Compliance January 5, 2009

CFP Board Seeks Comment about Disciplinary Rules

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board), is looking for public comment about proposed revisions to its Disciplinary Rules and Procedures.
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The Disciplinary Rules outline the CFP Board’s procedures for enforcing its code of ethics for Certified Financial Planner certificants, according to a press release.

The proposed revisions outline the duties of the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (Commission), the body that administers disciplinary hearings, and the relationship of those duties to those of CFP Board’s board of directors, CEO, and legal counsel. The CFP Board said the revisions are intended to align the Disciplinary Rules with changes the Board made in February regarding oversight of the Commission and to establish stated policies for certain activities related to the Commission that are not specifically addressed in the current Disciplinary Rules. The proposals were developed through discussions with current and past members of the Commission.

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CFP Board’s Bylaws and Standards of Professional Conduct—which include the Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Rules of Conduct, and Financial Planning Practice Standards—do not require revisions to the Disciplinary Rules to be released for public comment. However, a board-appointed task force thought it important to seek further input from CFP Board’s stakeholders and recommended that the proposal of be released for a 30-day comment period, the CFP Board said.

An overview of the proposed revisions and a chart displaying the proposed revisions beside the current text of Article 2 can be reviewed on CFP Board’s Web site, www.CFP.net.

Any individual or group wishing to comment about the proposed changes should submit written comments no later than 5 p.m. February 2. Comments should be sent to CFP Board by e-mail to: compliance@CFPBoard.org,; or by mail to: CFP Board, c/o Michael P. Shaw, Esq., 1425 K St., NW, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20005.

Comments received will be posted to CFP Board’s Web site and considered by CFP Board’s Board of Directors when it meets in February.

Products January 5, 2009

Highland Capital Announces Portfolio Manager Changes

Highland Capital Management, L.P., has announced portfolio management changes to two funds, effective January 1.
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According to an announcement, the changes affect the portfolio management teams of Highland Credit Strategies Fund (ticker: HCF) and Highland Distressed Opportunities, Inc. (ticker: HCD). Highland Credit Strategies Fund will be managed by Brad Borud and Brad Means. Borud is currently a member of the portfolio management team for Highland Credit Strategies Fund, while Means is a senior portfolio manager at Highland, according to the firm. Highland Distressed Opportunities, Inc., will be managed by Borud and Greg Stuecheli. Both are currently members of the portfolio management team for Highland Distressed Opportunities, Inc.

The Funds

 

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Highland Credit Strategies Fund (HCF) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company, with investment objectives are to provide both current income and capital appreciation. HCF invests primarily in secured and unsecured floating and fixed rate loans, bonds and other debt obligations, debt obligations of stressed, distressed and bankrupt issuers. Highland has served as HCF’s adviser since its inception in 2006.

Highland Distressed Opportunities, Inc. (“HCD”) is a recently organized, non-diversified closed-end company that has elected to be treated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. HCD’s investment objective is total return generated by both capital appreciation and current income, and it seeks to primarily invest in financially troubled or distressed companies that are either middle-market companies or unlisted companies by investing in senior secured debt, mezzanine debt and unsecured debt, each of which may include an equity component, and in equity investments.

Manager Bios

Borud is a Partner, senior trader and CIO—Retail Products at Highland. Prior to his current duties, he served as a senior trader and co-director of Portfolio Management for Highland from 2003 to 2008, as a portfolio manager and team leader from 2001 to 2003, as a Portfolio Manager from 1998 to 2001, and as a portfolio analyst from 1996 to 1998. As a portfolio manager, Borud covered a wide range of industries, including wireline telecommunications, wireless telecommunications, telecommunication equipment manufacturers, multi-channel video, and media. Prior to joining Highland in November 1996, he worked as a global finance analyst in the Corporate Finance Group at NationsBank from 1995 to 1996 where he was involved in the originating, structuring, modeling and credit analysis of leveraged transactions for large corporate accounts in the Southwest region of the United States, according to a press release.

Means is a partner and senior portfolio manager at Highland. Prior to joining Highland in May 2004, he was a managing director in FTI Consulting’s Corporate Finance group where he worked on corporate turnaround, restructuring, and bankruptcy advisory engagements. From 1998 to 2001, he was a director in PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s Chairman’s Office and focused on enterprise strategy, venture capital, business development and divestiture initiatives. Prior to his role in the Chairman’s Office, Means worked in the Strategic Change Consulting and the Assurance & Business Advisory groups of Price Waterhouse serving clients across a range of industries including Automotive, Energy, Financials, and Industrials.

Stuecheli is a partner and senior portfolio manager at Highland. Prior to his current duties, he was a portfolio manager for Highland covering distressed and special situation credit and equity investments. Prior to joining Highland in June 2002, he served as an analyst for Gryphon Management Partners, LP, from 2000 to 2002, where his primary responsibilities included researching long and short investment ideas. In 1999, he was a Summer Associate at Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, and from 1995 to 1998, Stuecheli worked as a chemical engineer at Jacobs Engineering Group and Cytec Industries.

Highland Capital Management, L.P., the investment adviser to each of Highland Credit Strategies Fund and Highland Distressed Opportunities, Inc., is an alternative investment management firm specializing in credit and structured products. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Highland manages assets on behalf of investors around the world with offices in New York, Singapore, and London.

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