Navigating the Coronavirus Crisis
Advisers’ Crucial Role – and How the IAA is Supporting You
Updated April 3, 2020
The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on our members and our profession have been extremely challenging and disruptive – and it’s clear that the financial turmoil spawned by this health crisis is far from over. Americans are anxious about stock market volatility, a deteriorating business environment, and their own health and financial stability. There has never been a more important time for investment advisers to serve their clients with a calm and steady hand – and we will continue to play a critical role as the economic damage deepens, and the longer-term impact comes into sharper focus.
Karen Barr
IAA President & CEO
As the COVID-19 developments continue to unfold, the IAA stands ready to provide leadership, robust resources, and up-to-date information to help you navigate today’s disruptions and those to come. We will help you serve your clients, contributing to the stability of the markets and the economy as a whole.
The IAA has already taken a number of steps to do just that.
We are in ongoing communication with regulators, to keep them abreast of the challenges you’re facing and to seek appropriate regulatory relief. The SEC’s Division of Investment Management has specifically asked the IAA to keep its staff informed of the impacts on advisers and has provided much of the relief we have requested on behalf of members. We encourage you to share information about how your business operations are being affected by emailing IAALegalTeam@investmentadviser.org or by calling the Legal Team at (202) 293-4222.
The IAA is holding weekly member calls to update members on developments and provide an opportunity for you to discuss and compare notes on how your firms are continuing to respond to the coronavirus crisis. In an effort to make these conversations as useful as possible for members, the calls are set up separately for firms of similar size and scope of business.
We have already presented our first member briefing call on coronavirus-related business and regulatory challenges, which covered BCP, regulatory filing obligations, disclosure, remote working arrangements, and more. A recording of that call is available online.
We have launched a series of webinars relating to COVID-19 impacts on your businesses and regulatory obligations, covering such issues as answering clients’ portfolio questions, adviser disclosures, best execution and trading, LIBOR transition and the impact of the new CARES Act on advisers and their clients. As these webinars take place, recordings of the webinars – complimentary to IAA members – become available on our website. Upcoming webinars are announced via email, on the IAA Today homepage, and in the Calendar section of the IAA website’s homepage.
Our constantly updated Coronavirus Response Resources web section collects links to resources that will help you deal with the many challenges this extremely fluid environment presents to business operations, regulatory compliance, legal and contract matters, and client relations. Those resources are divided into three categories: those provided by government health agencies, those provided by the SEC and other regulators, and those provided by no less than 20 prominent law firms – all IAA Associate Members – that have generously allowed us to share their detailed resources on issues such as BCP, workplace challenges, contractual issues including force majeure clauses, regulatory and compliance issues and more. The section also provides IAA alerts and updates on regulatory developments and other relevant news related to the crisis and links to IAA briefing calls, webinar recordings, and other materials.
That web section also includes two comprehensive charts detailing changes in filing deadlines and other relief for advisers and funds: At a Glance: New Adviser Filing Deadlines under SEC Orders Related to COVID-19 and IAA COVID-19 Relief Resource Chart.
Each new coronavirus-related development is being communicated to you via email in IAA Member Alerts. Regulatory developments and related news affecting investment advisers are reported and updated in the online version of our newsletter, IAA Today.
Rest assured that the IAA will continue to provide you with critical information and services as this rapidly changing coronavirus situation evolves. As a profession, we have a crucial role to play – indeed, a profound obligation – to see our clients, the markets and our economy through this unprecedented challenge. And the IAA is committed to helping you provide these essential services.
All Best,
Karen Barr
IAA President & CEO
TAGS: Coronavirus, Karen Barr