Friends -

I invite you to join me, my co-chair Steve Roth of Eversheds Sutherland, and hundreds of your peers at ALI CLE's 36th Annual Advanced Conference on Life Insurance Company Products.

This year's Conference will be held Thursday and Friday, November 8-9, 2018, at the Marriott Renaissance in Washington, D.C. The Conference also includes an evening workshop on Wednesday, November 7.

I strongly encourage you to take advantage of a $200 discount by entering my personal code CA003CHOI when registering:

>> Click HERE to register for the Conference. <<

Please note that significant group discounts apply when registering two or more persons from your organization.

About the Conference

A distinguishing hallmark of this Conference is its definitive, scholarly treatment of the latest and most important developments in the design, distribution, and regulation of life insurance company products. If you have attended before, you know that this Conference delivers up-to-date information and practical insights like no other.

Exceptional Faculty

The Conference faculty is exceptional and includes preeminent practitioners, seasoned professionals from across the financial services industry, and distinguished representatives from the SEC, FINRA, Department of Labor, Treasury Department, and state insurance departments. This year, we are fortunate to have the following senior regulators on our Conference faculty, including:

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

  • Dalia Blass, Director, Division of Investment Management
  • Paul Cellupica, Deputy Director, Division of Investment Management
  • Peter Driscoll, Director, Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations
  • Harry Eisenstein, Senior Special Counsel, Division of Investment Management
  • William Kotapish, Assistant Director, Division of Investment Management
  • Dabney O'Riordan, Co-Chief, Asset Management Unit, Division of Enforcement
  • Alison Staloch, Chief Accountant, Division of Investment Management
  • Sarah ten Siethoff, Associate Director, Division of Investment Management
  • Amanda Hollander Wagner, Branch Chief, Division of Investment Management

Financial Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA)

  • Jessica Hopper, Senior VP and Deputy Chief of Enforcement, Regional Enforcement
  • Amy Sochard, Senior Director, Advertising Regulation Department
  • Erin Vocke, Vice President and District Director, District 6 (Dallas)
  • Jeannette Wingler, Associate General Counsel, Office of General Counsel

State Insurance Departments

  • Dean Cameron, Director, Idaho Department of Insurance and Chair, NAIC Annuity Suitability (A) Working Group
  • Doug Ommen, Commissioner, Iowa Insurance Division and Chair, NAIC Life Insurance and Annuities (A) Committee
  • Maria T. Vullo, Superintendent, New York State Department of Financial Services

U.S. Department of Labor

  • Jeanne Klinefelter Wilson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Internal Revenue Service

  • Lauson Green, Special Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel (Tax Exempt & Gov't Entities)

Executive Roundtable

This year's Conference will include an Executive Roundtable on key annuity and life insurance design and sales trends, with perspectives from:

  • Richard Bielen, President and CEO
    Protective Life Insurance Company
  • Robert Kerzner, President and CEO
    LIMRA, LOMA & LL Global, Inc.
  • Walter White, President and CEO
    Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
  • Dave Wilken, President and Managing Director – Life
    Global Atlantic Financial Company

Hot Topics

This year's Conference will address many important hot topics, including:

  • A first look at the new Summary Prospectus disclosure framework for variable insurance products that the SEC is expected to propose before the Conference
  • A close examination of competing SEC, DOL, NY, and NAIC standards of conduct for financial intermediaries and related operational and compliance issues
  • Current ERISA and federal income tax developments, including ERISA compliance issues caused by the vacated DOL Fiduciary Rule, proposed new IRA regulations, and more
  • SEC senior staff perspectives on the latest disclosure, regulatory, and accounting issues for registered variable and non-variable insurance products, including the use of Statutory financial statements in lieu of GAAP financials
  • The latest innovations affecting the design, distribution, and administration of fixed and fixed index life and annuity products
  • SEC and FINRA staff insights on current compliance examination priorities and recent enforcement actions, including the SEC's Share Class Selection Disclosure initiative and lessons learned from cases involving conflicts of interest, sales practices, the status of administrative law judges, and more.
  • FINRA staff review of recent social media, advertising, and rulemaking developments
  • Current NAIC Life Insurance and Annuities "A" Committee initiatives, including suitability, illustrations, big data and more
  • The new electronic delivery rule for mutual fund shareholder reports and other regulatory developments affecting mutual funds and investment advisers
  • Recent excessive fee litigation involving mutual fund advisers
  • The SEC Division of Investment Management's new Investor Experience Initiative
  • Disruptive technologies in the life insurance industry, related regulatory issues, and effects on product design and distribution

Networking

I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to learn from and network with the faculty and your peers at life insurance companies, broker-dealers, investment advisers, mutual fund organizations, and the federal and state agencies that regulate them.

Looking forward to seeing you in November!