ALI-ABAE Mutual Funds Conference: Investment Company Regulation and Compliance

Morgan Lewis partners Thomas Harman, W. John McGuire, and Christian Mixter are on the faculty of the ALI-ABAE's two-day conference, "Investment Company Regulation and Compliance". The conference provides comprehensive instruction in mutual fund law and compliance—foundational principles, core regulations, and important current developments.

Panel sessions include:

Fund Registration and Disclosure - Harman, McGuire
This panel provides practical guidance on recurring disclosure issues faced by all practitioners. The panelists examine certain transactions occurring frequently in today's economy. Topics include:

• Overview of SEC registration of a mutual fund and its securities
• Updates to the prospectus (485a filings vs. 485b filings, prospectus stickers)
• The new Summary Prospectus
• Fund mergers
• Fund adoptions

Selling the Fund's Shares - Harman, McGuire
Panelists provide practical guidance on legal issues raised by various distribution channels and distribution partners. They also discuss recent trends in distribution practices. Topics include:

• Multiclass funds and fund of funds
• Revenue sharing between funds and intermediaries
• Fund supermarketsretirement platforms
• Omnibus accounts, redemption fees, and shareholder information- sharing arrangements

Portfolio Management and Trading - Harman
Experts provide a practical look at the "inner core" of managing a mutual fund and examine some of the most frequently encountered day-to-day trading issues. The panelists discuss:

• Dissecting a trade (Process Map); required recordkeeping
• Trade allocation and cross trades
• Trade errors
• Best execution, including dark pools

Affiliated Transactions and Other Operational Issues - Harman
A comprehensive overview of affiliated transactions and how to analyze them is offered in this segment, which also includes discussion of recent developments involving personal trading. Topics include:

• Fiduciary considerations and managing potential conflicts of interest
• Personal trading and code of ethics
• Affiliated transactions under Section 17 and Section 10(f)
• Pricing and valuation of portfolio securities

Compliance Programs/Litigation - Mixter
More practical guidance is provided for navigating SEC and FINRA fund, adviser, and broker-dealer compliance rules and maintaining an effective compliance program to avoid legal pitfalls. Emerging trends in SEC enforcement actions and private litigation are analyzed. Topics include:

• Essentials of cultivating the "culture of compliance" and maintaining a robust and effective compliance program involving chief compliance officers, collaboration with the business units, written policies and procedures, and a healthy relationship with the fund board
• Recent and emerging trends in SEC inspections and the enforcement process, including lengthier document request letters and shorter turnaround times
• Recent and emerging trends in private litigation, including fixed income funds and the new subpoena authority