Putting the SEC in the hot seat

Feeling confused about some element of the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) custody rule? And really, who isn't? Or what about the regulator's approach to supervising exempt reporting advisors – what do GPs need to know here?

Difficult questions, but what if there was a way they could be answered by the people responsible for interpreting them. 

The SEC does its best to offer rule guidance – it's in their own interest that everyone has a clear sense of duty – but private fund regulation is a complex business, inevitably leading to ambiguities within the regulatory framework. Happily, two of the SEC's top inspectors, Igor Rozenblit and Jennifer Duggins, the two co-captains of the SEC's specialist private funds unit, are willing to help clear the air. 

The two inspectors graciously accepted our invitation to attend this year's PEI CFOs and CFOs Forum, taking place January 27th and 28th at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, which will include an onstage interview involving the pair and pfm reporter Katie Bucaccio. But before that, we're inviting you, our readers, to email in any questions you'd like for us to relay on your behalf. In other words, we're giving compliance-minded professionals the opportunity to contemplate and submit hard-hitting questions for the SEC in advance of the forum. And the best part is; all questions will be posed on an anonymous basis, which should eliminate any worries that the “wrong type” of question could land you in trouble. 

Interested? Here's what to do: send your questions to Katie Bucaccio at katherine.b@peimedia.com  by close of business on Friday, January 22, 2016. We'll select a few of your toughest questions and pose them to Rozenblit and Duggins onstage. Need it be said, please keep all questions professional. Private life or off-topic (non-SEC or non-financial markets) questions will not be considered.

Moreover, questions too specific to any one firm's characteristics, profile and operations are not useful for a forum like this. In other words, asking the SEC if enough disclosure is achieved by including additional language on the firm's private jet use in updated Form ADV materials is far too circumstantial to be meaningfully answered. 

Also, there are still delegate places available to attend the session and the wider conference, so if you do not have your ticket yet, you can obtain one by clicking through to the PEI CFOs/COOs Forum conference page here .