Tag: securities regulation

Massachusetts fines MassMutual $4.75 mln in ‘Roaring Kitty’ case

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/massachusetts-fines-massmutual-475-mln-failing-supervise-roaring-kitty-other-2021-09-16/

Excerpt:

A MassMutual investment subsidiary has agreed to pay $4.75 million to resolve allegations by Massachusetts securities regulators including that it failed to supervise its agents, among them the social media persona “Roaring Kitty,” whose online posts helped spark January’s trading frenzy in GameStop Corp (GME.N) shares.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin on Thursday said MML Investors Services failed to detect the activities of Keith Gill, who touted GameStop stock in his spare time while he was working at the company.

Galvin, the state’s top securities regulator, alleged MassMutual also inadequately supervised other agents and failed to review their social media usage or catch excessive trading in their personal accounts.

The company agreed to pay a $4 million fine to resolve those allegations and another $750,000 for failing to register 478 broker-dealer agents. It also agreed to overhaul its social media policies.

Author(s): Nate Raymond

Publication Date: 16 September 2021

Publication Site: Reuters

GameStop Frenzy, Archegos Meltdown May Prompt New SEC Rules, Chairman Says

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-studying-whether-new-rules-are-needed-for-apps-that-gamify-trading-chairman-says-11620239971

Excerpt:

In testimony prepared for the House Financial Services Committee, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler says brokerages that “gamify” trading — by using appealing visual graphics to reward a user’s decision to trade, for instance — may encourage frequent trading that results in worse outcomes for investors. Some Democratic lawmakers have blamed gamification for the boom in individual trading that helped drive the rise in GameStop shares.

Mr. Gensler, who will appear before lawmakers on Thursday, also said the SEC would study regulatory changes in response to the March blowup of Archegos Capital Management, an unregulated family-investment vehicle of hedge-fund veteran Bill Hwang whose leverage-fueled bets led to more than $10 billion in losses at major global banks.

Author(s): Dave Michaels, Alexander Osipovich

Publication Date: 5 May 2021

Publication Site: Wall Street Journal

MassMutual Under Investigation Over ‘Roaring Kitty’

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2021/02/04/state-regulator-probing-roaring-kitty-massmutual/

Excerpt:

Massachusetts’ top securities regulator, William Galvin, is looking into the actions of Keith Patrick Gill, the former MassMutual broker who played a key role in the trading frenzy surrounding video game retailer GameStop and other stock last week.

Gill is the person behind the Roaring Kitty YouTube streams that, combined with a string of posts by Reddit user DeepF***ingValue, drove a sudden increase in GameStop stock trading, slamming hedge funds that had bet against the struggling retailer.

“I can confirm our Securities Division sent an inquiry to MassMutual last Friday asking about Mr. Gill’s status,” a spokesperson for Galvin told ThinkAdvisor on Thursday.

Author(s): Jeff Berman

Publication Date: 4 February 2021

Publication Site: Think Advisor