Indexing, from Evolution to Revolution
Description
In his latest book Trillions: How a Band of Wall Street Renegades Invented the Index Fund and Changed Finance Forever, author Robin Wigglesworth discusses the rise and future of the index fund. As we enter into the next 50 years of indexing, Robin is joined in conversation by John Coates, Professor of Law and Economics and Vice-Dean for Finance and Strategic Initiatives at Harvard Law School, who served as Acting Director for the Division of Corporation Finance and as General Counsel for the SEC.
In this 90 minute conversation, Robin and John will examine the past, present, and future of indexing in parsing the following topics:
- How innovations in the indexing space such as common ownership and direct Indexing open new doors for investors but also inject new risk attributes into financial markets and the role regulators have to play in mitigating these risks;
- Parsing common myths and misconceptions about ETFs such as the level of their “passivity” or their erosive effects on market efficiency and highlighting how product innovation in this space has made ETFs ascendant and rendered 40-act funds obsolete;
- And finally, how ESG adoption is radically reshaping the way investors and the public view indexed portfolios, the SEC's current work shaping ESG disclosure policy, and the evolving ethical and legal responsibilities that asset managers will face as their role in financial markets and securing the retirements of citizens evolves in the years to come.
Join CFA Society Boston on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 from 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM as we host, Indexing, from Evolution to Revolution which will contextualize the current direction of indexing by providing the historical context that underpinned and will continue to guide its spectacular growth, and provide a stimulating discussion that indexing veterans and newcomers alike will appreciate.
Speaker Bios
John Coates
Professor of Law and Economics
Research Director, Center on the Legal Profession
John Coates is a nationally recognized expert in corporate transactions, corporate control and governance, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), financial institutions, and securities. He has served as General Counsel and Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and also as a member of the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee. Prior to joining the Harvard faculty, Professor Coates was a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he specialized in financial institutions and in M&A. He has provided consulting services to the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, multiple financial regulatory agencies, and the New York Stock Exchange. Professor Coates has also consulted for participants in financial markets, including individuals, mutual funds, hedge funds, investment banks, commercial banks, and private equity funds. In addition, Professor Coates served as an independent consultant for the SEC in the first and largest of the “Fair Fund” distributions to investors.
Robin Wigglesworth
Global Finance Correspondent
Robin Wigglesworth is the FT’s global finance correspondent, based in Oslo, Norway. He focuses on the biggest trends reshaping markets, investing and finance more broadly across the world, with a particular focus on technological disruption and quantitative investing, and writing longer-form features, analyses, profiles and columns. He was previously the FT's US markets editor, spearheading its coverage of financial markets and asset management across the Americas, deputy head of FastFT, capital markets correspondent, and Gulf correspondent.
Pricing
Members | Complimentary
Non Members | $20.00
Passport Program
Members of any CFA society may attend at the CFA Society Boston member rate. Please Use code PPW2022 for webinars for member pricing. If you are only a member of CFA Institute, you do not qualify for the Society member rate.
Professional Learning Credits
CFA Boston has determined that this event qualifies for 1 PL credit hour under the guidelines of CFA Institute's Professional Learning Program. If you are a CFA Institute member and a CFA Society Boston member, PL credit for your participation in this event will be automatically recorded in your PL tracking tool. Otherwise, you may upload 1 PL credit to your CFA Institute account in the PL tracking tool.
Registration
Members can register by logging into their Boston specific account. Non-members and CFA Society Global members must create an account, or log into their Boston specific account, to register for this program. Zoom details will be sent following registration. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please ensure you have completed the entire checkout process.