Focus Areas
- Advising ETFs, ETPs, mutual funds, closed-end funds and investment advisers on securities, foreign regulatory, compliance, SOX, privacy, cybersecurity and corporate governance issues
- Drafting and filing Form N-1As, S-1s, board materials, proxy statements, exemptive applications, anti-money laundering and other compliance procedures, Form ADVs and hedge fund documents
- Advising investment companies and their service providers on adapting blockchain technologies including smart contracts
- Establishing and structuring wrap fee programs including all contractual, disclosure and compliance documents
- Listing ETFs and ETPs on exchanges and obtaining 19b-4 orders
- Reviewing fund and adviser marketing materials and social media
- Developing and structuring investment funds and products including mutual funds, ETFs, ETPs, listed and unlisted closed-end funds, and multi-manager and master-feeder funds
- Representing fund boards of directors
- Advising adviser and fund chief compliance officers on structuring compliance programs, drafting compliance procedures and preparing annual compliance reports
- Guiding operating companies confronting inadvertent investment company issues
- Quoted, “Will mutual funds get a second wind… as ETFs?” MarketWatch, April 2020
- “Exchanges Adopt Streamlined ETF Generic Listing Standards,” Thompson Hine ETF Reg Insights, April 2020
- “The First Active Semi-Transparent ETFs Launch…with More to Come,” Thompson Hine ETF Reg Insights, April 2020
- “The ETF Evolution Continues: SEC Approves Four New “Proxy Basket” Active Semi-Transparent ETFs,” Thompson Hine ETF Reg Insights, December 2019
- “ETF Complexes Should Prepare Now to Comply with New Rule 6c-11 to be in a Position to Unlock Its Key Regulatory Advantages by Year-End,” Thompson Hine ETF Reg Insights, October 2019
- “SEC Weighs Whether to Regulate Facebook’s Libra,” Wall Street Journal, July 2019
- “Converting a Mutual Fund to an ETF: Key Considerations,” Thompson Hine ETF Reg Insights, July 2019
- “SEC Poised to Permit ActiveShares ETF: First Non-Transparent Actively Managed ETF,” Thompson Hine ETF Reg Insights, April 2019
- “Preparing for the Next Generation of Actively Managed ETFs,” Thompson Hine ETF Reg Insights, January 2019
- “OCIE Eyes ETF Custom Indexes, Small and Thinly Traded ETFs, and Liquidation Process,” Thompson Hine ETF Update, November 2018
- “SEC’s Proposed ETF Rule Removes Some Conditions Compared to Prior Exemptive Orders, But Adds Others,” Thompson Hine ETF Update, August 2018
- “Proposed ETF Rule Comes with Widely Expected Conditions and Some Notable Twists,” Thompson Hine ETF Update, July 2018
- “SEC to Consider ETF Rule Proposal at June 28, 2018 Open Meeting,” Thompson Hine ETF Update, June 2018
- “SEC’s NMS Pilot Program of Vital Interest to ETFs,” Thompson Hine ETF Update, May 2018
- “ETF Industry Adjusts to Increased SEC Regulatory Scrutiny,” The Investment Lawyer, August 2016
- Current author and editor of two of the leading commercial compliance manuals, CCH Wall Street Investment Adviser Compliance Manual and CCH Wall Street Hedge Fund Compliance Manual
- Current author of chapters in two of the leading mutual fund and investment adviser treatises, PLI – Mutual Fund and Exchange Traded Fund Regulation and PLI – Investment Adviser Regulation
- Member of the Board of Editors of The Investment Lawyer
- “SEC Issues No-Action Relief to ETF Seeking to Exceed Insurance Company Investment Limits,” Thompson Hine Investment Management Update, May 2016
- “ETF Industry Adjusts to Increased SEC Regulatory Scrutiny,” The Investment Lawyer, VOL. 23, NO. 8, August 2016
- Moderator, “ETF and Fund Regulation – The Last Three Months of 2024, Part 1,” ETF BILD Project Webinar, October 2024
- Panelist, “Pardon Our Interruption: A Rapid-Fire Discussion of Issues and Trends the ETF Industry Will Face in 2023, ETF BILD Project Webinar, January 2023
- Presenter, “Converting a Mutual Fund to an ETF: Transparent or Semi-Transparent Portfolio and Other Key Decisions,” Thompson Hine Investment Management Coffee Chat Webinar Series, April 7, 2021
- Presenter, “Bitcoin ETPs and Existing Alternatives,” Thompson Hine Investment Management Coffee Chat Webinar Series, February 10, 2021
- Speaker, “The Global ETP Market Place Evolution,” 13th Annual ETF Global Awards, New York, New York, April 20, 2017
- Speaker, “Fund Anatomy,” Basics of Mutual Funds and Other Registered Investment Companies 2017, New York, New York, April 20, 2017
- Speaker, “Seizing Opportunities in the ETF Marketplace,” Webinar, December 1, 2016
- Speaker, “Understanding the Current ETF Regulatory Climate,” 3rd Annual ETF Boot Camp, New York, New York, September 29-30, 2016
- Speaker, “Basics of Mutual Funds and Other Registered Investment Companies 2015,” Practising Law Institute webinar, April 30, 2015
- Panelist, “Disclosures: Tips to Stay Compliant and Every Day Tripwires to Avoid,” IA Compliance Best Practices Summit 2014, March 21, 2014
- Speaker, “The SEC’s New Identity Theft Red Flags Rules: Guidance to Create Your Program Before the New Reg SID Deadline,” IA Watch webinar, May 21, 2013
- Speaker, “Basics of Mutual Funds and Other Registered Investment Companies 2013,” Practising Law Institute, April 24, 2013
- Panelist, “ETP Overview and Structure,” 9th Annual Global ETF Awards, April 18, 2013
- Speaker, “Mutual Fund Anatomy – Role of the Board and the Adviser,” Practising Law Institute’s Fundamentals of Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds 2012, June 6, 2012
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2023 to 2025 for Mutual Funds Law
- Recommended in The Legal 500 in Mutual/Registered/Exchange-Traded Funds, 2018-2024
Professional Associations
- American Bar Association
- District of Columbia Bar Association, Investment Management Committee
Community Activities
- Anne Arundel County Citizens Transportation Commission
Education
- University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1988
- Vanderbilt University, B.A., 1984, magna cum laude
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Exchanges Adopt Streamlined ETF Generic Listing Standards,
ETF Reg Insights
, April 13, 2020 - The First Active Semi-Transparent ETFs Launch…with More to Come,
ETF Reg Insights
, April 10, 2020 - The ETF Evolution Continues: SEC Approves Four New “Proxy Basket” Active Semi-Transparent ETFs,
ETF Reg Insights
, December 2, 2019 - ETF Complexes Should Prepare Now to Comply with New Rule 6c-11 to be in a Position to Unlock Its Key Regulatory Advantages by Year-End,
ETF Reg Insights
, October 3, 2019 - SEC Weighs Whether to Regulate Facebook’s Libra,
Wall Street Journal
, July 15, 2019 - Converting a Mutual Fund to an ETF: Key Considerations,
Investment Management Update
, July 15, 2019 - SEC Poised to Permit ActiveShares ETF: First Non-Transparent Actively Managed ETF,
ETF Reg Insights
, April 11, 2019 - Preparing for the Next Generation of Actively Managed ETFs,
ETF Reg Insights
, January 29, 2019