Private Equity
International
International
Private Fund Compliance Spring Forum Virtual Experience 2021
12 - 13 May 2021,
Available Anywhere Eastern Standard Time (EST)
The Forum has now ended. Click here to view our upcoming Private Fund Compliance Forum taking place November 9-10.
We heard from the SEC and from the FBI cyber security division
May 12 | Cybersecurity: key considerations for a remote workforce & mitigating the impact of a cyber event
May 12 | SEC Risk alert: conflicts of interest, fees and expenses, & code of ethics rules
May 13 | An off the record opening panel on SEC Examinations
Brad Carpenter
Supervisory Special Agent- Cyber Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Peter Driscoll
Director, Division of Examinations
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Matthew Harris
Exam Manager
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Why you should attend
Earn CLE & CPE credits
New for last year, CLE credits were available! In addition to CPE, PEI is pleased to offer our attendees continuing legal education credits.
Gain actionable tools & strategies
Acquire tips and tricks for structuring and running an effective compliance program from experienced CCOs, General Counsels and the SEC.
Connect with your peers
This unique event offered compliance professionals the opportunity to exchange ideas, benchmark strategies and learn how to handle current trends impacting the industry.
Agenda highlights were
» Considerations for private fund compliance managers in the new administration
» Lessons learned in managing risk during COVID-19
» Procedures for diversity and ESG implementation
» What you need to know about the new marketing rule
» The proposed HSR rule changes
» CCO and CFO and COO and…small(er) firm compliance challenges
» CCO/GC Think-Tank
Featured speakers included
Previous attendees included:
What our attendees say about the Forum
PCCP
Gabriel Willey
This is the most informative of the conferences I do every year
Leerink Capital Partners
Liz Staley
One of my go to events each year due to the timely program content and excellent panelists.
Omega Funds
Mark Russell
Excellent event, with all topics being highly relevant
Earn CLE & CPE credits
PEI is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy
(NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry
of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance
of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may
be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.
NASBARegistry.org.
2021 agenda
View agenda page
Agenda
Agenda Day one - Wednesday 12th
Plenary sessions
11:00 - 11:20
PEI welcome
Steven Spencer
Speaker:
Seth Kerker, Director of Events – Americas, PEI
Conference Chairman:
Steven Spencer, Partner and General Counsel, Siris Capital
11:25 - 11:55
Opening Keynote Interview with the SEC
Peter Driscoll,
Carl Ayers
- Risk alert: what is of a particular interest to the SEC at this time?
- Conflicts of interest
o What are recommended controls and processes in this respect?
o Suggested procedures for allocating deals across funds
o When a conflict arises in the course of business, how to address/mitigate it since it can’t be disclosed in advance? - Fees & expenses
o How are expenses allocated at a portfolio company level?
o What additional items are managers looking to charge back? What mechanism do firms have in place to review “gray” expenses which are not clear? What about one off expenses or if an expense is not mentioned in an LP agreement?
o How can compliance teams ensure that these items are appropriately disclosed?
o How to operationally monitor fees and expenses allocation?
o What processes do firms have in place to ensure expenses charged to LPs are in accordance with fund documents? (back-testing; sampling of expenses charged to funds; monthly internal reports that need to be reviewed? etc.)
o Allocation of expenses
o Suggested ways for allocating expenses across funds – what do firms generally do?
o Suggested strategies around dead deal expense allocations - Code of ethics rules
o Establish, maintain, and enforcing written code of ethics policies and procedures
Interviewee:
Peter Driscoll, Director, Division of Examinations, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission
Interviewer:
Carl Ayers, Publisher Regulatory, Compliance Watch
12:00 - 12:45
Panel Discussion | Biden administration: considerations for private fund compliance managers
Bruce Karpati,
Norm Champ,
Jacob Comer ,
Carlo di Florio
- The new SEC chair appointed by Biden will likely adopt a more aggressive approach to congressional oversight and increase in the number of enforcement actions
- What initiatives will be deprioritized?
- How are your peers reviewing and tightening their compliance programs to prepare
- Progress made by American for Sale and perception of the role PE plays in the economy
- Rulemaking around sharing deficiency letters
- Corporate Tax Rates: Capital Gains/Carried Interest
Moderator:
Bruce Karpati, Global Chief Compliance Officer and Counsel, KKR
Panelists:
Norm Champ, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis
Jacob Comer, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, NovaQuest Capital Management
Carlo di Florio, Global Chief Services Officer, ACA Group
12:50 - 13:05
Networking break
Breakout session I
13:10 - 13:40
Breakout session A | COVID 19: lessons learned in managing risk
Arthur Price ,
Shauna Harrison,
Gregory Hegerich,
Alex Labowitz
- We all learned from COVID-19 emergency can throw a wrench in your daily business operations at a moment’s notice
- What has been the impact of the Covid-19 and what strategies have been used to to cope?
- Key lessons learned from past disaster relief events and new procedures put in place
- What mechanisms would be useful to have in place to identify new risks as they arise (i.e., is it useful to have a risk committee or to have direct contact with senior management or something else?)
- What is the process by which a compliance professional can work to establish policies and procedures to mitigate risks?
Moderator:
Arthur Price, Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant General Counsel, Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.
Panelists:
Shauna Harrison, Director, Compliance – PGIM Private Capital, Prudential Private Capital Group
Greg Hegerich, Head of Compliance – North American Private Investments & Real Estate, Bain Capital
Alex Labowitz, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer, Cadre
Arthur Price
Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant General Counsel, Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.
Read bio
13:10 - 13:40
Breakout session B | Diversity & ESG: compliance procedures for implementation & oversight
Steven Schwab,
Jacqueline Giammarco,
Miki Kamijyo,
David Smolen
- How do you staff this ESG role, how do you set KPIs, what are the milestones and goals you should be working towards, and how do you measure success
- Clarity from DOL on ESG considerations
- LP influence on diversity & ESG
- Approaches that funds can take to incorporating ESG
- How do you set KPIs
- Where does it start, what are the milestones, what are the essential element
- How do you staff this ESG role, do have an internal committee or dedicated resources and what point do you need a dedicated resource or consultant
- What are you doing internally and what are you doing in terms of your portfolio
- Who is in charge of diversity initiatives
- Is there a playbook for the evolution of ESG at a PE firm
- ESG compliance issues including –
o How to incorporate ESG into investments
o How to monitor ESG compliance
o Is there a market for dedicated social impact funds
Moderator:
Steven Schwab, Director, Legal and Chief Compliance Officer, Thoma Bravo
Panelists:
Jacqueline Giammarco, Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer, Stone Point Capital LLC
Miki Kamijyo, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Asana Partners
David A. Smolen, Managing Director, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, GI Partners
Plenary session
13:45 - 14:45
Lunch networking break
14:45 - 15:30
Panel Discussion | Cybersecurity: key considerations for a remote workforce & mitigating the impact of a cyber event
Stephen Erwin ,
Brad Carpenter,
Kevin Power
- What we learned from the SolarWinds hack?
- What do institutional investors and operational due diligence consultants look at in an adviser’s cybersecurity plan and procedures?
- In light of the SEC’s requirement that fund managers be more involved, what should fund managers be doing with respect to their portfolio companies’ network security? What analyses should the firms be performing to assess cyber risk at their portfolio companies?
- How involved should compliance professionals be and what should they know? (e.g., should a CCO have IT personnel with him/her during exams?)
- Policies and procedures for breaches: In the event of a breach, what needs to happen and who does what?
- The impact of Covid-19
o What new processes were implemented?
o Cyber awareness for remote teams
Moderator:
Stephen Erwin, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, Walker & Dunlop Investment Partners
Panelists:
Brad Carpenter, Supervisory Special Agent- Cyber Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Kevin Power, Head of Compliance, Pantheon Ventures (US) LP
Breakout session II
15:35 - 16:05
Breakout session A | Advertising & solicitation: what you need to know about the new marketing rule for investment advisers
James Gaven,
Dominick Barbieri,
Joseph M. Morrissey,
Kelly Pettit
- The marketing rule reflects the evolving technology and how communications has advanced over the last decade
- How is advertisement defined
- What are the appropriate disclosures concerning various marketing practices
Moderator:
James Gaven, Senior Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
Panelists:
Dominick Barbieri, Associate General Counsel and Deputy Chief Compliance Officer, Palladium Equity Partners, LLC
Joseph M. Morrissey, Partner, Seward & Kissel LLP
Kelly Pettit, Chief Compliance Officer, General Atlantic
15:35 - 16:05
Breakout session B | Fund obligation management: strategies for streamlining operations
Steven Spencer,
Miles Chan,
Nadir Nurmohamed,
Gwen Reinke
- How to manage legal costs without compromising quality
- Setting up a successful compliance program for dealing with obligations in fund documentation, transactions documents, and other essential contracts
- System for auditing compliance with obligations across the firm
Moderator:
Steven Spencer, Partner and General Counsel, Siris Capital
Panelists:
Miles Chan, VP/GM of Insight, InCloudCounsel
Nadir Nurmohamed, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer ,Searchlight Capital
Gwen Reinke, Chief Compliance Officer, Vista Equity Partners
Interactive networking break
16:10 - 16:25
Networking break
Think Tank Session
16:30 - 17:30
CCO & GC Only Think Tank Session
Abrielle Rosenthal
Exclusive closed-door session for private fund compliance managers to meet with peers in the industry to discuss the most pressing challenges having an impact on their role and responsibilities
Moderator:
Abrielle Rosenthal, Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer and co-Chief Human Resources Officer, TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P.
Abrielle Rosenthal
Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer and co-Chief Human Resources Officer, TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P.
Read bio
17:30 - 18:00
Close of day one
Agenda
Agenda day two - Thursday 13th
Plenary sessions
10:45 - 11:15
Women's Networking Roundtable
Alpa Patel
Facilitator:
Alpa Patel, Partner-Investment Funds Regulatory Solutions Group, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
11:20 - 11:30
PEI welcome
11:30 - 12:15
Plenary Session – An off the record opening panel on SEC Examinations
Nabil Sabki,
Matthew Harris,
Fizza Khan
Moderator:
Nabil Sabki, Partner, Latham & Watkins
Panelists:
Matthew Harris, Exam Manager, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission
Fizza Khan, Chief Executive Officer, Silver
12:20 - 12:35
Networking break
Plenary sessions
12:40 - 13:10
Plenary Session – Conflicts of interest: recent considerations (SPACs & other) for private fund managers
Jason E. Brown,
Noah Leichtling ,
John McGuinness,
Aidan O'Connor
Moderator:
Jason E. Brown, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP
Panelists:
Noah Leichtling, Partner, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Gamut Capital
John McGuinness, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Counsel, StepStone Group
Aidan O’Connor, Partner, Chief Compliance Officer (US), Chief US Regulatory Counsel, SoftBank Investment Advisers
Aidan O'Connor
Partner, Chief Compliance Officer (US), Chief US Regulatory Counsel, SoftBank Investment Advisers
Read bio
13:15 - 14:15
Networking lunch break
Breakout session III
14:15 - 14:45
Breakout session A | The CCO/CFO/COO/GC: unique challenges for those wearing many hats
Joel Wattenbarger,
Joshua Cherry-Seto,
Andrew W. Petri,
Leigh Rovzar
- Small(er) firm compliance challenges
- Practical strategies for executing compliance functions for CCOs wearing dual or multi-hats
- What are the most important compliance tasks that need to be executed for an officer to feel comfortable that enough has been done?
- Effectively handling personal trading and its reporting requirements at a smaller firm
- What are the cybersecurity protections smaller firms should have in place?
Moderator:
Joel A. Wattenbarger, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP
Panelists:
Joshua Cherry-Seto, Managing Director, CFO & CCO, Blue Wolf Capital Partners
Andrew W. Petri, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Pfingsten Partners
Leigh Rovzar, Partner, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, BayPine and Declaration Partners
Andrew W. Petri
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Pfingsten Partners, L.L.C.
Read bio
14:15 - 14:45
Breakout session B | Moving from single to multiple strategies: impacts to the compliance function
Kevin M. Bloss,
Steve Eisner,
Daren Schneider,
Jason Scoffield
- What is there for a compliance officer to pay attention to when a new strategy (e.g., debt fund) is contemplated by a firm’s management?
- Practical strategies for dealing with conflicts when a firm is engaged in multiple strategies
- How to monitor and track these conflicts
- Should a specific conflict policy be in place?
Moderator:
Kevin M. Bloss, Associate General Counsel, CarVal Investors
Panelists:
Steve Eisner, Partner, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Francisco Partners
Daren Schneider, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, JLL Partners, LLC
Jason S. Scoffield, Chief Compliance Officer, Audax Management Company, LLC
14:45 - 15:00
Close of day two
Satisfy your continuing education credit requirements
Earn CPE and CLE credits
To earn CPE or CLE credits for attending the Private Fund Compliance Spring Forum 2021, you must view conference sessions when presented live, at specified scheduled times in their entirety, for applicable sessions where credits will be offered.
You will not be eligible to receive credits for sessions viewed through on-demand after the live session has concluded.
Earn up to 7.0 CPE credits
Earn up to 7.0 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits at this year’s Private Fund Compliance Spring Forum. PEI is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit.
Earn up to 5.5 CLE credits
2021 Speakers
PEI’s Private Fund Compliance Spring Forum event offered a unique opportunity for senior compliance professionals in the private equity sector to gather for thought leadership, networking, and more.
Interested in speaking? Contact Kellie Green at kellie.g@peimedia.com.
Dominick Barbieri
Associate General Counsel and Deputy Chief Compliance Officer, Palladium Equity Partners, LLC
Matthew Harris
Assistant Director and Co-Head, Private Funds Unit, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Aidan O'Connor
Partner, Chief Compliance Officer (US), Chief US Regulatory Counsel, SoftBank Investment Advisers
Kelly Pettit
Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer, Associate General Counsel, General Atlantic
Arthur Price
Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant General Counsel, Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P.
Abrielle Rosenthal
Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer and co-Chief Human Resources Officer, TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P.
2021 Sponsors
PEI’s Private Fund Compliance Spring Forum event offered a unique opportunity for providers to engage and connect with senior compliance professionals in the private equity sector through thought leadership, networking, and more.
For exclusive sponsorship packages for 2021, contact Cristiana Crocco at cristiana.c@peimedia.com call +1 646 921 0923.
Learn, engage and connect online
As we navigated the global health crisis, we continued to offer the private equity community a Forum to engage, learn, and network. The Private Fund Compliance Spring Forum delivered the same first class dynamic content and peer networking opportunities through our virtual platform.
Our Spring forum brought together the most sophisticated GPs and associations to discuss why, when, and how your firm should implement an effective compliance strategy.
Network and build key relationships
Network at any time throughout the two day virtual Private Fund Compliance Spring Forum. Take advantage of our virtual meeting tools by sending a message or scheduling a face to face video meeting with Forum attendees.
- Early access to the platform: Get a jumpstart on your virtual experience when the platform opens six weeks prior to the event (April 1). Customize your own individual profile and personal agenda and begin browsing through fellow attendee and speaker profiles.
- Search, send, and schedule features: Search attendee profiles, send fellow attendees a message, and schedule a private, face to face video meeting anytime during the conference. Use the built-in search function to filter the list of attendees based on selected criteria such as fund type, sector focus, strategy, AUM, etc.
Participate in live and interactive discussions
Through the integrated Zoom platform, participate in a wide range of impactful discussions in various formats that include invitation only think-tanks, sector focused breakout sessions and keynote fireside chats with industry leaders.
Platform highlights:
- Live panel discussions with live audience Q&A
- Create a personalized schedule by adding select sessions and face to face virtual meetings to your customized agenda “My Agenda”
- Networking meeting tools
- Interactive discussion boards
- Automated reminders
- On-demand playback access to select sessions for up to 12 months
Pre-Event Resources
pdf