Sweeping Changes to the Credit Rating Provisions of the Investment Company Act

Steven Goldberg is a Principal at Grant Thornton LLP, and leads the national Financial Services Business Advisory Practice. Steve has also served as Principal in the Banking and Securities Practice at Deloitte & Touche, and has held executive positions as Drexel Burnham and Morgan Stanley. He has provided advisory services to many of the leading global financial institutions as well as to mid-sized and development stage organizations. He has led engagements across systems, operations, finance and human resources, as well as providing enterprise risk management, internal audit and regulatory compliance services. Most recently, Steve has been working with several financial institutions in preparing for regulatory changes related to the Dodd Frank financial reform law and other current regulatory and market structure issues.

Steve has over 25 years of experience in the industry as an executive and management consultant. He has spoken at many industry conferences and events, and has published in periodicals on many topics of relevance to the Financial Services Industry. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from City University of NY and resides in New York, NY and Southeast, NY.

Stephen Keen is Counsel to Reed Smith LLP and a member of its Financial Industry Group, practicing in the area of Investment Management. Prior to joining Reed Smith in 2005, he was General Counsel of Federated Investors, Inc. A nationally known Investment Company Act lawyer with over twenty years of experience, Steve has written extensively on the regulation of money market funds and other securities related topics. Steve is also a frequent panellist at industry conferences. Steve was named one of the Best Lawyers in America for Mutual Funds in 2010. He graduated from the University of Chicago Law School with honours in 1984.

Jesse Kanach is a counsel in the firm’s Asset Management Group. He regularly represents a wide range of financial institutions, including registered and private funds and investment advisers, on a variety of regulatory, corporate and transactional matters. His practice ranges from the formation and offering of hedge funds and registered open- and closed-end investment companies, to the representation of independent directors and trustees, to acquisitions of investment advisory firms.

Mr. Kanach represents institutional investors on their investments, including in private equity, hedge, energy and real estate funds, and in negotiating separate account agreements. He advises on various fund structures including onshore and offshore funds, master-feeders, special purpose vehicles and funds of funds. He counsels investment managers on compliance reviews and internal investigations. He frequently advises companies on exceptions from U.S. Investment Company Act registration. Based in Washington, D.C., his focus has included tracking developments in the changing legislative and regulatory framework applicable to the asset management industry.

Mr. Kanach’s articles and media quotations have appeared in BNA Privacy Law Report, BNA Securities Regulation and Law Report, Board IQ, and Private Equity International, among others. He contributed a chapter to The US Private Equity Fund Compliance Guide (PEI 2010).