Investor Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda

Panel Discussion: Avoiding Retail Confusion Regarding Private Market Assets
 

The IAC continues its focus on the investor protection implications of retail access to private market assets. This panel will discuss the potential for investor confusion arising from redemption gating, fee structures, valuation methodologies, and other unique features of private market and alternative investment products. The panel will examine how risks are disclosed to retail investors in offering and marketing material and how product advertising is reviewed by regulators; it will also explore strategies that both the securities industry and securities regulators could implement to avoid investor confusion and hardship.

Moderated by:

• Amy McGarrity, Chief Investment Officer/Chief Operating Officer, Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association; IAC Executive Committee Member and Secretary
• Andrea Seidt, Ohio Securities Commissioner; IAC Executive Committee Member and Vice Chair

Panelists:

• Stephen Deane, Senior Director for Capital Markets Policy at CFA Institute
• Mark Higgins, Senior Vice President, IFA Institutional
• Kevin T. Gannon, Chairman/CEO, Robert A Stanger & Co Inc.
• Joe Sheirer, Senior Vice President of Corporate Financing & Advertising Regulation, FINRA
• Jason Zweig, Journalist, Wall Street Journal 

Panel Discussion: Passive Index Funds and Shareholder Voting

This panel will focus on the corporate governance and investor protection implications of the growing concentration of voting power in passive investment vehicles. The panel will discuss the potential risks and benefits associated with passive index funds’ exercise of shareholder voting authority, including concerns relating to managerial accountability, fiduciary obligations, shareholder activism, and the influence of large asset managers. The panel will examine proposals such as “pass-through” or “voting choice” mechanisms and “mirror voting” approaches, as well as the practical and regulatory challenges associated with implementing such models. It will also explore strategies that fund managers, market participants, and regulators could adopt to better align voting practices with investor preferences and the governance objectives of passive investment products.

Moderated by:

• James R. Copland, Senior Fellow and Director, Legal Policy, Manhattan Institute; IAC Investor as Owner Subcommittee Vice Chair

Panelists:

• Nathan Atkinson, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Law
• Robert Bishop, Associate Professor of Law, Duke Law School
• Jill Fisch, Saul A. Fox Distinguished Professor of Business Law, Penn Carey Law School
• Andrew M. Freedman, Co-Managing Partner; Chair, Shareholder Activism Practice, Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP
• Lindsey Keljo, Managing Director, Head of Asset Management Group & Associate General Counsel, SIFMA

Discussion of Recommendations Regarding Fund Proxy Voting

The Investor Advisory Committee will consider and vote on recommendations pertaining to modernization of the fund proxy system for open‑end funds and ETFs.

Moderated by:

• Rodney Comegys, Global Head of Equity Investment Group at Vanguard; IAC Investor as Purchaser Subcommittee Vice Chair

Draft Recommendations Regarding Fund Proxy Voting

Discussion of Recommendations Regarding Quarterly vs. Semiannual Reporting

The Investor Advisory Committee will consider and vote on recommendations pertaining to the SEC’s proposed shift to a semiannual reporting mandate and the potential impact on investors.

Moderated by:

• John Gulliver, Executive Director, Committee on Capital Markets Regulations and Program on International Financial Systems; IAC Executive Committee Member and Assistant Secretary

Updated Draft Recommendations Regarding Quarterly vs. Semiannual Reporting