• Introduction
• Conference
• Post-Conference
• Register
• Exhibitors
• Print PDF

 

7:30 - 8:45 a.m.	Registration and Exhibit Hall Open
9:00 - 9:30 a.m.	Keynote Address
9:30 – 10:30 a.m.	Surviving an E-World: Compliance Suggestions for E-mail Retention, Reg. S-P and Your Books & Records
10:30 – 11 a.m.	Break in Exhibit Hall
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.	Compliance Program Testing: Conflicts Identification, Risk Assessment and Reporting Techniques
12 – 1:15 p.m.	Lunch
1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.	SEC Examinations: Change is Coming on a Number of Fronts
2:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.	Performance Advertising and Marketing: Striking the Proper Balance
3:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.	Break in the Exhibit Hall
3:30 – 4:30 p.m.	Compliance “Hot Topics”: A Critical Look at What’s Coming Down the Pike
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.	Codes of Ethics and the SEC’s Focus on Insider and Personal Trading
5:30 p.m.	Cocktail Reception

 

7:30 – 8:45 a.m.
Registration and Exhibit Hall Open
Continental breakfast served in the exhibit hall.

 

9:00 a.m.– 9:30 a.m.
Keynote Address
What happens in New York ripples throughout the nation. Mark Schonfeld, the SEC’s N.Y. Regional Office Director addresses changes in the agency’s deficiency letters and the SEC’s focus on new advisers. He will share advice on how best to prepare for an exam, and what CCOs can do to work well with the agency’s regional offices.

 

Speaker:

Mark Schonfeld, Regional Director, N.Y. Regional Office

9:30 – 10:30 a.m.
Surviving an E-World:
Compliance Suggestions for E-mail Retention, Reg. S-P and Your Books & Records
E-communications evolve so quickly it’s tough for a busy CCO to stay up on all of the changes – and the compliance risks. This session examines the hazards inherent in instant messaging, e-mail storage and other key books and records issues and hands you strategies to protect your firm in light of regulators increasing reliance on e-mails to support enforcement actions.

 

“We hope to recommend to the Commission this year amendments to the books and records rules,” IM Director Andrew Donohue has said. Find out the latest on the SEC’s efforts to reform its books and records rules by year’s end, and what these changes mean to you. You’ll also hear about:

• the plausibility of conducting a forensic test of your e-mail system;
• strategies to create clear recordkeeping and retention policies;
• how to periodically search the Web for contributions your employees have made to blogs, wikis or social networking sites;
• under what conditions advisers can use a third party to create or store records;
• whether the future will result in more uniform recordkeeping standards across financial services firms;
• Reg. S-P and controls you can put into place to ward off hackers and unauthorized persons;
• and much more.

Bonus You will receive samples of e-mail retention policies, tips on how to navigate the myriad vendors, and sample e-mail monitoring key words.

 

Speakers:
Jennifer Sawin, Senior Special Counsel, Division of Investment Management, SEC (invited)
Tracy Soehle, Director and Regulatory Counsel, Affiliated Managers Group
Ann Oglanian, President and CEO, ReGroup, LLC
Adam Reback, Chief Compliance Officer, J. Goldman & Co.

 

10:30 – 11 a.m.
Break in Exhibit Hall

 

11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Compliance Program Testing:
Conflicts Identification, Risk Assessment and Reporting Techniques

The SEC has confirmed its heightened interest in whether an adviser has conducted a risk assessment, identified its own conflicts of interest, and crafted policies to mitigate the risks. Examiners are looking for strong evidence that all review procedures are actually implemented, and that an “effective” annual review has been performed. Firms’ have been encouraged to explain in writing the results of their two most recent annual reviews and keep work papers, documentation from the review, and any resulting corrective actions taken.

 

With nearly half of IAs examined receiving deficiency letters detailing needed improvements to their annual review, it is ever critical to secure needed guidance and avoid becoming a statistic. During this panel you will hear about:

• Options for transactional and forensic testing and trends analyses to bolster your review;
• The top five areas you must include in your reviews;
• What the SEC is looking for when it comes to your annual review;
  
• Documentation best practices and when to escalate issues to the SEC;
• Ways to evaluate the costs and benefits of your brokerage arrangements;
• Best practices to help you achieve your annual review in the most efficient and practical manner—and wow examiners;
• How to use the trade blotter as a treasure trove of information.

Bonus Take home “real-world” examples of transactional and forensic tests that you can put to use once you return to the office.

 

Speakers:
Gene Gohlke, Associate Director, Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, SEC
Jack Murphy, Partner, Dechert LLP
Aaron DeAngelis, Chief Compliance Officer, Spring Mountain Capital, LP
David Lui, Chief Compliance Officer, FAF Advisors/First American Funds

 

12 – 1:15 p.m.
Lunch

1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.

SEC Examinations: Change is Coming on a Number of Fronts

Change historically has been a constant when it comes to the SEC’s examination program and this year will be no different. A new document request letter template being employed by the SEC’s regional offices, the trial run of a new deficiency letter listing issues from most severe to least severe, and the targeting of newly-registered advisers for “limited-scope” inspections are just some of the changes on the near-term horizon.

During this panel you will hear about the current priorities of the SEC’s inspection program for advisers and the key focus areas for compliance officers preparing for an exam. Our experienced panelists will address:

• The 10 key hallmarks of exam preparation;
• Current deficiency letter trends;
• The status of an OCIE pilot for dual registrants looking at the possible creation of a common exam module;
• Real-world experiences from your compliance peers;
• How the SEC flags firms that are involved in activities that may present increased compliance risk;
• How the Commission applies “random sampling” to its exam process;
• The SEC’s risk-assessment process and how it guides examiners as to which firms to examine, what areas to focus on, and what issues to look at;
• Where examiners have uncovered serious breaches and brought enforcement actions.

Bonus Take away the most recent SEC document request letters from your region.

 

Speakers:
John Walsh, Chief Counsel, Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, SEC
Harry Weiss, Partner, WilmerHale
Robert Tull, Vice President, Compliance Officer, ING Clarion Real Estate Securities, LP

 

2:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Performance Advertising and Marketing: Striking the Proper Balance
Marketers often wish to push the creative line, while regulators scrutinize ads to make sure investors aren’t misled. And you’re in the middle. Come hear strategies to strike the right balance so your firm’s ads and marketing efforts comply with the rules.

 

Our knowledgeable panel walks you safely through all the land mines, from questionable Web site boasts to misleading disclosures of past performance. Gain an understanding of how to tie your firm’s marketing campaigns to your Form ADV – and be more confident with your public releases. Plus you discover:

• How to substantiate your claims about past investment performance;
• Why a review process can root out risky language long before it goes out;
• What are the Commission’s top enforcement priorities when it comes to ads that stretch allowed limits;
• Whether information in pitchbooks, RFPs and other materials provided to clients are accurate;
• Your role in ensuring testimonials, Web sites and other emerging forms of marketing stay compliant;
• What to avoid in claims about past performance, your Form ADV and GIPS compliance.

Speakers:

Mari-Anne Pisarri, Partner, Pickard & Djinis
Steven Felsenthal, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Milburn Ridgefield Corp.
Amy Lynch, President, FrontLine Compliance, LLC

Thomas Biolsi, Associate Regional Director (N.Y.), SEC (invited)

 

3:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Break in the Exhibit Hall

 

3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Compliance “Hot Topics”: A Critical Look at What’s Coming Down the Pike

The SEC’s Division of Investment Management has a number of regulatory developments in the pipeline that will surely impact the 11,000 investment advisers, representing $30 trillion in assets under management, under its domain. Whether its the options delivered to the Commission in May in light of the RAND study examining the convergence of the brokerage and investment advisory industries, new Form ADV Part 2 or books and records reform, among other items, compliance officers will need to keep apprised of developments.

 

This panel affords you a unique opportunity to hear directly from the current director of the Division of Investment Management, a former director of the Division, and a former SEC commissioner on these items and others, including:

• Soft dollars guidance for fund boards;
• 12b-1 fee reform;
• whether uniformity across different financial providers can be expected with books and records reform;
• Valuation guidance;
• Disclosure reform; and
• Regulation S-P.

Bonus Pose your key questions directly to our panel of experts on the future of rulemaking and guidance impacting advisers.

 

Speakers:
David Blass, Assistant Director, Division of Investment Management, SEC
Marianne Smythe, Special Counsel, WilmerHale
Roel Campos, Partner In Charge, Cooley Godward

4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Codes of Ethics and the SEC’s Focus on Insider and Personal Trading
It’s been said as your code of ethics go, so goes your compliance program. Know how to use your code of ethics to clamp down on the hottest SEC enforcement area: insider trading. Let the words of the SEC’s OCIE enforcement director Lori Richards echo in your ears: “Review of controls to prevent insider trading” is the SEC’s #1 priority. Penalties and disgorgements last year from insider trading cases topped $150 million!

 

Our expert panel gives you a proven approach to tackling this important and difficult area. You get…

• Techniques to make employees aware of the consequences of insider trading;
• Insights into how the SEC determines whether a firm has crafted and implemented adequate procedures to maintain the confidentiality of non-public information;
• Common red flags that could signal a problem with personal trading;
• Suggestions for tests that can uncover whether you have insider trading at your firm;
• A rundown of questions examiners are likely to ask him (hint: track your firm’s 10 most profitable investment decisions in the last year); and
• More ways examiners are likely to probe to understand your firm’s compliance and supervisory programs with respect to insider trading.

Bonus Go home with a valuable outline that plots the “best practices” for your firm’s Code of Ethics.

 

Speakers:
Dan Kahl, Branch Chief, Division of Investment Management, SEC
Michael Wolensky, Partner, Schiff Hardin LLP
Michelle Kennedy, Vice President and Director of Compliance Platform Services, WealthTrust LLC
Jason Rein, Global Head of Core Compliance, Deutsche Asset Management

 

5:30 p.m.

Cocktail Reception (sponsored by MyComplianceOffice)

 

Register Now!

 

 

Back to Top | View Post-Conference Agenda