Moderated by: Bill Donegan
Senior Compliance Consultant
à BLG / AUM Law
Moderated by: Bill Donegan
Senior Compliance Consultant
à BLG / AUM Law
Bill is a Senior Compliance Consultant at BLG Beyond AUM Law, with extensive knowledge and experience with wealth management and distribution firms. In his role, he provides senior level advisory services to registered individuals, firms and dealers, on all aspects of their securities regulatory compliance obligations and the implementation of securities regulatory requirements.
Bill has particular expertise in navigating compliance for Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) investment dealers and mutual fund dealers. He is well positioned to assist firms with understanding and navigating the opportunities and implications resulting from the recent creation of CIRO. His compliance advisory services include working with registered dealer firms, portfolio managers and investment fund managers, as well as engaging with securities regulators in connection with conduct matters, complaints, investigations, audits and remediation plans. He also provides support for the application and interpretation of complex business conduct policies and procedures.
Bill provides expert and in depth “real life” training to executive, staff and representatives of firms in areas such as identifying and mitigating conflicts of interest, KYC, KYP and assessing suitability.
Panellists:
James Burron; Founding Partner, CAASA
Mark Tower; Executive Director, Head of Business Development & Investor Relations, Asset Management One USA Inc
Robert Wilson; Head of Portfolio Construction Consultation Services, Picton Mahoney Asset Management
Biographies:
James Burron
James co-founded CAASA in response to industry support for a Canadian alternatives association to serve all aspects including: hedge / alternative strategies; liquid alternatives; private lending; private real estate; private equity; plus emerging areas where Canada is a leader such as digital assets / blockchain.
Prior to CAASA, James was the Chief Operating Officer of AIMA Canada where his team of three worked with 12 committees to produce 50-60 events per annum across Canada, organized 100+ committee meetings, and increase member numbers over his 7-year tenue from 66 to 164 corporate entities. CAASA currently has more than 400 members.
James currently sits on the Canadian Investment Funds Standards Committee (CIFSC), which categorizes mutual funds and alternative mutual funds (aka liquid alternatives) for the retail space in Canada. He is also called upon by membership and industry groups to speak to risk ratings and portfolio placement of all types of alternative investments.
James also has experience in research and writing for the CAIA Association (holding the designation since 2006) as well as serving on CAIA’s exam council and as a well as other duties. He had roles in institutional sales and FoHF structuring in Seoul, South Korea, as a Product Manager at ICICI Wealth Management, and as an Investment Advisor at RBC Dominion Securities. James graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BBA (Finance).
Mark Tower
Mr. Tower is a senior institutional sales and marketing professional with over 20 years of experience in the alternative investment industry. Mr. Tower joined Asset Management One USA Inc. “AMO USA” in September of 2023 to lead the business development and investor relations functions. Prior to joining AMO USA, Mr. Tower was Director of North American Business Development at Lyxor Asset Management Inc. where he was focused on developing and maintaining client relationships across all verticals in the United States and Canada from December 2015 until September 2023. Since 2004 Mr. Tower has also built and grown institutional sales for UBP Asset Management, Rock Maple Funds, and Muirfield Capital Management. Mr. Tower began his career at Orbitex Group of Funds and REFCO Alternative Investments in sales and marketing roles. Mr. Tower has a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College.
Robert Wilson
Robert Wilson, Senior Vice President, is the Head of Picton Mahoney’s Portfolio Construction Consultation Service (PCCS). He is responsible for leading a multi-disciplinary team of experts in asset allocation, risk management, quantitative research and portfolio management. Robert and his team partner with investment advisors and institutional investors to help them construct more resilient and efficient investment portfolios. Robert is often invited to share his insights on alternative investments, asset allocation and portfolio construction with industry groups and media outlets.
Prior to joining Picton Mahoney in 2019, Robert spent 10 years working in financial services in progressively senior roles. Most recently, Robert was vice president at BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited where he distributed iShares ETFs to Canadian investment advisors. Prior to that, Robert was an associate at PIMCO where he distributed PIMCO funds to Canadian investment advisors.
Robert holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He is a CFA charterholder, and he holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation. He is also a member of the Responsible Investment Association of Canada and holds the Responsible Investment Professional Certification designation.
