Over 200 People Take Part In RCA Symposium
Over 200 visitors that are leaders in the alternative asset management and regulation arena are taking part in the Regulatory Compliance Association [RCA] Regulation, Operations and Compliance [ROC] – Bermuda 2015™.
Bermuda scored a major coup in bringing the annual symposium to Bermuda for the first time, historically the event has been held in the Cayman Islands.
“Bermuda is the ideal jurisdiction for this event,” said Walter Zebrowski, Chairman of the RCA. “With it strong financial services industry and tremendous credibility from a global regulatory perspective, it simply made sense to bring this symposium to Bermuda.
“We are thrilled with the support of the government and many of the Bermuda-based businesses and organizations in their efforts to make this a meaningful and effective event for our members.”
The RCA, as an international non-profit organization, supports a community of 78,000 professionals, graduate students, firms and governmental authorities. Annually, over 18,000 professionals use RCA curricula to improve their knowledge base and skills. Chartered as a graduate level institution, the RCA helps to protect investors and financial markets by delivering accredited, post secondary education in asset management.
Over the course of the past year, the Bermuda Government and the Regulatory Compliance Association [RCA] have been actively exploring strategies that will assist Bermuda in its effort to diversify the local economy and further establish the Island’s offshore leadership position to the global asset management industry.
The RCA’s involvement with Bermuda has been focused on raising awareness of Bermuda’s asset management industry, including regulatory oversight, through various educational initiatives; RCA Symposiums held in New York City, PracticeEdge webcast sessions on Bermuda in July and November of last year and Advanced Workforce Training Program that will provide 100 scholarships for regulatory and compliance training to Bermudians.
“The RCA provides an important education platform that will ensure that Bermudians have the skills necessary to be at the forefront of providing leading regulatory and compliance expertise to international financial services businesses,” said George Thomas, Jr., Chairman of the Curriculum Committee for Bermuda’s Advanced Workforce Training [RBCC].
“Attracting business is more than about simply marketing the jurisdiction. We absolutely have to have Bermudians who have the education, skills and expertise to serve those companies and work for them. The asset management world is undergoing tremendous regulatory change on a global basis and Bermuda has a real opportunity to emerge as the jurisdiction of choice if we are prepared at all levels to serve that sector.”
During the Regulation, Operations and Compliance [ROC] – Bermuda 2015™, at the Fairmont Southampton Princess, three former Securities and Exchange [SEC] commissioners, a former Commodities Trading and Futures Commission [CTFC] commissioner and the current CEO of the National Futures Association will join a prestigious speaking faculty including senior executives from key alternative asset management firms, global law firms, the big four accounting firms, as well as current regulators from the SEC.
Premier Michael Dunkley will kick off the event with a speech on the Island’s attractiveness for fund managers and Sir Russell Coutts, the CEO of America’s Cup defenders Team Oracle USA, will deliver a keynote on Friday.
Several Bermudian firms have endowed the RCA Symposium and many Bermuda based executives will participate in, or moderate panel discussions.
Attendees of the symposium will learn about the latest developments in the industry and utilize the event to help develop comprehensive action plans to: mitigate the risks caused by the latest enforcement initiatives, upgrade compliance procedures, controls, testing and annual review, and address the 2015 regulatory examination priorities and tactics. Given the heightened focus on cybersecurity there is a session with leading cybersecurity officials. Fifth Step, one of the firms endowing the symposium, with offices in Bermuda and the UK, specializes in providing outsourced Chief Information Security Officer services to ensure compliance.
Economic Development and Advanced Workforce Training Package includes 150 full scholarships for Bermudians to obtain RCA accredited qualifications, 50 scholarships have been earmarked for use by regulatory agencies [Bermuda Monetary Authority, Financial Intelligence Agency, etc.]. The purpose of the Advanced Workforce Training Package is to:
- Equip Bermudians to undertake more affluent positions within Asset Management Firms and related service providers in Bermuda and abroad [New York, Connecticut, Boston, London, San Francisco]
- Lower the cost structure in Bermuda by furnishing Bermuda Based firms with the opportunity to hire Bermudians which creates a 2 pronged long term economic development program – i.e. bringing business back to Bermuda by employing Bermudians.
As part of the Symposium, the RCA held a Women In Asset Management & Regulation™ [WAR] Round Table on Wednesday evening. The session’s Speaking Faculty, comprised exclusively of high profile Women in Asset Management, shared their personal experiences to surmount numerous career challenges and obstacles. The round table was comprised of senior women in leadership roles in Bermuda, New York and other financial centers.
“Women are increasingly playing a leadership role in the financial services and asset management sector globally.” said Kiernan Bell, Managing Partner of Appleby. “In Bermuda this diversity is self-evident in the ranks of our women who are internationally ranked and have recognised industry experience. The value for women at all levels of their professional career in having a Women’s Summit cannot be underestimated.
“It enables women who are existing and future leaders to learn from each other while clearly demonstrating paths to success in a highly competitive sector and for my part I am looking forward to the sessions and to meeting such dynamic women and learning from the roundtable discussions.”
Bermuda’s comprehensive approach to building its asset management sector is a focus of the Government of Bermuda and the private sector.
Concluded Mr. Thomas, “This symposium culminates a year of strong collaboration and innovative partnerships between the RCA and Bermuda to create a solid working relationship that will drive future initiatives. The RCA’s webinars and symposium are just the beginning. The RCA Bermuda College Advanced Workforce Training program will develop the level of expertise in the domestic market and further align Bermuda’s intellectual capital will that of other global financial centers. Adding the educational program, in conjunction with the RCA, provides excellent opportunities for Bermudians to further develop skills, with international demand, right here at home.”
