Compliance November 6, 2008

SEC, NASAA Registration System Fees Waived for Adviser Firms

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) said they will waive the initial set-up and annual system fees paid by investment adviser firms to join the Investment Adviser Registration Depository (IARD) system.
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Those fees will be waived through July 31, according to a press release. The SEC said it is continuing to make enhancements to the online adviser registration and public disclosure system, which gives investors information about advisers.

Separately, NASAA announced that for next year it will also waive those system fees paid by investment adviser representatives (IARs). NASAA will waive payment of initial and renewal IARD system fees by state-regulated investment adviser firms and investment adviser representatives’ initial and renewal fees. NASAA’s Board of Directors approved the system fee waiver and will continue to monitor the system’s revenues to determine whether future fee adjustments are warranted, according to the release.

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“The IARD system promotes effective and efficient investor protection through readily accessible disclosure while offering a consistent and streamlined registration process for investment advisers and their representatives,’ said NASAA President and Colorado Securities Commissioner Fred J. Joseph, in the release. “Given the current economic climate, we are pleased that the IARD system’s ongoing success has allowed us to maintain the system fee waivers put in place in 2005 for investment adviser firms and also to fully waive for the first time the system fees paid by investment adviser representatives.”

Diversions November 5, 2008

Monopolistic Tendencies

Do not pass Go...
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…Do not collect $200…
It was 73 years ago this week (November 5, 1935) that the game “Monopoly” was introduced by Parker Brothers Company. The game was actually a descendant of the Landlord Game, patented in 1904 by Lizzie J. Magie, a Quaker from Virginia. Maggie designed her game to promote her political belief in the passing of a single federal tax based on land ownership.
In honor of the occasion, we’ve found some interesting trivia about the game:
  • The three most-landed-on properties are Illinois Avenue, “GO”, and the B&O Railroad.
  • The character locked behind the bars is called Jake the Jailbird.
  • Mr. Monopoly is the name of the MONOPOLY man.
  • Parker Brothers rejected the MONOPOLY game when it was first presented to them in 1933, citing 52 fundamental playing flaws (no, we don’t know what they were).
  • The board property Marvin Gardens is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens (Marven Gardens is not a street, but a housing area outside Atlantic City).
The longest MONOPOLY game ever played was 1,680 hours long (70 straight days). However, world records are maintained for the longest game:
  • in a treehouse (286) hours,
  • underground (100 hours),
  • in a bathtub (99 hours) and
  • upside-down (36 hours).
Cash Counting
In case, you were wondering, the quantities and denominations found in standard editions of the MONOPOLY game are:
  • 20 $500 Bills (orange),
  • 20 $100 Bills (beige),
  • 30 $50 Bills (blue),
  • 50 $20. Bills (green),
  • 40 $10. Bills (yellow),
  • 40 $5. Bills (pink),
  • 40 $1. Bills (white).
By the way, the total amount of “cash’ in the game – a mere $15,140.
Interestingly enough, if you’ve lost some of that money – or if it has come to an untimely “demise’, you can also download and print Monopoly money – for free – at http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-games/monopoly/default.cfm?page=StrategyGuide/gametools..

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