FEI Weekly

March 20, 2018

SEC announces its largest-ever whistleblower awards, and if you're planning on following the AT&T vs. DOJ trial, you'll want to know these terms.

If You're Planning on Following the AT&T vs. DOJ Trial, You'll Want to Know These Terms

Fast Company

AT&T will face off against the U.S. government this week in a high-stakes courtroom battle over whether it should be allowed to buy Time Warner Inc. The $85 billion merger was announced in late 2016, but the Department of Justice sued to block the deal a year later. Following the trial may prove challenging, however, with all the media-merger jargon. Fast company has created a glossary of terms (like "MVPD" and "CLayton Act") that will help you follow along.

SEC's Largest-Ever Whistleblower Awards

Mondo Visione

The SEC announced its highest-ever Dodd-Frank whistleblower awards, with two whistleblowers sharing a nearly $50 million award and a third whistleblower receiving more than $33 million. The previous high was a $30 million award in 2014. “We hope that these awards encourage others with specific, high-quality information regarding securities laws violations to step forward and report it to the SEC," said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.

UK's FRC Investigating Carillon's Former Finance Directors

BBC

The UK's Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said on Monday it commenced an investigation into the conduct of two former finance directors of bankrupt construction firm Carillion plc. Richard Adam and Zafar Khan had both been group finance director of the collapsed outsourcing company. The probe will focus on Carillion's financial statements for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016, and the six months to June 2017.

The 401(k) Robo-Advisers Are Coming

Investment News

Tech upstarts are making inroads into 401(k) plans and that's bad news for some retirement plan advisers. New companies use technology to deliver services to plan sponsors and participants that traditionally are offered by human advisers. These so-called 401(k) robo-advisers have a common theme: They believe the 401(k) distribution model is broken and that they can fix it by offering such services as fiduciary advice, professional account management, fund selection and plan compliance and administration, for less money.

What Kind of Leader Does Your Company Need You to Be?

Harvard Business Review

Leadership styles, or brands if you prefer the term, are always contextual, and leadership styles have their times and places. If it’s not clear what kind of leadership works best at your company, here’s one strategy for figuring it out: pay attention to who quits or gets fired — especially new hires — because it can signal what leadership skills matter most. If you like the kind of leader your organization typically produces, protect that kind of leadership.