Boston Area Senior Executives Meeting Summary
On November 4, 2004, Thomas Sorbo, COO of Standish Mellon Asset Management and John Gidman, Executive Vice President of Loomis Sayles conducted a luncheon meeting of Senior Executives from ten major Boston-based asset management firms. During this meeting at Boston's Langham Hotel, the Group discussed the industry benefits of creating a standard SAS 70 template. Also, Bruce Marcus of Deloitte and Touche spoke about SAS 70 from an auditor perspective and discussed some of the industry challenges in dealing with a Type II vis-à-vis a Type I Audit Report. The Senior Executives Group has created a list of 34 items that could possibly be included in a standard SAS 70. Based on the review and comments of the participants at the meeting, the list will be refined and recirculated to the Group at large for further review.
John Vogt, EVP and Head of The Bond Market Association's Washington Office offered insights regarding President Bush's reelection and discussed the significance of the Republican Party's gain of four seats in the Senate. Congressional items likely to be addressed over the next four years include: terrorism insurance, Sarbanes-Oxley follow-up, Social Security Reform and Tax Reform. It is also likely that Congress will defer to the SEC's authority on mutual fund and hedge fund issues.
Staff member Joseph Sack reported on two regulatory developments that are being monitored by the staff, namely, the Commission's decision to require hedge fund advisers to register under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 in February 2006 and the SEC's proposed rule which would reform the securities offering process (see article below for more details). Mr. Sack also spoke about the AMF Swaps Best Practices Initiative and its goal to identify possible opportunities to make processing swaps more efficient.
The next Senior Executives Meeting, as suggested by the members, will likely be held in the latter part of January at the Association's Washington D.C. Office. Senior Executives from the Boston area, New York, the West Coast and other areas are invited to attend this meeting. The purpose of the January meeting would be to continue discussions of current initiatives and to meet directly with regulatory officials and Members of Congress.
Thomas Hirschfeld, COO of J. & W. Seligman is Chairman of the Senior Executives Group. Questions regarding the work and mission of the Senior Executives Group may be directed to Joseph Sack, Executive Director of the Group.
SEC Proposes Rule on Securities Offering Reform
In a move to enhance the securities registration, communications and offering process, the Commission put forth a rule proposal, nearly 400 pages in length, which is designed to offer investors more timely access to investment information by eliminating outdated restrictions on securities offerings. Among several proposed changes, the rule could improve registration procedures and change prospectus delivery requirements. If enacted, this proposal could affect both issuers and asset managers. The AMF Senior Executives Group currently intends to submit a comment letter to the SEC in regard to this matter.
Click here to read the Press Release on the Securities Offering Reform and Hedge Fund Regulation
Click here to read the SEC Proposed Rule: Securities Offering Reform