Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Protecting investors and improving the quality of investment advice were once again themes at the ninth annual fi360 Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. With two full days of educational content covering 32 distinct topics, the event provided investment advisors with expert insights on improving fiduciaryprocedures, benefits and risks common to investment products, the current state of legal and regulatory developments, and more.

Susan Mangiero, an Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst designee from Fiduciary Leadership, LLC, was among the approximately 600 advisors attending the three-day educational and networking event. Susan Mangiero specializes in institutional due diligence, governance and risk management services, including (1) reviews and development of compliance and investment policies and procedures (2) due diligence audits, including operational due diligence (3) conformance with fiduciary duties (4) due diligence of pension funds, 401(k) plans, hedge funds and private equity firms (5) risk management audits including quantitative and qualitative techniques (6) review of trading and asset pricing models (7) valuation of economic interests for buy-sell agreements or estate planning and (8) expert testimony, damage calculations and dispute resolution strategies.

Noted statistician and best-selling author Nate Silver delivered a keynote address regarding on the impact of modern data analysis and the science of predictions. His message to advisors focused on understanding the imprecise nature of predictions and the folly of failing to account for uncertainty. A panel of fiduciary experts, led by fi360 CEO Blaine Aikin, was also featured in a general session, providing an overview of the current and future state of the fiduciary standard. Their session looked at the latest developments in fiduciary rulemaking and how competitive factors are leading more advisors to adopt high fiduciary standards. The fi360 Conference is an annual event focused on the application of the fiduciary standard to investment portfolios of all types, the investment selection process, ongoing regulatory changes, and other topics related to fiduciary best practices. The audience is largely comprised of investment advisors, but also welcomes many others who are serving in a fiduciary capacity, such as investment committee members, plan sponsors, trustees, and foundation board members. In addition to the two general sessions, attendees had the opportunity to attend a variety of breakout sessions to best fit their areas of interest. Subject matter areas available included fee disclosure, compliance, alternative investments, risk management, ethics, and target date funds. ?The fi360 Conference continues to be one of the leading educational events available for advisors and other fiduciaries who are leading the way in providing trustworthyservices,? said Blaine Aikin, CEO of fi360. ?The educational content, practical instruction, and networking opportunities are second to none.?

Dr. Susan Mangiero adds that regulators, litigators and policy makers are paying close attention to fiduciary process. "It is imperative that fiduciaries have an independent third party to assist them with proper decision-making. There is personal and professional liability that is not going away. To the contrary, more attention than ever before is being paid to what a fiduciary does, how a decision is made and whether conflicts were avoided"