Wulf Kaal

The Hedge Fund Industry after the Lift of the Ban on General Solicitation

July 11, 2013

The SEC yesterday approved final rules implementing one of the most important changes to securities regulation and offering practices in decades, as mandated by Congress in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (“JOBS”) Act: to lift the ban on general solicitation or advertising in offerings to accredited investors that are exempt from registration under Rule 506 […]

Lifting the Ban on General Solicitation for Private Funds

June 13, 2013June 13, 2013

I previously commented on the bright future for the hedge fund industry. More good news for the industry it seems: private funds could find the ban on general solicitation lifted very soon under SEC rules implementing the provisions of the JOBS Act. Europe’s pending new AIFM regime for alternative investments is stricter but still has lots […]

The Effect of the Dodd-Frank Act on the Hedge Fund Industry

June 12, 2013June 12, 2013

Presenting initial findings of this study on June 14th at the 2013 Junior Scholars Workshop on Financial Services Law at the University of Connecticut School of Law Here is the tentative abstract: Creating a paradigm shift for private fund regulation in the United States, Title IV of the Dodd-Frank Act mandates hedge fund adviser registration […]

A Bright Future for the Hedge Fund Industry and its Impact on Policy Making

June 8, 2013June 8, 2013

The Financial Times reports that hedge funds have transformed themselves and are increasingly influencing policy. My own work provides some empirical support for these observations. My study “Hedge Fund Manager Registration under the Dodd Frank Act” shows that hedge fund managers are only mildly affected by unprecedented registration and disclosure obligations under the Dodd-Frank Act and will be […]

The Return of CDOs – Do We Need Dynamic Elements in Financial Regulation?

June 5, 2013

Despite the role of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) in the financial crisis of 2007-08, CDOs and other high risk investment products may soon be available again and are likely to proliferate. The WSJ reports that J.P. Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley bankers are assembling synthetic CDOs to satisfy demand for structured products by investors who seek high […]

Dynamic Regulation of the Financial Services Industry

June 5, 2013

Governance adjustments via stable rules in reaction to financial crises are inevitably followed by relaxation, revision, and retraction. The economic conditions and the corresponding requirements for optimal and stable rules are constantly evolving, suggesting that a different set of rules could be optimal. Despite the risk of future crises, anticipation of future developments and preemption […]

Evolution of Law: Dynamic Regulation in a New Institutional Economics Framework

June 5, 2013June 5, 2013

The literature on New Institutional Economics (NIE) evaluates the relationship between public and private rulemaking in the evolution of law. This paper introduces the concept of dynamic regulation as an optimization process for the learning experience in the NIE framework. Dynamic regulation describes intra- and inter-jurisdictional feedback effects between different public rulemakers and between private […]

Balancing German Power in Europe

March 26, 2013March 26, 2013

Growing German power in Europe and the divisiveness and resentment that it generates have become one of the main topics in European politics. Curtailing German power was in many ways a founding principle for Europe. Alas, recent events in Cyprus and the bailout deal, lead by Germany, involving haircuts for Cypriot depositors as a form […]

Political opportunism in Germany deepens the gap in trust and political cultures between northern and southern Europe

March 21, 2013March 25, 2013

Before the Euro crisis it was considered politically incorrect, even xenophobic, to suggest that standards of probity in public life vary widely across Europe. For an institution dedicated to an “ever closer union” this notion is a problem. The bailout deal for Cyprus (right after balancing the German budget -while its southern neighbors are struggling […]

Improving Debt Bonus Programs for Executives

February 16, 2013March 25, 2013

UBS is the latest bank to issue a debt bonus in the form of contingent capital notes (CoCos) to its top executives. The UBS issuance follows similar programs set up by Barclays and Credit Suisse. This emerging trend has many beneficial implications but debt bonus programs for executives can be further optimized. Banks’ debt based […]