Coffee & Regs: Recent Episodes
CSS (Compliance Solutions Strategies)
A CSS RegTech podcast series on moving from a tactical to strategic approach to regulatory compliance. The global regulatory space is complex and fragmented. Financial firms can address this problem through tactical responses to regulatory deadlines or think more strategically on how to optimize their compliance data, operations and technology. The Compliance Solutions Strategies weekly podcast features regulatory experts, former Chief Compliance Officers, cybersecurity specialists, industry partners and RegTech collaborators to help prepare investment management firms for changes on the regulatory horizon.
In this episode, CSS’s Regulatory Content Manager Greg Hotaling and Product Manager Mike Marmo recap the world of investment monitoring in 2021 and give a sneak preview to what’s next in shareholding disclosure and position limit monitoring in 2022.
In this episode, CSS’s SVP of Business Development Ashley Smith takes a trip around the world to discuss evolutionary changes for regulatory compliance in 2022 from SFDR and PRIIPs to AIFMD II and 18f-4.
In this episode, CSS’s Transaction Reporting product team of Alexis Wiazmitinoff and Nicklas Nilsson make predictions on trends in transaction reporting in 2022 – from updates to SFTR to preparation for EMIR REFIT.
In this episode, CSS’s Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan makes predictions for PRIIPs and how the regulatory landscape in 2022 with PRIIPs and SFDR is reminiscent of 2018 with the implementation of PRIIPs and MiFID II.
In this episode, CSS’s team of cybersecurity experts E.J. Yerzak and Mike Farrell recap the 2021 cybersecurity landscape and predict what’s next for 2022.
In this special episode, CSS’s Director of Retail Wealth Manager Services, Korrine Kohm and William R. Carrigan, Deputy Commissioner, Securities Division of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation discuss the latest news for registered investment advisers, including what will be required in 2022 surrounding continuing education requirements, the implementation of the new Marketing Rule and what’s next for Form CRS.
In this episode, CSS’s SVP of Business Development Ashley Smith joins Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan to discuss the latest on the PRIIPs RTS, UK/EU divergence, data management complexities of the UCITS to PRIIPs transition and operational best practices to implement now.
In this episode, CSS’s team of CCOs Matt Calabro and Victoria Olson discuss how CCOs can prepare now for what’s to come with ESG – from policies and procedures to marketing materials and disclosures.
In this episode, Founder and CEO at CyberVista, Simone Petrella and CSS’s Director of Cyber IT Services, E.J. Yerzak discuss the importance of cybersecurity training, education, how to recruit talent and diversity in cyber and why compliance and cybersecurity are synonymous.
In this episode, Vice Chair of Financial Services at KPMG UK, and former parliamentarian, Dr. Kay Swinburne and CSS’s Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan discuss the latest on ESG, Level 2 SFDR and what investment managers need to be thinking about to prepare for 2022 implementation.
In this episode, Director of Registered Investment Company Services, Allison Fraser and Director of Broker-Dealer Services & Private Funds, John Gentile discuss the latest on digital assets and cryptocurrency. Are they considered securities, what does the SEC’s risk alert mean for digital assets, and how should investment managers be thinking about cryptocurrency trading and compliance?
In this episode, CSS’s Regulatory Content Manager, Greg Hotaling and Head of Shareholding Disclosure at aosphere LLP, Faye Sutherland discuss shareholding disclosure rules for managed holdings and why obligations across jurisdictions can be even more difficult for investment managers than staying on top of regulatory change.
In this episode, CSS’s team of cybersecurity experts E.J. Yerzak and Mike Farrell kick off Cybersecurity Awareness Month discussing the importance of vendor due diligence and the role that service providers can play in cyber incidents.
In this episode, CSS’s team of CCO experts Korrine Kohm and Dan Haynes discuss regulatory examinations, SEC priorities and trends and insights into how compliance teams can be more proactive before the regulators come knocking.
In this episode, CSS’s Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan does a technical deeper dive into the latest news on the PRIIPs RTS, regulatory timelines and the challenges stemming from divergence between the EU and UK.
In this second episode of a special two-part series on ESG, CSS’s Regulatory Content Manager, Greg Hotaling and ESG Specialist, Marye Cherry demystify the complicated world of ESG including the latest regulatory developments, the complexity of ESG data, and what ESG actually means for investment managers.
In this episode of a special two-part series on ESG, CSS’s Regulatory Content Manager, Greg Hotaling and ESG Specialist, Marye Cherry demystify the complicated world of ESG including the latest regulatory developments, the complexity of ESG data, and what ESG actually means for investment managers.
In this episode, CSS's Head of ESG, Marye Cherry discusses the latest updates on ESG, including the delay to the SFDR Level 2 RTS and the impact that will have on financial firms.
In this episode, CSS's Executive Director, Jackie Hallihan and Senior Consultant, Adam DiPaolo discuss observations on the mood of compliance, with predictions of heavy regulatory activity, and key areas of focus including enforcement, ESG, cryptocurrency, whistleblowers and cybersecurity.
In this episode, CSS's Director of Retail Wealth Manager Services, Korrine Kohm and Founder of Transition To RIA, Brad Wales discuss the path to becoming an independent registered investment adviser, best practices to get started on your journey and compliance pitfalls to avoid.
In this episode, our team of private funds experts, John Gentile, Eugenie Warner and Adam DiPaolo, discuss how private funds will be affected by the new Marketing Rule and how they can start preparing for implementation now.
In this episode, our team of former CCOs, Dan Haynes and Victoria Olson discuss why a code of ethics tool is not only beneficial to compliance but to employees and to stay on the SEC’s good side for upcoming exams.
In this episode, CSS’s Director of Cyber IT Services, E.J. Yerzak sits down with Co-Founder and COO of TerraTrue, Chris Handman to discuss data privacy and how compliance can keep up with the ambitions of product teams by building data privacy controls into the product development lifecycle.
In this episode, our team of global transaction reporting experts, Alexis Wiazmitinoff and Nicklas Nilsson discuss changes coming to EMIR REFIT in 2023 and beyond. With the markets moving towards a harmonization of data elements across regulations, how will that provide regulators with a more complete and holistic view of OTC derivatives and improve operational efficiency for financial firms?
In this episode, our team of cybersecurity experts, E.J. Yerzak and Mike Farrell discuss the latest ransomware attacks in the news, best practices to keep your data secure and hackers out, and what to do first if your firm is hit by an attack.
In this episode, former CCOs Korrine Kohm and Ariana Monchick discuss compliance management and how to expand and optimize your program leveraging tools, technology and outsourced compliance services.
In this episode, CSS’s Director of Broker-Dealer Services and Private Funds John Gentile sits down with Chief Executive Officer & Chief Investment Officer of Off the Chain Capital, Brian Estes to discuss the world of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. Is this investing or gambling, is it an asset class, and why should investment advisers and broker-dealers be thinking about adding digital assets to their clients’ portfolios?
In this episode, CSS’s former CCOs Allison Fraser and Matt Calabro sit down to discuss trade surveillance and how CCOs can mitigate the risk factors through the trade lifecycle – from pre-trade to trade execution and post-trade. They’ll also dive into how compliance together with operations and third parties can build out a robust and automated trade surveillance program.
In this episode, CSS’s Regulatory Content Manager Greg Hotaling sits down with Head of Product for CSS’s Investment Monitoring solution, Mike Marmo to discuss position limit changes coming soon in the U.S. and EU and how pre-trade monitoring is becoming a must-have for investment managers.
In this episode, CSS’s Director of Registered Investment Company Services Allison Fraser sits down with Partner at Morgan Lewis, Laura Flores to discuss the SEC regulatory framework for derivatives use with the new 18f-4 Rule. Even though compliance plans do not have to be fully implemented until August 2022, fund managers need to start preparing now for a compliant derivatives risk management program, calculating daily value-at-risk (VaR) measurements and performing stress tests.
In this episode, CSS’s Head of ESG Marye Cherry sits down with corporate attorney at Scale LLP, Adam Johnson to discuss the evolving ESG landscape from the U.S. perspective, including the impact of the EU SFDR on U.S. asset managers and the U.S. regulatory position on ESG.
In this episode, CSS’s Director of Private Funds and a former SEC regulator, John Gentile sits down with Senior Vice President of Ultimus LeverPoint Private Fund Solutions, Andrew Jones to discuss the world of private fund managers. The round-robin discussion covers SEC registration to identifying as an Exempt Reporting Adviser, the impact of the new Marketing Rule on private funds and compliance best practices for fund admins.
In this special episode, CSS’s Chief Revenue Officer Terence Faherty takes a break from compliance and sits down with Managing Director of Stewardship at the Expect Miracles Foundation and Founder of The SamFund, Samantha Watson to talk about a dedicated commitment of the financial services community to bring meaningful resources to research and people impacted by cancer.
In this episode, CSS’s Director of Broker-Dealer Services and a former regulator, John Gentile and Executive Director, Jackie Hallihan sit down to discuss FINRA’s rule book regarding capital acquisition brokers. These are broker-dealers that limit their business to certain capital raising, mergers and acquisitions and corporate financing activities, so before you go down that regulatory path, it’s important to understand the rules and the benefits of CAB registration.
In this episode, former CCOs and CSS’s compliance services experts in retail and institutional wealth manager services, Korrine Kohm and Matt Calabro discuss a roadmap on navigating the new Marketing Rule, building an action plan and leveraging managed services and technology to help remove compliance complexities from the rule.
In this episode, CSS’s Director of Cyber IT Services E.J Yerzak sits down with AVP, Program Executive at Varney Agency and cyber insurance expert, Nick Weiner to discuss the recent NYDFS guidance for insurers that underwrite cyber insurance policies. The guidance includes a Cyber Insurance Risk Framework that provides best practices for managing cyber insurance risk amid concerns of systemic and “silent” risks to the financial sector.
In this episode, CSS’s Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan sits down with Regulatory Specialist Nicklas Nilsson to discuss the latest updates from ESMA on MiFIR in the world of transaction reporting and the trend to consolidate regulatory reporting and data going forward.
In this episode, CSS’s Co-Executive Directors of Compliance Services Keith Marks and Jackie Hallihan sit down to discuss actionable takeaways on implementing the SEC’s new Marketing Rule for registered investment advisers within the next 18 months.
In this episode, CSS’s resident document production experts Shane O’Sullivan and Charles Seigle-Goujon sit down to discuss how to prepare now for the UCITS to PRIIPs transition using best practices from the insurance industry and getting data governance procedures in place today.
In this episode, former Chief Compliance Officers Matt Calabro and Allison Fraser sit down to discuss public pension fund independent compliance reviews. Pension fund managers have an extensive due diligence process to screen potential investment advisers for their programs. Today, this due diligence goes beyond examining an investment adviser’s investment process, research and execution capabilities to also include evaluating their operational and compliance excellence and cybersecurity controls.
In this episode, former Chief Compliance Officers Allison Fraser and Victoria Olson sit down to discuss a playbook for regulatory change. With new regulations like the Marketing Rule coming, how do compliance teams prepare, communicate changes to the business and translate regulatory requirements into operational policies and procedures?
In this episode, former Chief Compliance Officers Korrine Kohm and Ariana Monchick discuss CCO liability, ways to avoid enforcement and best practices for compliance teams to mitigate risk and navigate regulatory complexities.
In this episode, CSS’s President and Founder John Lee joins Natalie Silverman to discuss what the future of RegTech looks like in five years, from innovation in machine-learning and AI from both RegTech firms and the regulators, to the digitization and datafication of financial services.
In this episode, CSS’s Regulatory Guidance and ESG Specialist Marye Cherry sits down with Vanessa Barnett, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Environmental, Social, and Governance at FactSet to navigate the latest news on the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. These experts of ESG discuss the newly released details on the RTS for Level 2 SFDR, how financial firms can manage their ESG data and the impending March 10 deadline for Level 1.
In this episode, CSS’s Regulatory Content Manager Greg Hotaling sits down with Faye Sutherland, Head of Shareholding Disclosure of aosphere LLP to discuss the 2021 watchlist in the world of shareholding disclosure – from foreign direct investment and shareholder activism to updates on short selling restrictions.
In this episode, CSS’s ESG experts Marye Cherry and Ronan Brennan talk about the latest developments with the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. The ESAs have published the much-anticipated final report and draft RTS on disclosures under the EU SFDR while there’s still the impending 10 March deadline for high-level, principles-based compliance with the Level 1 SFDR.
In this episode, CSS’s team of former Chief Compliance Officers Matt Calabro and Dan Haynes take a look at the global regulatory agenda in 2021 and provide practical tips and tricks to set compliance teams up for success.
In this episode, CSS’s Executive Advisor on Global Transaction Reporting Mikkel Mördrup sits down with Regulatory Specialist Nicklas Nilsson for a look back into the world of transaction reporting in 2020 - from uncertainties in the market to new regulations - and a look forward at changes to EMIR REFIT and MiFID II / MiFIR coming in 2022.
In this episode, CSS’s SVP of Business Development Ashley Smith sits down with Chief Client Officer Jac Dunne to take a look at some implementation case studies to uncover the challenges of regulatory reporting and how asset managers and fund administrators can optimize and scale their regulatory operations more efficiently.
In this episode, CSS’s Executive Director Jackie Hallihan sits down with Senior Consultant Adam DiPaolo to read the tea leaves on 2021. The compliance duo discusses changes to the SEC itself to regulations, rule-making, examination and enforcement trends and how to prepare for the predictability and unpredictability of compliance in the new year.
In this episode, CSS’s SVP of Business Development Ashley Smith joins Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan to discuss a post-Brexit world for financial services, the end of passporting, what's next for equivalence and the upcoming March 2021 deadline.
In this episode, SVP of Business Development at CSS Ashley Smith sits down with two insurance and Solvency II experts from MBE Consulting to discuss the push for asset managers to attract more insurance investors, and what should asset managers be doing now, including focusing on data management and the quality of their Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR).
In this episode, CSS's Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan represents the EU and President of CSS John Lee represents the UK in a no holds barred discussion on post-Brexit complexities in Part 2 of a special two-part series. The conversation focuses on how the fund industry will compete with Dublin and Luxembourg, and what's next for UCITS and the UK and EU fund regimes.
In this episode, Chief Product Officer of CSS Ronan Brennan joins Natalie Silverman to discuss all things Brexit in Part 1 of a special two-part series. The conversation starts with a recap on the state of negotiations and turns to the advantages and opportunities for funds and the implications of the UK/EU divergence for UCITS and PRIIPs.
In this episode, CSS’s Director of Cyber IT Services E.J Yerzak and Legal Director at ZwillGen Jason Wool talk about incident response planning. Why is it important to not just have a policy or program in place during a pandemic, but how to build trust with clients by protecting their data, mitigating any enterprise risk and using tabletop testing practices to put plans into action.
In this episode, CSS’s Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan and Regulatory Guidance & ESG Specialist Marye Cherry talk about all things ESG. The integration of environmental, social and governance considerations into the investment process has taken center stage in the financial regulatory space. With the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) deadline around the corner in 2021, the EU is about to usher in a wide range of new ESG requirements on EU financial market participants and financial advisers.
In this episode, CSS’s team of former Chief Compliance Officers Dan Haynes and Ariana Monchick sit down to discuss the importance of mentoring early-career professionals in your compliance department. Not everyone grows up wanting to be a CCO, but there are best practices to develop talent and build a robust compliance community from the grassroots.
In this episode, CSS’s team of former Chief Compliance Officers Allison Fraser and Matt Calabro sit down to discuss why financial services firms should establish a due diligence oversight program to build better partnerships with service providers and assess financial, operational, regulatory and reputational risks.
In this episode, CSS’s team of former Chief Compliance Officers Korrine Kohm and Victoria Olson sit down to discuss why outsourcing compliance no longer has a negative connotation. As a CCO takes on more responsibilities, from cybersecurity threats to business continuity plans, new regulations, changes in business strategy and more, imagine the benefits of having supplemental resources to complement an existing compliance program. Outsourcing individual tasks enables compliance teams to be more strategic and scale for future growth.
In this episode, CSS’s Director of Cyber IT Services E.J Yerzak sits down with AVP, Program Executive at Varney Agency Nick Weiner for a Cybersecurity Awareness Month discussion on cyber insurance. The global cyber insurance market size is projected to grow from $7.8 billion in 2020 to $20.4 billion by 2025. Major factors driving this growth include the increasing number of security breaches and cyberattacks during COVID-19 that have resulted in large-scale financial losses and stringent government regulations towards adoption of cyber insurance policies. Many financial firms cite ransomware, business interruption and reputational risk as the biggest concerns when choosing to implement cyber insurance.
In this special Brexit episode, CSS’s Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan sits down with the authority on global financial services legislation and Vice Chair of Financial Services at KPMG UK, Dr. Kay Swinburne. With the UK and EU not reaching a trade agreement on October 15, the EU summit is expected to push for negotiations to continue in the coming weeks. Kay speaks about what’s next for Brexit, and what regulatory divergence could look like.
In this episode, CSS’s Director of Cyber IT Services E.J Yerzak speaks with Chair of the Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice at Mintz, Cynthia Larose to continue Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, is the first law in the US to set up a comprehensive set of rules around consumer data, akin to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. Since going into effect, industry and privacy advocates have been battling over the fine print. Is it just another compliance requirement or is it going to drive real change towards greater protection of consumer’s privacy and data?
In this episode, CSS’s Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan sits down with Product Manager Brian DeDonato to talk about the complexities of position limit monitoring. The position limits duo provide a detailed overview of who sets position limits globally before delving deeper into the various limit types, data requirements for position aggregation and adjustments, and how best to track spot effective periods and step down limits.
In this episode, CSS’s Director of Cyber IT Services E.J Yerzak speaks with Detected CEO Liam Chennells to kick off Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Taking cues from the world of RegTech, B2B marketplaces, supply chain and logistics sectors have uncovered why due diligence processes, business verification and data governance are critical to ensuring the entities you’re doing business with pose no threats to your organization, brand reputation or to your clients.
In this episode, Chief Client Officer at CSS, Jac Dunne joins Natalie Silverman to discuss why more investment management firms are looking to managed services to do more with less and conserve strategic resources. Keeping up with the pace of regulatory change has also pushed compliance teams to consider whether it is more efficient to buy vs. build.
In this episode, Managing Director in Accenture’s Risk Practice, Dr. Rafael Gomes joins Natalie Silverman to discuss Compliance-as-a-Service – an innovative and proactive framework that enables compliance teams to move from a tactical to strategic approach to regulatory compliance via technology, centralized data, managed services and access to regulatory expertise.
In this episode, Chief Product Officer of CSS, Ronan Brennan joins Natalie Silverman to discuss cross-border complexities from the transition many investment managers are preparing to make in the coming year from the UCITS KIID to PRIIPs KID regime.
In this episode, CSS’s Co-Executive Directors of Compliance Services, Keith Marks and Jackie Hallihan walk through a retrospective of Form CRS and Reg BI now that the June deadline has passed. They also discuss compliance best practices that are emerging in this COVID environment from changes in training, process and operations, to working with regulators and how firms have fared with regulatory examinations.
In this episode, CSS’s Executive Advisor on Global Transaction Reporting Mikkel Mördrup and regulatory expert and Founder of Laurellis Associates, Nik Volpe take a trip down memory lane to discuss knowing what we understand about transaction reporting today, what would buy- and sell-side firms have done differently to implement EMIR, MIFIR and SFTR.
In this episode, CSS’s SVP of Business Development Ashley Smith sits down with Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan to talk about fragmented data sourcing, processes and technologies and how firms can manage data more strategically through a regulatory book of record (RBOR). The discussion also turns to how data management plays a role in simplifying the production of both UCITS KIID and PRIIPs KID.
In this episode, the founder and CEO of COMBINER and previous curator at the Nobel Prize Museum Tobias Degsell joins Natalie Silverman to discuss innovation, collaboration and inspiring teams to think differently about data.
In this episode, former Chief Compliance Officer and CSS’s Compliance Consultant Victoria Olson joins Natalie Silverman to discuss how CCOs can embed a culture of compliance into an organization to today’s reality of doing more with less and managing compliance programs remotely.
In this episode, former Chief Compliance Officer and CSS’s Senior Consultant Dan Haynes joins Natalie Silverman to discuss how a CCO can earn a seat at the executive table and ways compliance teams can partner with the business to win trust.
In this episode, former Chief Compliance Officer and CSS’s Director of Retail Wealth Manager Services Korrine Kohm joins Natalie Silverman to discuss business resiliency, and how compliance teams need to begin thinking about post-pandemic business continuity and regulatory exams.
In this episode, CSS’s Director of Cyber IT Services E.J Yerzak joins Natalie Silverman to discuss everything from hackers and the dark web to how COVID-19 has reminded financial firms of the importance of cybersecurity and business continuity planning. Regulatory authorities will undoubtedly use this event to re-examine, re-emphasize and re-educate the financial industry on common BCP weaknesses and lessons learned.
In this episode, former Chief Compliance Officer and CSS’s Senior Consultant Ariana Monchick joins Natalie Silverman to talk about the biggest challenge facing CCOs today – regulatory change. With the expanding scope of global regulations demanding constant improvement and agility, how do compliance teams anticipate change?
In this episode, CSS’s Regulatory Compliance Expert Greg Hotaling sits down with Head of Shareholding Disclosure at aosphere LLP Faye Sutherland to discuss what's next on the regulatory horizon in the second half of 2020. This coffee chat includes a round robin discussion on short selling bans, the wider EU regulatory position, regulators and COVID-19 and implications for substantial shareholding and sensitive industries.
In this episode, former Chief Compliance Officer and CSS’s Director of Institutional Wealth Manager Services Matt Calabro joins Natalie Silverman to discuss how investment managers are identifying high-risk areas, making changes to their risk profile and evaluating controls during market volatility.
In this episode, CSS’s Executive Advisor on Global Transaction Reporting Mikkel Mördrup sits down with Head of Business Development at REGIS-TR Nick Bruce to talk about the world of transaction reporting and the fast-approaching deadlines for SFTR, clients making the switch from CME/NEX Abide to another trade repository and the impending Brexit.
In this episode, former Chief Compliance Officer and CSS’s Director of Registered Investment Companies Allison Fraser joins Natalie Silverman to discuss the evolving role of today’s Chief Compliance Officer – from the ongoing responsibilities of administering your firm’s compliance program to submitting timely filings and keeping up with regulatory change.
In this episode, CSS’s Regulatory Compliance Expert Greg Hotaling and Product Manager Mike Marmo discuss the market disruption due to COVID-19, periodic short selling bans and reduced thresholds that forced compliance teams to adapt to rapidly changing position limits, thresholds by market and timely disclosures.
In this episode, CSS’s EU Regulatory Counsel Marye Cherry and Regulatory Compliance Expert Greg Hotaling discuss the complexities around sensitive industries, the recent changes to rules and the impact that COVID-19 has had on global threshold management.
In this episode, CSS’s President and Founder John Lee joins CMO Natalie Silverman to discuss moving from a tactical to strategic approach to regulatory compliance and the challenges the market is facing today, from data management and total cost of ownership to risk, regulatory change and scalability.