Protecting Investors

As governments around the world withdraw from welfare provision and promote long-term savings by households through the financial markets, the protection of retail investors has become critically important. Taking as a case study the wide-ranging EC investor-protection regime which now governs EC retail markets after an intense reform period, this critical, contextual and comparative examination of the nature of investor protection explores why the retail investor should be protected, whether retail investor engagement with the markets should be encouraged and how investor protection laws should be designed, particularly in light of the financial crisis. The book considers the implications of the EC's investor protection rules 'on the books' but also considers investor protection law and policy 'in action', drawing on experience from the UK retail market and in particular the Financial Services Authority's extensive retail market activities, including the recent Retail Distribution Review and the Treating Customers Fairly strategy.

This series enables practitioners to stay up to date with litigation and developments in the field of entertainment law. Emphasis is placed on the practical implications of relevant legislative developments and the effects of technology on artists, rights owners and collecting societies

The topic of investor protection has occupied investors, businesses, regulators, academics, and courts since the 1930s. The topic exploded in importance after the 2008 financial crisis and the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme of the same year. Investor protection scholarship now seeks to respond to developments such as the institutionalization of the markets, the democratization of finance, and the enhanced role of market professionals and other gatekeepers. Additionally, although the philosophy of full disclosure remains the guiding principle behind the securities laws, recent research has questioned the merits of a disclosure-based regime. In light of these trends, regulators try to strike the right balance between imposing a strict investor protection regime, on the one hand, and giving businesses the freedom to innovate new projects, market new services, and reduce costs, on the other. The Cambridge Handbook of Investor Protection brings together leading scholars to inform this debate and fill a gap left by these developments.

This comprehensive book offers a rigorous analysis of the legal debates, approaches and practice-related issues surrounding financial advice and investor protection. Despite widespread recognition of the importance of financial inclusion more broadly construed, recent financial crises have highlighted deficits in retail investor protection – this book informs the development of robust yet adaptable frameworks to protect investors, including effective enforcement and dispute resolution.

Assesses the operations of the Securities Investor Protection Corp. (SIPC), established in 1970. It discusses: (1) the basis for SIPC policies involving unauthorized trading and the extent that these policies are disclosed to investors; (2) the basis for SIPC policies involving the affiliates of SIPC member firms and the extent that these policies are disclosed to investors; (3) the SECs oversight of SIPC; and (4) the disclosure rules for SIPC, the FDIC, and state insurance guarantee associations, as well as the related implications for consumers as the financial services industry consolidates. Includes recommendations to the SIPC and the SEC regarding disclosure of SIPC policies and SEC's SIPC oversight.