Commodities Consultants: 6

MCS Associates is a nationally recognized consulting group that has provided financial, operations and regulatory/compliance consulting services nationwide to financial institutions, insurance companies and regulatory agencies as well as real estate and financial services organizations for over 40 years. Expert Witness and Litigation Consulting are a primary focus of our services. We undertake expert witness assignments throughout the United States and our clients include several hundred leading law firms around the country, working on behalf of both plaintiff and defendant financial institutions, borrowers, depositors, investors, developers, insurance companies and their insured, securities/insurance/real estate brokers/agents, regulators and government agencies, and individuals. 

Together with MCS Associates’ specialized resources in banking, financial services and real estate, we also draw on key strategic alliances in insurance, economics, academia and the securities industry to meet a wide range of expert witness needs. Our litigation experts include experienced bankers, lenders, consultants, regulators, managers, brokers & agents in insurance, real estate, and securities; insurance claims and underwriting managers; economists, accountants, appraisers, real estate analysts, and academics. 

Areas of Expertise Include:

• Banking Operations/Administration
• Check Fraud
• Lending Policies, Custom and Practice
• Loan Underwriting & Credit Administration
• Loan Securitizations & Servicing
• Bankruptcy, Foreclosures and Workouts
• Trust & Fiduciary Issues / Operations
• Securities Brokerage & Investments
• Valuations & Damages Analysis
• Forensic Accounting
• Employment / Compensation
• Real Estate Brokerage & Management
• Title Insurance & Escrow
• Real Estate Appraisal & Transactions
• Insurance Industry Custom & Practice
• Insurance Coverages / Claims Handling
• Insurance Bad Faith

Centennial Advisory Group is a boutique consulting firm specializing in Investment Management and Financial Services. They are a member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches and hold the Certified Professional Resume Writer designation. Their goal is to enhance the career success and earnings potential of investment industry executives.

Services:

Frank Carr is a Certified Professional Resume Writer, a former Hedge Fund Chief Financial Officer, a Corporate Banker, and a 20-year executive search veteran for the Financial Services and Investment Management industries. Mr. Carr has advised thousands of junior, mid-level and senior executives on how to position and maximize their careers within the financial world. With over 4,800 investment industry connections on Linked In, his reach throughout the financial services world is extensive. He has written articles for and has been frequently quoted by publications such as Bloomberg News, CNN Money, Fund Fire, Ignites, Absolute Return, Hedge Fund Alert, and Hedge Fund Manager Week. Prior to forming Centennial, Mr. Carr had been a Managing Director in the Global Asset Management practice at A.T. Kearney Executive Search, a top 10 U.S. search firm. He began his search career at LAI Ward Howell which was later acquired by TMP Worldwide (owners of Monster.com). 

Prior to entering executive search, Mr. Carr was Chief Financial Officer of a Connecticut-based equity long-short hedge fund. He managed investor relations, accounting, and compliance, including registration with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Frank had spent eight years in commercial bank lending, initially with Citibank in their Wall Street Commodities division and later was a banker to the feature film and TV industries.

View Frank Carr's Expert Witness Profile.

Braden M. Perry is a nationally recognized White-Collar Defense Attorney and complex litigator with a reputation for navigating clients through their most challenging legal crises. A former senior trial attorney with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Mr. Perry led major investigations and prosecutions involving market manipulation, financial fraud, and regulatory violations. His government experience gives him unique insight into enforcement strategy and prosecutorial decision-making, which he leverages to defend clients facing federal and state investigations, enforcement actions, and criminal charges.

Practice Areas:

• White-Collar Defense & Government Investigations
• Regulatory Compliance & Enforcement
• Anti-Money Laundering & BSA/AML
• Securities, Commodities & Financial Markets
• Internal Investigations & Corporate Compliance Programs

As Co-Founder and Partner at Kennyhertz Perry, Mr. Perry represents individuals and companies in internal investigations, regulatory inquiries, and high-stakes litigation. He handles matters involving securities fraud, commodities and derivatives enforcement, anti-money laundering, FCPA violations, antitrust, and emerging areas such as cryptocurrency and digital asset enforcement. He has first-chaired trials in federal and state courts, defending clients against complex criminal and civil allegations with strategic precision and a deep understanding of agency priorities.

Mr. Perry serves on the Criminal Justice Act panels for the Southern District of Georgia, the District of Kansas, and the Western District of Missouri, representing indigent defendants in federal criminal cases, and has been recognized by Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America for his excellence in white-collar defense. Prior to founding Kennyhertz Perry, he was Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Vice President at a global financial services firm, overseeing broker-dealer, RIA, and alternative investment compliance.

View Braden M. Perry's Expert Witness Profile.

James W. Lovely, BBA, MBA, JD, is an experienced provider of consulting advice, case analysis and expert witness testimony. He has more than 30 years of business and legal experience in the financial markets with particular expertise in:

• Complex financial products, including swaps, swaptions, options, futures, repurchase agreements, foreign exchange, commodities, prime brokerage arrangements, securitizations, structured notes and municipal bonds;
• Secured commercial lending and hedging arrangements often (but not exclusively) involving those complex financial products; and
• U.S. commercial, commodities, securities and banking law and regulations governing those financial products; and
• LIBOR transition to SOFR, Ameribor and other reference rates.

Mr. Lovely is a very capable writer and public speaker and currently maintains his own consultancy in the above-described areas of expertise. He assists his consulting clients and their legal counsel with: (i) structuring and documenting transactions involving financial products; (ii) evaluating and complying with, and educating personnel concerning, applicable law and regulation; and (iii) tailoring client business practices, compliance programs, and operating procedures to facilitate adherence to both law and corporate policy. He is adept at simplifying or clarifying complex financial products, disputes, and compliance obligations and translating between a client’s legal team and its executive/financial officers while delivering insightful analysis and sound practical guidance. He is intimately familiar with ISDA, NAESB, EEI, ICOM, IFEMA and SIFMA financial product documentation, forms and protocols. 

Consulting Engagements:

• Mr. Lovely has consulted with regional and community banks that provide derivative and/or foreign exchange products to customers and hedge residual risks with the major money-center banks. In this capacity, he has been involved with the evaluation, structuring, documentation, collateralization and occasional modification or novation of a wide range of financial products, typically in the context of a larger commercial lending relationship.
• Mr. Lovely has provided consulting services to family offices, hedge funds and CFTC licensed commodity pool operators in connection with a wide range of financial products and prime brokerage arrangements and concerning both SEC and CFTC compliance programs and obligations arising from that activity.

View James Lovely's Expert Witness Profile.

Scopus Financial Group is a FINRA Regulatory Policy and Legal Compliance company, helping broker-dealers fulfill their regulatory responsibilities while meeting their customers’ needs. With Scopus, broker-dealers navigate regulatory waters with confidence.

Scopus is an invaluable resource to the compliance-conscious broker-dealer. They deliver research that is customized to their client’s business,and stand ready to answer client questions and scope out information that is relevant to the broker-dealers they serve.

Business Consultant Services:

Regulation Best Interest / State Fiduciary Rules - Scopus not only helps clients with Reg BI and Form CRS.but also helps clients evaluate proposed state rules, develop alternative rule language, and prepare informed testimony to state legislatures and securities commissions on the possible effects of proposed rules on legitimate business.

Sales Practice Services - Scopus helps broker-dealers navigate the FINRA and SEC sales practice rules, guiding clients according to their particular products and services; conduct internal investigations for possible noncompliance, help clients review supervisory policies and procedures, apply sales practice rules to new products and services, develop compliance strategies, and resolve particular sales practice issues.

Analysis of Regulatory Technology Software - Scopus helps our clients assess regtech software by analyzing how it would apply to the client's business model, whether it would achieve the advertised purpose, and how well the vendor will perform necessary services.

Training - Scopus assists clients in the development of training programs, developing training content that is tailored to the audience, focused on the important points, and delivered most effectively.

Due Diligence - Scopus helps clients perform due diligence on proposed acquisitions or mergers, with particular emphasis on a firm's compliance history, risk management, and commitment to regulatory oversight.

View Thomas M. Selman's Expert Witness Profile.

David Tilkin is a Litigation Support and Consulting Specialist with over 20 years of experience in the Securities Industry and over ten years of experience in the Compliance Software Industry. Mr. Tilkin was the founder and CEO of Protegent, the first company to deliver automated exception reporting, auditing and sales practice review technology to the financial services industry. Protegent was sold to SunGard, Inc.

Currently the President and CEO of the Tilkin Group, Mr. Tilkin offers consulting and strategic leadership to lawyers, regulators, and companies seeking support in litigation, software procurement, and strategic planning. He maintains a Series 65 license and has previously maintained a Series 63, 7, 8, 4 and insurance licenses. He has extensive training in the securities industry as a broker, manager and regional director.

Mr. Tilkin has leveraged his intensive background in all aspects of broker-dealer operations to provide insightful, resourceful, and practical support. He has published numerous articles on the issues of suitability, supervision and financial services software and was recently asked to speak on the issue of financial services supervision at the Securities Law Clinic at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Consulting Services Include:

View David Tilkin's Expert Witness Profile.