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Clean Up Rule 144AClean Up Rule 144A

On April 30, 1990, the Securities and Exchange Commission implemented Rule 144A, which it viewed as the first step toward achieving a more liquid and efficient institutional resale market for unregistered securities.1 The rule enabled less-than-investment grade companies to issue, without prior SEC review, both straight and convertible debt as well as preferred stock. All the parties involved in the

Michael E. Lewitt

July 1, 2004

9 Min Read
Wealth Management logo in a gray background | Wealth Management

Michael Lewitt, president, Harch Capital Management, Inc., Boca Raton, Fla.

On April 30, 1990, the Securities and Exchange Commission implemented Rule 144A, which it viewed as “the first step toward achieving a more liquid and efficient institutional resale market for unregistered securities.”1 The rule enabled less-than-investment grade companies to issue, without prior SEC review, both straight and convertible debt as well as preferred stock. All the parties involved in the markets — investors, underwriters, issuers and regulators — viewed Rule 144A as a tremendous step forward for financial markets. It would enable companies to come to market faster, which would allow them to time the market to obtain the best terms; in turn, investors...

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About the Author

Michael E. Lewitt

Mr. Lewitt has spent the last 25 years in the securities industry and the last 20 years in the investment business.  Mr. Lewitt co-founded Harch Capital Management, LLC in 1991, where he was the co-lead portfolio manager (1991-2001) and lead manager (2001-2011) for all of the firm’s client assets including separate accounts, hedge funds (long and short), collateralized debt obligations and mutual funds focused on the less-than-investment grade debt markets for U.S. and non-U.S. institutional clients as well as high net worth individuals, family office and foundations and endowments. Since 2001, Mr. Lewitt has edited and authored The Credit Strategist, a newsletter that covers economics, politics and the financial markets and that is widely read around the world.   Mr. Lewitt is recognized as one of the few investors and strategists who accurately forecasted and successfully managed client assets through both the 2001-2 credit crisis and the 2008 financial crisis.  Mr. Lewitt serves as a regular financial columnist for the Spanish newspaper El Mundo and has written for The New York TimesThe New RepublicTrusts & Estates and other publications.  In May 2010, Mr. Lewitt published The Death of Capital:  How Creative Policy Can Restore Stability (John Wiley & Sons). The Spanish edition of the book, La muerta del capital, was published in June 2011. Mr. Lewitt graduated from Brown University (Magna Cum Laude; Honors in Comparative Literature and History); was a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature at Yale University; and graduated from the New York University Law School (J.D.; LLM in Taxation).