President Bush Signs Pension Reform Act

The Asset Managers Division is pleased to report that President George Bush signed the Pension Reform Act which modernizes the Employee Retirement Security Income Act (ERISA). Of particular note, the new pension legislation includes a prohibited transaction exemption for cross-trading between separate pension accounts held with the same money manager and boosts the level of ERISA assets that can be invested in investment vehicles such as hedge funds. Association staff, in conjunction with AMD leadership and its members, worked closely with Congress on this part of the legislation.


Additional information on the Pension Reform Act is available through the Washington Weekly. For questions, please contact Jill Hershey of the staff of The Bond Market Association.


TBMA Meets with Treasury Department on BCP

Several members of the staff of The Bond Market Association met this week with representatives from the U.S. Treasury Department on business continuity. At this meeting, the Association provided an update to the Treasury on the Emergency Committee's procedures, the development of an emergency broadcast website, BCP Testing and industry preparations for avian flu. The Treasury Department was encouraged by the activities of TBMA and other industry associations and will continue the partnership on securities industry BCP matters.


The Asset Managers Division is pleased to announce several important upcoming events that are hosted by The Asset Managers Forum and The Bond Market Association.


September 25, 2006

Introduction to Fixed Income Training Class

The Asset Managers Forum and GFMI (Global Financial Markets Institute) have joined forces to offer securities industry professionals a series of Training Classes, beginning on September 25th with Fixed Income Level 1. This class is being offered to the membership of The Asset Managers Forum and The Bond Market Association.


By the end of the class, the class participants will be able to:


For more information, please contact Diane Trupia of the staff at 646.637.9270.


Click here to view the course agenda and to register.


October 4, 2006

Corporate Actions Lunch & Learn

At this Lunch and Learn, The Asset Managers Forum Corporate Actions Committee shares proposed best practices for processing corporate actions. These best practices aim to reduce the risks associated with corporate actions processing by recommending industry-wide best practices that asset managers and custodians and other industry participants may implement in their organizations. Speakers include: Tina Davis of Mellon Financial, Lorraine Morrison of DTCC and James Ryan of State Street.


For more information please contact Elisa Nuottajarvi of the staff at 646.637.9266.


October 12, 2006

Workshop on Fails

Save the Date for this Workshop on fails. The Workshop will address how fails occur in the market, how asset managers can take steps to prevent fails and a discussion on how fails can be efficiently resolved. More information on this Workshop is forthcoming.


For more information please contact Diane Trupia of the staff at 646.637.9270.


October 13, 2006

AMF Quarterly Meeting

Save the Date for the Quarterly Business Meeting of The Asset Managers Forum. At this meeting members of the AMD and AMF will have the opportunity to discuss current initiatives including, STP, Corporate Actions and Swaps. At the meeting, there will be an update on the activities of the Asset Managers Division and on The Bond Market Association's merger with the Securities Industry Association.


For more information please contact Diane Trupia of the staff at 646.637.9270.


October 14, 2006

Industry-wide BCP Test

On Saturday, October 14, 2006, The Bond Market Association will conduct a business continuity test within the fixed-income markets which is designed to test connectivity between and among back-up facilities. This test will verify that firms, markets, utilities, ATSs, electronic brokers and clearing banks are able to operate and communicate through an emergency using back-up sites, recovery facilities and back-up communications. The Securities Industry Association, the Futures Industry Association, the Financial Information Forum, DTCC, SIAC and other organizations have coordinated their efforts on this industry-wide test with The Bond Market Association. The October 14 test will include components for equities, fixed-income, options, futures and settlement. In order for this test to be "industry-wide," both sell side and buy side participation is critical.


Click here to read how your firm can participate in the BCP Test. For questions, please contact Rob Toomey, Elisa Nuottajarvi and Douglas Taggart at 646.637.9200.


November 2-4, 2006

Fixed-Income Securities Operations Conference

All fixed-income operations professionals from both the buy side and sell side are invited to participate in the 14th Annual Fixed-Income Securities Operations Conference in Miami, Florida. This conference is an opportunity for operations professionals to hear about new practices and initiatives affecting the processing, clearance and settlement of all fixed-income securities. Topics will include:



For more information please contact Brian MacWilliams of the staff at 646.637.9227.

Click here to view the agenda and register for the Fixed Income Securities Operations Conference.