Notice: This course will be held in-person in Kansas City on September 22-24, 2026. We will not be offering a virtual option for the Emerging Issues course this year. 

Course Topics*:

*Note: Due to the nature of the course and given the uncertainty in the market, course topics are subject to change.

• Economic Overview: We'll this could take a while! We are excited to announce Rob McDonough of Angel Oak Capital Advisors, will be returning to guide us through the key factors driving the economy and its effect on capital markets and investments.

• Review Recent Investment-related Case Studies to understand both the facts and how the alleged fraudsters operated. As the class works through each case, we will determine what went wrong, focusing on breakdowns in internal controls and weaknesses in oversight across the board, management, legal, investments, risk accounting, compliance, and audit functions. Finally, we will connect these gaps to the specific regulatory violations that emerged and consider how stronger governance could have changed the outcome. Examples of case studies could include: 

• • How Insider Trading Brought Down One of Asia’s Largest Funds: Segantii-BOFA Block Trade Case
  • First Liberty Building & Loan: Bridge Loan Ponzi Scheme
  • Prestige Investment Group / Paramount Management Group: $770 Million Investment Ponzi Scheme
  • GNS Capital d/b/a FOREXPOWER: Retail Forex Fraud and Commodity Pool
  • Real Estate Ponzi “Like” Scheme: Sale of Fake Real Estate Interest to Limited Partners
  • Update on Infinity Q – Manual adjustments of derivative valuations; represented valuations were supplied by an independent third party
  • SEC 21-PERSON Insider Trader Ring: Law-Firm Deal Information

• Prediction Markets are drawing regulatory scrutiny because they create new channels for insider trading, market abuse, and control failures. In a recent case, a U.S. Special Forces soldier allegedly used classified information about Nicolás Maduro’s expected removal to place trades that generated more than $400,000 in profit. For auditors, this case raises a practical question: Does insider-trading, confidentiality, and employee-monitoring controls extend to emerging venues such as prediction markets? As CFTC regulators consider how to govern these markets, organizations should evaluate whether their policies, surveillance, and training frameworks are keeping pace. What policies does your organization have in place to limit this activity? Case Studies:

  • CFTC vs. Gannon Ken Van Dyke: Event-Contract Insider Trading Using Government Information
  • CFTC vs. Michele Spagnuplp: Google Year in Search Event-Contract Insider Trading

• Private Credit – The Saga Continues: Private credit can offer attractive yields and strong downside protection through senior secured lending, but today’s key question is whether current valuations and default expectations fully reflect the effects of higher rates and slower growth. The sector’s next major test will likely come when a larger number of borrowers need to refinance or navigate an economic downturn. Other pressing concerns include:

  • Private Credit Valuation (as with other illiquid funds) is one of the most important emerging risk areas for regulators, institutions, and investors. Many private loans are illiquid, and there may be no transparent market price. A fund manager may estimate their value using assumptions about borrower credit quality, interest rates, comparable spreads, collateral value, default risk, recovery rates, and expected cash flows. How are these marks validated, at least for reasonableness?

  • Tokenized Private Credit represents loan investments as blockchain-based digital tokens, potentially improving accessibility, efficiency, and transferability. However, tokenization does not change the underlying economics of private lending and introduces new layers of risk.

• Crypto Perpetual Futures and Leveraged Crypto Derivatives: A perpetual derivative is a derivative that tracks a crypto asset’s price without a fixed expiration date. Traders post margin and can use leverage. Perpetuals are popular because they allow amplified exposure, but they can also force rapid liquidations. While the CFTC’s scrutiny of leveraged crypto trading is expanding, it still has a long way to go.

• AI-Driven Investment Scams: AI investment scams use phrases such as “AI Trading Bot,” “Guaranteed Algorithm,” or “Automated Profits” to attract investors. Some products may use real technology, but fraudsters exploit the fact that most investors cannot verify the model. Roundtable discussion: How does one determine the difference?

• Just In! Famed Short-seller Andrew Lefy Found Guilty: As of June 2026, a federal jury found Andrew Lefy guilty on multiple securities-fraud charges after trial. Prosecutors argued that he used his public platform to move stock prices and then traded contrary to the impressions he gave investors. Left has denied wrongdoing and has indicated that he plans to appeal. The SEC’s case against Andrew Left is one of the most significant enforcement actions ever brought against a prominent activist short seller. Many hedge funds, short sellers, and market commentators are watching the case closely because it could influence how research firms disclose positions, price targets, holding periods, and relationships with third parties in the future.

• Plus: Review and discuss market developments, regulatory initiatives, and reoccurring themes we’re seeing in investment and derivative audits.

Hotel Information:

the Cascade | a Marriott Tribute Portfolio Hotel

4600 Wornall Road
Kansas City, MO 64112
Phone: 1-816-702-1880
Link to Hotel Website

Group Room Rate: US $209
Link to Group Block - Click Here to Book!

Additional Hotel Information