Securities Investigations
We have provided consulting services and expert testimony in many complex cases, and have worked for government agencies and regulators (including the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), DOJ, and SEC), as well as for a wide variety of clients, including major financial services firms, involved in regulatory proceedings or inquiries and internal investigations.
Our work has included assisting in investigations and enforcement proceedings related to allegations of:
- Market manipulation
- Securities and broker-dealer fraud
- Improper investment marketing practices
- FCPA violations
- Insider trading and other white-collar issues
- Financial statement irregularities
For example, we have worked on multiple price manipulation matters involving high-frequency trading, from preliminary investigations to pretrial support and trial testimony. This extensive casework relies on our in-depth understanding of financial markets data, market microstructure, high-frequency trading mechanisms, and market frictions. In particular, we have extensive experience in the following areas:
- Analyzing large amounts of order-level market data and firm-specific internal trade logs
- Isolating and graphically illustrating trading activity
- Analyzing trading patterns and variations of patterns over time
- Estimating market-price impact of trading strategies
- Identifying and supporting academic affiliates and industry experts over the life of a matter
Our multidisciplinary approach integrates practitioner-level experience in securities analysis with expertise in:
- Financial economics – stock price effects and materiality
- Market microstructure – high-frequency trading strategies and market impact
- Derivatives expertise
- Securities valuation
- Corporate governance and disclosure
- Tax and accounting
- Executive compensation and incentives
- Complex securities and structured finance
