CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler delivered remarks before the International Monetary Fund Conference. Main topics discussed include: History and progress of the derivatives markets; Various missions of the CFTC, and how the public is benefiting from, according to Gensler: (i) greater access to the swaps market and the risk reduction that comes from centralized clearing; (ii) oversight of swap dealers; and (iii) transparency of seeing the price and volume of each swap transaction, available free of charge on a website like a modern-day tickertape; Changing markets, such as the increase in electronic

The SEC announced that the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has entered a final judgment approving a $1.8 million settlement between the SEC and hedge fund manager Douglas F. Whitman and his firm Whitman Capital. The case arose from the SEC's investigation of insider trading perpetrated by Raj Rajaratnam. See: SEC Litigation Release. Related News: "SEC Obtains Final Judgment on Consent as to Raj Rajaratnam" (December 27, 2012).

In a speech to the 2013 Mutual Funds and Investment Management Conference, Norm Champ, Director of the SEC Division of Investment Management ("IM"), set out a number of priorities for IM. In particular, Mr. Champ described the following ongoing initiatives at the SEC: Establishing IM's new Risk and Examinations Group ("REG"), which is intended to conduct rigorous quantitative and qualitative financial analyses of the investment management industry, and strategically important investment advisers, funds and products; Conducting in-person meetings between IM staff and mutual fund directors with

SIFMA submitted comments in the form of a letter to the MSRB on a proposal for more contemporaneous trade price information through a new central transparency platform. See MSRB Notice 2013-02. In the the letter, SIFMA stated that, while it supports the concept of transparency, it has concerns as to certain aspects of the proposal, including: the proposed elimination of certain end-of-day reporting exceptions; needed updates to the process for trade reporting; and the proposal to shorten the window for trade reporting. Click hereto view letter in full (links externally to SIFMA website)

On March 18, 2013, the SEC announced that Stamford, Connecticut-based hedge fund advisory firm CR Intrinsic Investors has agreed to pay more than $600 million to settle SEC charges that it participated in an insider trading scheme. The SEC had charged CR Intrinsic with insider trading in November 2012. The charges involved information on a clinical trial for a drug. The SEC alleged that one of the firm's portfolio managers illegally obtained confidential details about the clinical trial from a doctor who was working with one of the pharmaceutical companies to present the drug trial results to