A conference on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Investing Under the Federal Securities Laws will be held on October 28, 2022, at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Catholic Law). This event is being co-sponsored by Catholic Law’s Securities Law Program, Catholic University’s Busch School of Business, and Dechert LLP. The program will be open to all attendees (subject to registration) at no cost and will also be available on-line. The conference will feature discussions of ESG investing; recent SEC proposals relating to ESG investing; SEC compliance and enforcement issues; and related developments outside the U.S. Persons interested in more information should e-mail Carol McHale, Associate Director of Conferences & Events, Columbus School of Law at mchale@cua.edu.

 

Conference Registration is closing at 11:00 p.m. (EST) on October 27, 2022.

 

 

When and Where:

The Conference will be held on October 28, 2022, from 1 to 5 p.m. in the William J. Byron S.J. Auditorium at the Columbus School of Law. The conference will be followed by a reception in the Keelty Atrium. Attendees will have the option to attend in person or remotely through Zoom and to obtain CLE credit.

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.
(Information regarding CLE credit in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York is available here.)

 

Agenda:

  • (12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.)
    Registration

  • (1:00 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.)
    Introduction
    Welcoming Address: Stephen C. Payne, Dean and Knights of Columbus Professor of Law, Columbus School of Law

    Introductory Remarks: Jack W. Murphy, Director, Securities Law Program, Columbus School of Law

  • (1:20 p.m. – 2:25 p.m.)
    Development of ESG Investing: Selection and Management of Investments
    The objective of this panel is to provide background on the growth of ESG investing, as well as to discuss the various types of and approaches to ESG investing.

    Moderator: Dr. Irene Kim, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Finance at the Busch School of Business

    Student Panelist:
    Tyler Buchholz, Securities Law Program, Columbus School of Law

    Panelists:
    Eric Meyers, Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst, Congress Asset Management Co.; Bruce Goldfarb, CEO of Okapi Partners; and Heather Matranga, Vice President and Managing Director, Impact Investments, Village Capital

  • (2:25 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.)
    Break

  • (2:45 p.m. – 3:35 p.m.)
    SEC Disclosure and Rulemaking Initiatives
    The objective of this panel is to discuss the current disclosure and other requirements that apply to ESG investing, as well as the changes that would be required by pending SEC disclosure and rule proposals.

    Moderator: Julien Bourgeois, Partner, Dechert LLP

    Student Panelist: Thomas Archer, President, Securities Law Students Association, Columbus School of Law

    Panelists:
    Brenden Carroll, Partner, Dechert LLP; Zeena Abdul-Rahman, Branch Chief, Office of Investment Company Regulation, Division of Investment Management, Securities and Exchange Commission; and Christopher Cafiero, Executive Director, Regulatory Affairs, Asset and Wealth Management, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

  • (3:35 p.m. – 4:25 p.m.)
    SEC Compliance and Enforcement
    The objective of this panel is to discuss ESG initiatives taken by the SEC in the context of examinations of investment advisers and funds, steps taken by the industry to ensure compliance by ESG advisers and funds and SEC enforcement initiatives relating to ESG investments.

    Moderator: James Catano, Partner, Dechert LLP

    Student Panelist: Lauren Ferraro, Vice President, Securities Law Students Association, Columbus School of Law

    Panelists: Anthony Kelly, Partner, Dechert LLP; Sara Pak, Senior Legal Counsel, T. Rowe Price; Brian McGrady, Associate General Counsel, New York Life; and Natasha (Vij) Greiner, National Associate Director for the Investment Adviser/Investment Company Examination Program and Associate Director for the Washington, DC Investment Adviser/Investment Company Examination Program within the SEC’s Division of Examinations

  • (4:25 p.m. – 4:55 p.m.)
    ESG Developments Outside the United States
    The objective of this panel is to summarize developments in ESG Investing that have taken place outside the United States and their impact on US-based Investment Advisers.

    Moderator: Christopher Christian, Partner, Dechert LLP

    Student Panelist: Dasol Lee, Securities Law Program, Columbus School of Law

    Panelists: Ross Stoeterau, Chief Counsel, International Distribution, Product and Regulatory, Nuveen, a TIAA company and Jennifer Choi, Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor, Ropes & Gray (formerly Chief Counsel, ICI Global)

  • (4:55 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
    Closing Remarks

  • (5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.)
    Reception


Program Materials

CLE Approval
This program is approved for CLE credit as noted below.

For those participating via zoom, please complete this form following the completion of the conference for CLE credit: Affirmation & Evaluation web form. (The speakers will announce codes midway to ¾ of the way through the following panels: SEC Disclosure and Rulemaking Initiatives Panel; SEC Compliance and Enforcement Panel; and ESG Developments Outside the United States Panel. These codes are needed to input on the CLE affirmation and Evaluation web form to get CLE credit.) Program materials can be found above.

  • Connecticut
    Neither the Connecticut Judicial Branch nor the Commission on Minimum Continuing Legal Education approve or accredit CLE providers or activities. It is the opinion of this provider that this activity qualifies for up to 2.1 hours toward your annual CLE requirement in Connecticut, including 0 hours of ethics/professionalism.
  • New Jersey
    This program has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 2.6 hours of total CLE credit. Of these, 0 qualify as hours of credit for ethics/professionalism, and 0 qualify as hours of credit toward certification in civil trial law, criminal trial law, workers compensation law, municipal court law, and/or matrimonial law.
  • New York
    This transitional and non-transitional continuing legal education program has been approved in accordance with the requirements of the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board for a maximum of 2.5 credit hours, of which 2.5 credit hours can be applied toward the areas of professional practice requirement.

By registering for this event, you submit your information to the event organizers The Catholic University of America and Dechert LLP (together the “Co-sponsors”). Your information will be used by the co-sponsors to communicate with you to administer the event and further in line with our respective privacy notices accessed by clicking here: Dechert privacy notice and Catholic University's privacy notice.