EVENT POSTPONED: SEC to Hold National Compliance Outreach Seminar for Investment Companies and Investment Advisers

Given concerns about coronavirus and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to postpone the National Compliance Outreach Program Seminar in Washington, D.C. scheduled to take place on April 21, 2020. If appropriate, we will take steps to reschedule this event at a time later this year.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the opening of registration for its compliance outreach program’s national seminar for investment companies and investment advisers.  The event is intended to help Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) and other senior personnel at investment companies and investment advisory firms enhance their compliance programs for the protection of investors.

The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), Division of Investment Management (IM), and the Asset Management Unit (AMU) of the Division of Enforcement jointly sponsor the compliance outreach program.  The national seminar will be held on April 21 at the SEC’s Washington, DC, headquarters from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET.  In-person attendance is limited to 500; a live webcast will be available at SEC.gov. 

Speakers will include SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, senior leadership from OCIE, IM, and AMU, and industry representatives.  Topics will include: program priorities in 2020, investment adviser standard of conduct and related disclosures, issues regarding conflicts of interest, certain regulatory hot topics, and topics specific to investment companies and investment advisers to private funds.

“This year marks the 15th anniversary for the compliance outreach program, and this event will be the tenth national seminar for investment advisers and investment companies,” said OCIE Director Pete Driscoll. “The program has proven to be a powerful tool in providing critical information to the compliance community, particularly areas we view as higher risk and of importance to our mission of protecting investors.  The open exchange of ideas and discussion of compliance challenges between our staff and market participants during these seminars is crucial to the program’s success, and we look forward to discussing ways we can further share information to promote improved compliance in the industry.”

“This event provides us with an opportunity to engage directly with the professionals responsible for overseeing the implementation of our investor protections.   We are particularly looking forward to continuing our outreach efforts with smaller asset managers and their compliance professionals as we seek to gain a better understanding of specific issues they face in complying with our regulations,” said Division of Investment Management Director Dalia Blass. 

Investment adviser and investment company senior officers may register online to attend the event in-person here. If registrations exceed capacity, investment company and investment adviser CCOs will be given priority on a first-registered basis.  Registration instructions also will be sent to SEC-registered advisers using the email account on the adviser’s most recent Form ADV filing.  The event will also be made available via live and archived audio webcast, which does not require registration.  For more information, contact:  ComplianceOutreach@sec.gov.