Securities & Finance

Professor Michael Willis was retained on a securities case to opine on whether a company’s EBITDA and revenue budget was consistent with best practices following a large cross-border acquisition.

In 2024, we had the honor of collaborating with exceptional experts across diverse fields and were thrilled to welcome several new experts to our network. Explore our accomplishments from the past year in detail by reading our 2024 Year in Review brochure.

Vega Economics is proud to feature Anthony Saunders, a distinguished professor and researcher at the Stern School of Business at NYU.

Tim Hurley, supported by Vega Economics, was retained in a case where Defendant Company allegedly made material and false representations and omission to shareholders while defending against a hostile takeover attempt.

Our featured engagement highlights the work of experts Charles Grice and Lisa Murphy, who were retained by defense counsel in a case between two mortgage lenders. The plaintiff lender alleged that defendant targeted and unlawfully poached loan officers and staff from its operations, using trade secrets and proprietary customer information brought by the loan officers to capture and divert customer relationships.

Office vacancy rates continue to hit record levels, approaching an average of 20 percent nationwide.

Our featured expert Gary Strumeyer is a distinguished expert in the field of capital markets. Mr. Strumeyer brings a wealth of knowledge, significant testimony experience, and provides a unique approach to capital markets expert witness services. 

Check out our latest article that discusses the mechanics of stock loans, the growth of the securities lending market, and regulatory changes aimed at increasing transparency in lending transactions.

Vega Economics was retained by a direct air capture company to evaluate a pro-forma financial model for the bid to develop a renewable energy project site.

Five economists that formerly led the SEC filed a request with the Fifth Circuit to correct two recent agency rules aiming to bring transparency to the short-selling market.

We had the privilege of supporting numerous exceptional experts from diverse fields in 2023 and were delighted to welcome several new experts into our network. To delve into our achievements over the past year, you can find more details in our 2023 Year in Review brochure.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of AI pricing, economists can help untangle the complexities associated with algorithm-driven pricing strategies. Let's delve into the way economic analysis can address complex questions in both the business and litigation contexts.

Vega Economics discusses the several different roles that economists apply their expertise in economic theory, data analysis, and financial markets to litigation cases.

Vega's expert Dr. Guhan Subramanian recently on the standards and practice of business negotiations and addressing potential conflicts related to closing the underlying transaction.

In this article, Vega Economics reviews examples of the recent litigation involving corporate ESG-related issues. 

Great news for our environment and economy! Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) projects are gaining momentum in numerous states as legislators incentivize clean energy and sustainability investments.

Meet our featured expert Timothy Hurley! Mr. Hurley is an investment banker with over 30 years of experience as a senior investment banker at three major firms and two boutique investment banking firms.

 With rising interest rates and falling prices, more and more borrowers find themselves stuck in “upside-down” car loans. This article provides a quick glance at the current state of auto loans. 

Professor Jeff Harris was recently retained in a CME arbitration involving Treasury futures calendar spreads.  

Check out our growing Securities & Finance practice area for more information about our experts and example engagements!

Using proprietary tools, Vega creates customized datasets and clear and informative visualizations. Check out our article where we highlight three example visualizations!

Our featured expert Myron Glucksman is a former investment banker who provides expertise to law firms and financial institutions regarding ABS, Conduits, CDOs, RMBS, SIVs and other structured finance matters.

Sustainable financial products help companies integrate ESG principles into their business and investment decisions. In this article, Vega takes a look at some of the key instruments available including green bonds and loans.

Dr. Ehud Ronn recent update addresses the issue of whether there is a perception of “light at the end of the
tunnel” when it comes to the rate of inflation in the U.S. 

Vega is delighted to sit down with expert Dan Castro, Chairman Investment Committee at Samas Asset Management, to discuss the C-PACE landscape, new legislation, litigation risks, and more. 

Our featured expert Dr. Ehud Ronn is a Professor of Finance at the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin. His research and teaching interests focus on the valuation of energy commodity-contingent securities. In this piece, he shares his latest analysis of the oil market. 

Part 2 of our short and distort series discusses the evidence considered by different courts in recent 'short and distort' litigation and how the Vega team can assist clients involved in such cases.

The SEC announced the allocation of 20 additional positions to the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit (formerly known as the Cyber Unit) in the Division of Enforcement will grow to 50 dedicated positions.

Trade surveillance has become an essential tool for detecting unusual activity in financial transactions. Vega Economics has extensive experience in this area and we have worked on the leading edge of data driven analysis for trade surveillance and monitoring. Check out our Trade Surveillance Capacities brochure for more details.

This article discusses two cases that provide particularly helpful insights into recent 'short and distort' litigation and how the Vega team can assist clients involved in such cases.

The CFPB has recently published the proposals it is considering implementing as part of its regulatory responsibility to create regulations requiring AVM quality control standards. This summary addresses some of the issues presented in the CFPB outline and Vega's expertise in this space.

As we look back on our practice throughout 2021, we are proud of the variety of issues our work has covered. We had the opportunity to support several outstanding experts from a variety of disciplines and welcomed several new experts to our network. You’ll learn more about our work last year in this brochure, our 2021 Year in Review.

Keeping abreast of regulatory compliance issues is a crucial component of doing business in the mortgage origination industry. This article offers a background and retrospective on several of the regulations and relevant enforcement entities involved in legal and compliance issues pertaining to residential mortgages.

The Journal of Portfolio Management has named Vega's expert Petter Kolm "Quant of the Year" for 2021! This award recognizes a researcher’s history of outstanding contributions to the field of quantitative portfolio theory.

In a recent American Arbitration Association proceeding, Dr. Andrew Zuppann and Vega Economics were retained by claimant's counsel to provide an expert analysis regarding the respondents' regulatory violations in the origination of mortgage loans.

Part 3 of Vega's 3-part series on student loans discusses the unique features of SLABS that create both opportunities and risks for investors, as well as the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on forbearances and cash flows.

Our Featured Expert, Charles Porten is an expert in the portfolio management of hedge funds and mutual funds, as well as due diligence procedures and fund compliance issues.

The market has tightened as SPACs have grown in popularity. There are currently hundreds of SPACs seeking acquisitions. Even before this tightening, SPACs have been criticized for misaligning sponsor and investor incentives. At Vega, we are closely monitoring market developments as sponsors come under more pressure to locate and secure deals.

Mr. Castro is an expert in mortgage origination, underwriting, servicing, mortgage banking. He also specializes in ABS, RMBS, CMBS, CDOs, CLOs, REITs, ABCP, SIVs, and other Structured Finance products.

Regulatory and enforcement agencies, market exchanges, and at least one private party have brought legal actions for alleged spoofing in futures markets. To meet applicable standards of proof, attorneys are increasingly turning to expert testimony regarding statistics and econometrics to prove and refute spoofing allegations in litigation.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued its long-awaited decision in Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. et al. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System et al. on June 21, 2021. The class certification stage will consequently become a critical and hotly contested place for expert debate in securities class actions.

In his released prepared remarks for the CFO Network Summit, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler highlighted areas of potential rulemaking around Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. Chairman Gensler has cited discussion and proposals based on Professor Dan Taylor’s article, "Gaming the System: Three 'Red Flags' of Potential 10b5-1 Abuse."

Our featured expert, Dr. Thomas Lys is is an expert in areas including accounting, corporate finance, corporate governance, real estate, and finance. Dr. Lys was recently supported by Vega to rebut plaintiffs’ damages calculations in seven cases brought against RMBS servicers and master servicers.

Experts testifying in conflict resolution proceedings at the ICSID should ideally be familiar with this forum’s unique rules and procedures. Vega affiliate Richard George has testified as an expert before ICSID on issues concerning generally accepted international banking practices. 

Vega discusses one form of market manipulation, spoofing, that is attracting increasing levels of government scrutiny and enforcement. 

Our featured expert, Haim Kassa, is is an expert in the areas of investments and portfolio management and he is experienced in the design and testing of trading strategies using historical firm level data from the stock, bond, and option markets.

Recent SEC accounting guidance reclassifying SPAC warrants as liabilities instead of equities has drawn new attention to SPACs. In light of these developments, we discuss SPACs and SPAC warrants.

Vega is experienced in analyzing rating methodologies and various other issues surrounding complex securities through the lens of the rating agencies. This brochure highlights our experience and how we can assist on cases involving any rating issues as this litigation continues to develop.

Vega has worked with numerous major financial institutions and analyzed issues related to all aspects of complex financial products. We will be your best ally in navigating the LIBOR transition given our deep institutional knowledge and advanced technology solutions.

Vega's research team discusses the widely anticipated ESG-related litigation claims and highlight our featured experts who can strengthen our clients position in these matters. 

Part 2 of Vega's 3-part series on student loans presents a survey of methods for modelling student loan default. 

In securities stock drop litigations, Vega provides comprehensive expert support on class certification, liability, and damages issues. In early phases of these cases we assist our clients to assess the merits of the cases.

Vega expands on our November publication Looking Forward: the CMBS Litigation Landscape, and discusses the trends in CMBS, the key players in the market, and potential claims that may arise in litigation.

Vega expert Professor Dan Taylor's new research article "Gaming the System: Three 'Red Flags' of Potential 10b5-1 Abuse" was featured in Cooley's special counsel Cydney Posner's discussion "Are 10b5-1 Plans Subject to Insider Trading Abuse?" on Cooley PubCo.

Part 1 of Vega's 3-part series on student loans discusses current trends in private student loans, including key statistics on originators, performance, and SLABs.

The Vega team has analyzed the available deal documents for the market's first MBS backed by SOFR-indexed loans and identified the relevant risk disclosures and replacement terms.

Vega anticipates that many cases will be filed regarding CMBS trusts following the COVID-19 economic shutdown. Our team of economists present information regarding possible expert analyses relevant to this space and select experts that can assist in these matters.

Vega economists discuss long-term trends in the U.S. corporate bond market since the financial crisis and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vega expert Dr. Andra Ghent recently shared her thoughts on the outlook for retail real estate via her latest article “How will Covid-19 Affect Commercial Real Estate,” published on Kenan Insight. 

The Vega team has significant experience supporting experts in cases related to securities fraud. This brochure gives an overview of Vega's securities fraud practice and related engagements. 

Using recent U.S. public data, Vega analyzed how the announcement of a plea agreement has historically affected a company’s stock returns. We performed an empirical analysis of the impact of announcements of plea agreements on stock market returns using an “event study” approach. 

We interview Professor Jeffrey Wurgler, the Nomura Professor of Finance at New York University Stern School of Business to gain his insights on the current issues related to stock price. Professor Wurgler is an expert on corporate finance, capital markets, asset pricing, and behavioral finance. His research includes topics such as stock performance and the impact of investor sentiment.