2021 MFIMC
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2021 Virtual Mutual Funds and Investment Management Conference Program

March 15 // March 17 // March 19

Program

Monday, March 15  |  Wednesday, March 17  |  Friday, March 19

All program times are show in eastern time (ET).

Monday, March 15

11:00–11:50 a.m.

Concurrent Sponsored Thought Leadership Sessions

  • Citi
    The Case for Prioritizing Operations During a Merger

  • DFIN
    How the Proposed Tailored Shareholder Report Modernizes Fund Shareholder Reports and Disclosures

  • Grant Thornton
    Improving Your Business Performance and Competitive Advantage with Strong Internal Controls

  • Stradley Ronon
    Join our industry panelists to hear practical tips for prioritizing and implementing new rules and initiatives in 2021.
     

Noon–12:15 p.m.

Welcoming Remarks

MICHELLE ROSENBERG
Global General Counsel and Company Secretary
Janus Henderson Investors
 

12:15–12:30 p.m.

Keynote Address

ERIC J. PAN
President and CEO
Investment Company Institute
 

12:30 p.m.–12:50 p.m.

Coffee Break Sponsored by Goodwin

ESG Outlook Under the Biden Administration and at the SEC
 

12:50–1:50 p.m.

Developments in Investment Management: Keeping Up with the Regulators

This panel of senior industry and SEC experts will discuss key regulatory developments in the investment management industry over the past year, as well as emerging areas of regulatory focus.

SUSAN M. OLSON, Moderator
General Counsel
Investment Company Institute

BRUCE G. LETO
Partner
Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP

NASEEM NIXON
Counsel
Capital Research and Management Company

SARAH G. TEN SIETHOFF
Acting Division Director and Associate Director, Rulemaking Office
Division of Investment Management
US Securities and Exchange Commission
 

1:50–2:10 p.m.

Coffee Break Sponsored by ACA Group

Operational Efficiency and Cost Management in Compliance Departments
 

2:10–3:00 p.m.

Changes in Administrations: What Does It Mean for Examinations and Enforcement?

This panel will discuss the work of the Divisions of Examinations and Enforcement since last year’s conference. It will also discuss how the new administrations—in both the White House and at the SEC—might affect their priorities and focus over the coming year.

KATHERINE M. PRIMAS, Moderator
Chief Compliance Officer
Dodge & Cox

ADAM S. ADERTON
Cochief, Asset Management Unit
Division of Enforcement
Securities and Exchange Commission

AMY R. DOBERMAN
Partner
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

PETER DRISCOLL
Director, Division of Examinations
Securities and Exchange Commission
 

3:00–3:30 p.m.

Concurrent Sponsored Thought Leadership Sessions

Wednesday, March 17

11:00–11:50 a.m.

Concurrent Sponsored Thought Leadership Sessions

  • BNY Mellon
    Driving Distribution Success Through Digital Capabilities

  • Thompson Hine
    Disruptors: Smaller Funds and Opportunities to Innovate

  • Willkie Farr & Gallagher
    Key Considerations in Asset Management M&A/Consolidation Transactions

  • Workiva
    Six Steps to a Simpler Prospectus Reporting Process
     

Noon–12:05 p.m.

Welcoming Remarks
 

12:05–12:20 p.m.

Keynote Speaker

ALLISON HERREN LEE
Acting Chair
Securities and Exchange Commission
 

12:20–12:40 p.m.

Break
 

12:40–1:30 p.m.

Asset Management in the Time of COVID-19: The New Normal?
(Session sponsored by Command Financial)

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of the fund business. This timely panel of industry experts will explore what the “new normal” will look like, including compliance and corporate culture in the post-pandemic office, information security issues, and reconsidering regulatory assumptions in a post-pandemic world.

KATE MCKINLEY, Moderator
General Counsel
State Street Global Advisors

STEPHANIE A. CAPISTRON
Partner
Dechert

MICHELLE RHEE
Deputy General Counsel for Wealth and Investment Management
Wells Fargo

MATT WOLFE
Managing Director, Compliance and Legal
GuideStone
 

1:30–1:50 p.m.

Coffee Break Sponsored by Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.
 

1:50–2:40 p.m.

Mutual Fund Civil Litigation: Year in Review

The litigation landscape for the fund industry continues to evolve. This panel will review significant litigation developments and court decisions over the past year and discuss their potential impact on the fund industry.

JULIA ULSTRUP, Moderator
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
ICI Mutual Insurance Company

JOHN FITZGERALD
Deputy General Counsel
Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC

MARK HOLLAND
Partner
Goodwin Procter LLP

AMY D. ROY
Partner
Ropes & Gray LLP
 

2:40–3:00 p.m.

Coffee Break Sponsored by Broadridge

Legal Ease: Get out of Word and Excel Disclosures with Intelligent Content Management
 

3:00–3:50 p.m.

Board Practices and Regulatory Developments Affecting Fund Directors
(Session sponsored by AST)

The oversight role of fund boards remains essential in a dynamic and highly competitive fund industry. This panel of experts will analyze fund board practices and the practical implications of regulatory and business challenges facing fund directors today.

THOMAS T. KIM, Moderator
Managing Director
Independent Directors Council

KATHLEEN T. BARR
Independent Director
William Blair Funds and Professionally Managed Portfolios

JOHN E. BAUMGARDNER JR.
Independent Trustee, Pioneer Funds
Of Counsel, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

NDENISARYA M. BREGASI
Practice Area Leader, Asset Management and Investment Funds
K&L Gates LLP

Friday, March 19

11:00–11:50 a.m.

Concurrent Sponsored Thought Leadership Sessions

  • Dechert
    Current Developments Affecting the Fund Industry: Cybersecurity and Antitrust/HSR

  • EY

  • Morgan Lewis
    2021 SEC Enforcement and Examination Trends and Rule 18f-4: The Fund Derivatives Rule

  • New Session: ACA Group
    Operational Efficiency and Cost Management in Compliance Departments
     

Noon–12:05 p.m.

Welcoming Remarks
 

12:05–1:00 p.m.

Don’t Risk It!: The Case for Ethical Vigilance
(Session sponsored by MUFG Investor Services)

Our speaker, a “recovering lawyer and investment banker,” will share her life-changing story to illustrate the multitude of factors that influence our choices. She will set forth the business discipline necessary for decisionmaking and uncover the mental process of problem-solving that leads to organizational cultures with integrity.

RASHMI AIRAN
 

1:00–1:20 p.m.

Coffee Break Sponsored by Northern Trust
 

1:20–2:20 p.m.

The Power of Diversity
(Session sponsored by Sidley Austin LLP)

This session will demonstrate how businesses and other organizations can improve their performance by tapping the power of differences in how people think. What if workforce diversity is more than simply the right thing to do in order to make society more integrated and just? What if diversity can also improve the performance of companies, the impact of nonprofits, and the bottom line of businesses or any other organization facing complex challenges in the knowledge economy? It can.

SCOTT E. PAGE
JSB Distinguished University Professor
University of Michigan
 

2:20–2:40 p.m.

Coffee Break Sponsored by K&L Gates

Distribution: Embracing Change to Stay Still or Create Competitive Advantage?
 

2:40–3:30 p.m.

A View from Washington: The First 100 Days of the Biden Administration and New Congress
(Session sponsored by NRS)

Join the founders of Punchbowl News, Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman, for this behind-the-scenes look at the American presidency, political divisions, and power battles.

ANNA PALMER
Founder and CEO
Punchbowl News

Coauthor
The Hill to Die On

JAKE SHERMAN
Founder
Punchbowl News

Coauthor
The Hill to Die On
 

3:30 p.m.

Conference Adjourns