading. Michalisin will be based in the firm’s Stamford, CT office where he will work directly with Managing Director Rob Livio, who oversees the firm’s 24/6 international equities sales/trading platform.

During the 3 years immediately prior to joining Mischler, Mr. Michalisin was Director, International Equities for RBS Securities. During the 7 years prior, he was a senior member of the international equities desk for JP Morgan Chase. Mr. Michalisin began his sell-side career in 1996 as a Far East equities sales/trading specialist for Robert Fleming, Inc and remained with predecessor firm Jardine Fleming Securities throughout 2001.

Noted Joe Digiammo, Mischler’s global head of equities, “Eric’s major firm background, coupled with his unique insight to local market trading, as well as best execution for US-listed ADRs provides our institutional clients with yet another highly-experienced touch-point for those seeking to navigate global equities markets on a 24/6 basis.”

About Mischler Financial Group

Established in 1994, Mischler Financial Group, Inc. (“Mischler”) is the oldest and largest FINRA member firm certified as a Service Disabled Veterans Business Enterprise (SDVBE). Headquartered in Newport Beach, California with regional offices in Stamford, CT, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL and Detroit, MI,the firm serves leading institutional fund managers, corporate treasurers, public plan sponsors, endowments and foundations by providing agency-only execution within the global equities and fixed income markets; new issue underwriting and syndication within the US Equity and Debt capital markets; and asset management for liquid and alternative investment strategies. The firm’s website is located at www.mischlerfinancial.com

For the full news release, please visit the Mischler Financial Group website via this link.

Private Equity Firm Takes Coffee Break from Israel Company; IPO Provides Exit Strategy

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FINALTERNATIVES  BrokerDealer.com blog post courtesy of below extract from hedge fund industry newsletter FINalternatives.com

After six long years that must feel more like 60 for TPG Capital, the private-equity giant is nearly free of an investment that has made it money, but at a price.

TPG and Strauss Group are near a deal to list Strauss Coffee, the Israeli company in which TPG took a 25% stake in 2008. The deal will allow TPG to exit an investment that has produced more headaches and disappointment than solid returns.

When TPG and Strauss consummated their partnership, both had grand expansion plans and hopes to build a global coffee giant. But TPG’s purchased closed just days before Lehman Brothers collapsed, and the deal-making environment dried up, giving Strauss Coffee few takeover targets. In addition, the company struggled in regions like Russia and Eastern Europe.

For the full story, please visit www.finalternatives.com

Mobile Shopping Startup Spring from Jello Labs Gets $7.5M Series A From Numerous Investors

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BrokerDealer.com blog update courtesy of Dow Jones Venture Wire

Mobile Shopping Startup Spring Gets $7.5M Series A From Numerous Investors

Yuliya Chernova
July 10, 2014
(c) 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Jello Labs Inc., a mobile shopping startup that does business under the name Spring, closed on a $7.5 million Series A round from more than 40 investors.

“We believe that shopping on your phone is broken,” said David Tisch, co-founder of the startup and one of the lead investors in it through his investment firm BoxGroup. “We are out to create the world’s best mobile shopping experience,” he said….

For the full article from Dow Jones (subscription required), please click here.