Welcome to today’s Meeting of the Commission’s Asset Management Advisory Committee, or AMAC, the final meeting of the year.[1] Thank you to all of the members for a remarkably productive first year, and to all of the panelists—including those presenting today and those who presented at prior meetings. Thank you also to the Commission staff, including Director Dalia Blass and her team in the Division of Investment Management, for working closely with the AMAC so it can provide the Commission with its perspectives and advice, which you have already done so well. And thank you as always to Chairman Ed Bernard for all of your time and attention in helping to guide the AMAC to a successful inaugural year. You’ve set us on a very good path and set a high standard. This is my last scheduled AMAC meeting as Chairman, and I have greatly enjoyed working with you all and participating in your meetings.

The AMAC was formed to provide the Commission with diverse perspectives on asset management, and you have done that consistently throughout the year, both on the topics you are addressing today and on the other items you have discussed. You’ve shown you are attuned to our needs and to those of investors. You were able to turn quickly to consider this year’s unexpected issues relating to COVID-19 and the resulting market volatility. Your work included several timely panel discussions as well as a special meeting last month at which you provided recommendations related to operational issues affecting firms’ ability to continue their normal business operations, while meeting the substance of their regulatory obligations and the expectations of their investors. I thought you did a great job on these and really took to heart the tangible lessons you learned during the pandemic. On these issues, and many others, I know that the AMAC’s work will continue to provide helpful feedback and input to the Commission in seeking appropriately to modernize our regulatory approach. I think we have all learned that the more quickly we pay attention to the need for regulatory modernization, the more quickly we can fix things when necessary.

Today’s agenda reflects the AMAC’s continued focus on key topics within the asset management industry, including updates from the AMAC’s subcommittees focusing on private investments, ESG investments—or, as I like to say, E * S * and G, separately—and diversity and inclusion within the asset management industry and the financial services sector more generally. I want you to know that this is a matter of importance to the staff and the Commission. I look forward to these panels and presentations and thank you again for your time and efforts.