AMD Hosts Industry-wide Call with the Major Dealers, MFA, ISDA
On July 26, 2006, the Asset Managers Division hosted a conference call together with the Group of 14 Major Dealers, Managed Funds Association and ISDA to update buyside and sellside members on recent advancements in the CDS market. There were over 300 participants on the call.
On the conference call, the Major Dealers provided a very detailed status report of the confirmation project including the actual percentages of cleared confirmations, which averaged greater than 80% for the aggregate 14 dealers from a low of 77% to a high of 92%.
Speakers on the call also addressed the development of a central trade warehouse, which will be a keystone for all post-trade processing. The Major Dealers are committed to testing the warehouse in September and anticipate live, dealer to dealer participation for all trades, thereafter. In addition, it was reported that the novation process has significantly improved, but it remains important to automate the process.
Click here to listen to an audio replay of the 7/26 Conference Call
AMD Supports Pension Reform: Pension Protection Act Approved
The Asset Managers Division has long been a supporter of pension reform. AMD members have worked closely with the staff of the Association to advocate amending the prohibited transaction rules under ERISA to permit active cross-trading between separate private pension plan accounts held with the same asset manager.
On Thursday, August 3, the Senate approved the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 4), which includes a cross trading provision for private pension plans. It is expected that President Bush will sign the Act, which would permit active cross-trading between separate pension plan accounts with at least $100M in assets in accounts that are held by the same asset manager. The bill also requires asset managers to develop and comply with certain policies and procedures in order to engage in cross trading.
Additional information is provided within The Bond Market Association's Washington Weekly. For questions, please contact Jill Hershey of The Bond Market Association.
SIA/BMA Merger Approved by Members, SIFMA Transition Begins: Joint Statement
The Securities Industry Association and The Bond Market Association announced that their respective member firms have voted to merge the two organizations to create the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, or SIFMA. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of forming the new organization, which will be a single, powerful voice on legislative, regulatory and market practice issues. The member vote followed approval by the Associations' boards in June. We expect the merger to be completed mid-fourth quarter.
SIFMA will be comprised of three business groups, the Capital Markets Group, the Private Client Group and the Asset Management Group.
A transitional executive committee co-chaired by Edward C. Forst of Goldman Sachs and James Gorman of Morgan Stanley (current Chairs of BMA and SIA respectively) will serve as the initial governing body for SIFMA through the end of 2006. This committee will nominate a board of directors, the members of which will be announced at SIFMA's kick-off meeting in Boca Raton, Florida, November 8 through 10. The new board of directors will have specific representation from large global firms, middle market and smaller U.S. companies, non-U.S. firms and asset managers to ensure the Association fully represents all of its members. In addition to the board of directors, there will be a U.S. Regional Board, European Board and Asian Board designed to address specific constituents' objectives.
During this transitional period and while a search for a permanent CEO is completed, BMA President and CEO Micah Green and SIA President Marc Lackritz will serve as the co-CEOs of SIFMA.