RopesTalk

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, Jeremiah Williams and Caitlin Giaimo discuss key takeaways from an active SEC enforcement case related to credit fund valuation, along with other areas of enforcement priority for credit funds. At times of market destabilization—when retail and real estate loans in particular face heightened risk of default—credit funds are subject to increased interest but also increased regulatory scrutiny. Jeremiah and Caitlin provide observations and advice on key regulatory compliance steps for credit fund sponsors navigating the pandemic market environment.

In this episode of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series, Culture & Compliance Chronicles, litigation & enforcement attorney Tina Yu continues the conversation with Julian Danobeitia, an executive coach and director at DownTheCorridor. Last episode, Tina and Julian discussed how important relationships are to improving the overall compliance culture. Now they delve into techniques legal and regulatory compliance teams can use to build relationships and enhance outreach. To make communications more effective, they discuss the importance of curiosity and empathy, and adopting a relationship-based approach to interacting with colleagues.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, Ama Adams, Brendan Hanifin, and Emerson Siegle discuss anti-money laundering and economic sanctions considerations as well as best practices for fund sponsors, following recent reporting that U.S. law enforcement has developed concerns about potential widespread money laundering in the private equity and hedge fund industries.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, Jason Brown and Jill Kalish Levy discuss the recent Risk Alert published by the SEC Office of Compliance and Inspections concerning the end of LIBOR, and what that Risk Alert means for market participants. Since the announcement of LIBOR’s cessation, the Fed has made great strides in pushing its replacement, “SOFR,” but this transition has proven to be operationally and logistically complicated. In this podcast, Jill and Jason examine these issues and how to prepare for OCIE’s examinations of various registrants to assess their efforts in preparing for the discontinuation of LIBOR.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partners Melissa Bender and Isabel Dische discuss a subset of impact investing – gender-lens investing. In the course of their conversation, Melissa and Isabel provide an overview of both the objectives and different types of gender lens investments.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partners Melissa Bender and Isabel Dische discuss how market participants are rethinking social factors – the “S” in ESG – in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Their conversation focuses on why asset managers may want to consider integrating social factors into their investment analysis and some challenges in doing so.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partner Jason Brown and litigation partner Dan O’Connor discuss the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) risk alert providing observations and guidance on compliance issues for registered investment advisers that manage private equity funds or hedge funds. Based on years of experience representing registered investment advisers, Jason and Dan provide their own observations on the compliance deficiencies that OCIE highlighted: (1) conflicts of interest, (2) fees and expenses; and (3) codes of ethics, including material nonpublic information (MNPI).

The tenth installment of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series, Non-binding Guidance, focuses on FDA regulation of COVID-19 diagnostic tests, with a particular focus on employee testing. In this episode, chair of Ropes & Gray’s FDA regulatory practice, Greg Levine, interviews Lauren Silvis, a former FDA official and currently Senior Vice President of External Affairs for Tempus, a clinical molecular technology company, to hear her input on the role employee testing can play in maintaining a safe workplace. Topics covered include the role of antibody tests, testing of asymptomatic persons, pooled sample testing, and evolving technologies such as Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). Prior to joining Tempus, Lauren spent a number of years at the FDA, first as deputy center director for policy in the agency's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, and subsequently as the FDA chief of staff, where she was responsible for overseeing the daily management of the agency and leading the agency's activities on major initiatives. Additionally, Lauren co-authored several reports and articles on COVID-19 – most recently, “How Businesses Can Keep Employees Safe From Coronavirus.”

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partners Isabel Dische and Lindsey Goldstein discuss what it means for a fund to “fall out of carry,” as recent months have shown some significant market declines in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ll also discuss considerations that both fund sponsors and investors will want to keep in mind if their funds no longer accrue carry.

In this episode of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series, Culture & Compliance Chronicles, litigation & enforcement attorney Tina Yu talks with Julian Danobeitia, an executive coach and director at DownTheCorridor. The first of a two-part discussion, this episode focuses on how the legal and compliance functions are often perceived within organizations, and why that impacts their ability to perform. Drawing on professional experiences, movies and psychology, the two also drill down on what kind of relationships among co-workers tend to foster a more healthy compliance culture.