4a. ALL – Best Practices for U.S. Public Pension Plan, Foundation, and Endowment Clients (Intermediate - OPEN)
Public pension plans, foundations, and endowments in the United States oversee trillions of dollars in assets, and to achieve their investment goals many utilize external investment managers, private fund GPs, and broker/dealers. Doing business with these types of clients are not for the faint of heart, and can include navigating complex government contracting requirements, adherence to transparency laws, customized reporting requirements, bespoke investment and trading policies, and attention to specialized taxation rules. This session will outline what firms should expect when soliciting business from these institutional investors.
This session is open to regulators but closed to members of the press.
Learning Objectives:
Describe what pension funds, endowments, and foundations are and how they differ from one another in structure and regulatory oversight.
Explain the current best practices that public pension funds, endowments, and foundations use for their initial due diligence of potential investment managers, private fund GPs, and broker/dealers.
Highlight the fee negotiation, procurement/contracting practices, lobbying, and state & local ESG considerations when dealing with public pension funds, endowments, or foundations (and the interplay of these regulatory requirements with new and upcoming SEC rules).
Outline common client expectations pension funds, endowments, and foundations have for the duration of the investment relationship and how Compliance, legal, and risk departments can ensure they are met.
