SEC Announces CCOutreach Regional Seminars for Adviser and Fund Chief Compliance Officers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2009-94

Washington, D.C., April 28, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the schedule and start of registration for 11 CCOutreach regional seminars for investment adviser and mutual fund Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) that will be held in several cities around the country during the next few months.

The CCOutreach program was formed to promote open communications and coordination on mutual fund, investment adviser, and broker-dealer compliance issues. The regional seminars are intended to help CCOs improve their effectiveness for the benefit of investors throughout the country.

"We have crafted this year's agenda around the challenges that compliance professionals may be facing as a result of recent market conditions and events and having limited resources for compliance programs," said Lori Richards, Director of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations. "Among the focus areas of discussion will be firms' procedures for safeguarding client assets — an area of particular scrutiny for SEC examiners during examinations. The SEC has brought numerous enforcement actions in recent months involving Ponzi schemes and other forms of theft, underscoring the need for advisers to have strong controls to safeguard client assets. We hope the information shared during the regional seminars will help CCOs in their compliance efforts."

The regional seminars will be available via live audio and video webcast and will offer limited in-person attendance. They will take place in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco during the months of May, June, and July. Examination staff from the SEC's regional offices will discuss significant focus areas during examinations of advisers and funds, including how the staff identifies deficient practices and control weaknesses, as well as the controls that advisers have instituted to mitigate and manage risks.

In-person attendance at the seminars is limited, with mutual fund and investment adviser CCOs given priority on a first-come, first-registered basis. Registration instructions for the regional seminars are available on the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov/info/cco/ccorsgeninfo2009.htm. Closed captioning will be available for all webcasts. For additional information, please e-mail CCOutreach@sec.gov.

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