Castine Conversations

In this conversation we meet Steve Stone, the head of the financial institutions law practice at Morgan Lewis. Steve is a recognized expert in commission management in the US, England, and Europe and represents clients before the SEC and FINRA. Commission Management is a major front-of-mind issue in the USA with the end of the SEC "No Action" letter last year and  it's a front-of-mind issue in the UK due to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's and Rachel Hunt's calls for what could be the return of CSAs. With the FCA's release of a report on April 10th supporting "rebundling," our conversation with Steve on commission management is very timely. This conversation covers Steve's career, how commission management has wound up where it is today on a global basis, and where things might shake-out in the next 3-18 months. For more information on Morgan Lewis, please visit MorganLewis.com. For more information on Castine and its commission management and other solutions, please visit CastineLLC.com

In this conversation we meet Indy Sarker, Founder of Analec.Indy is a recognized global leader in commission management and brings to it his years of experience in research analysis, publication workflow and CRM systems. Indy has been involved with commission management for over a decade and has been an active sponsor and speaker in numerous commission management events and conferences. Indy started out on the research analyst side of the industry after reading Economics at Cambridge and founded Analec in 2003 to bring deep domain knowledge to the creation of innovative tools for publication management and customer management. More recently, Indy and his team have expanded the Analec platform from focusing on research sales and trading vertical to addressing customer engagement across several other industries, including investment banking, M&A deal flow, asset management, and others. My conversation with Indy covers how Analec came to be and where the commission management space is evolving given new regulatory possibilities in the UK as well as changes in the EU and the end of the "No Action" letter in the USA.For more information on Analec, please visit Analec.com.For more information on Castine LLC, including our commission management, compensation, and compliance solutions for investment managers and retail and institutional brokers, please visit CastineLLC.com

In this conversation we meet Neil Scarth, Founder and Principal of Frost Consulting.Neil Scarth has held a wide range of roles in asset management and investment banking in Europe and North America over the last 25 years, ranging from running equity businesses at global banks to launching and managing various asset management products. Neil has comprehensive knowledge of the strategic and competitive framework that governs the inter-relationships between plan sponsors, asset managers and investment banks.Frost Consulting, which was formed in 2007, focuses on commission management and unbundling. Frost's depth and breadth of experience helps their clients navigate existing rules around unbundling as well as helping them understand how proposed changes in the UK and Europe - along with the sunsetting of the SEC No Action Letter - will impact and benefit them. My conversation with Neil is on those changes and where things may play out over then next year or two. This conversation is with Robin Hodgkins, Castine's President and covers the potential changes in the UK around commission management as being led by Jeremy Hunt and Rachel Kent.For more information on Frost Consulting, please visit FrostConsulting.co.uk.For more information on Castine LLC, including our commission management, compensation, and compliance solutions for investment managers and retail and institutional brokers, please visit CastineLLC.com

In this conversation we meet Bob Nowicki, a luminary in the commission management space.  Bob has over three decades of experience and is one of the rare individuals on the Street who has deep experience in building operations, middle offices, and trading desks for the buy and sell side, both in fixed income and equities, including his own hedge fund.   For the last two decades, Bob had been leading commission management programs at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Evercore ISI.  While at Merrill Lynch, Bob took part in building out an internal research survey business and also launched and managed its internal independent research marketing firm, Merrill Open Minds.  Bob received his B.S. in Finance from St. John’s University and currently consults in the areas of client strategy, commission management, operations, and independent research.This conversation is hosted by Tom Smith, Castine's EVP of Sales.For more information on Castine LLC, including our commission management, compensation, and compliance solutions for investment managers and retail and institutional brokers, please visit CastineLLC.com

In this conversation we meet Stuart Howard, the Global Head of Research Relationships at Invesco Ltd.  Stuart is responsible for managing the research relationships that Invesco uses to add value to the investment decisions that the firm and its team members make. As such, Stuart has a unique view of the research space, how it has evolved during covid, and where it is headed in 2023 and beyond. His background in auditing, analysis, client reporting and operations has led to where he is now, as has several of the key mentors that have helped direct and guide him.  Stuart talks about moving from studying history to working with some of the key issues facing firms around research, MiFID II, remote vs in-person work, and how the different regulatory pressures from the USA, England, and the EU make this a particularly interesting and productive time for all issues around research.  This conversation is with Robin Hodgkins, Castine's President.  For more information on Invesco, please visit Invesco.com.For more information on Castine LLC, including our commission management, compensation, and compliance solutions for investment managers and retail and institutional brokers, please visit CastineLLC.com

In this conversation we meet Sarah Ahmed, the Director of Corporate Access at Artisan Partners.  Sarah Ahmed is a true leader in Corporate Access, learning at the side of wonderful mentors at Deutsche Bank and AB Bernstein, and now running Corporate Access for Artisan. Sarah's experiences in getting into the field of Corporate Access with a broker's perspective and then transitioning to the asset manager side are fascinating, as are her observations on how Corporate Access survived and changed during the Covid years. Sarah talks about what it takes to get into the business (on either the broker and asset manager side), and how she believes the field will evolve over the next few years. This conversation is with Robin Hodgkins, Castine's President.  For more information on Artisan Partners, please visit ArtisanPartners.com.For more information on Castine LLC, including our commission management, compensation, and compliance solutions for investment managers and retail and institutional brokers, please visit CastineLLC.com

In this podcast we meet Suzanne Mick Stafford, Expert Services Associate at Mirador, LLC. Mirador was founded in 2015 and has grown to be a leader in providing outsourced CTO services and third-party solutions to brokers, high net worth individuals, wealth management firms, endowments, and foundations. This episode is an extension on an earlier conversation with Joe Larizza, Mirador's CEO on Compensation Management 101 for Wealth Managers. In this "201" conversation, Tom Smith, Castine's Executive Vice President and Suzanne Mick Stafford get into more of the details of how a wealth manager can address complex issues using Castine's Commissioner system. Suzanne is an example of why Mirador has grown to over 160 people and has expanded to other locations around the country. Mirador's commitment to client service - as an extension of the client's own team - has accounted for much of their success. For more information on Mirador, please visit MiradorLLC.com.For more information on Castine LLC, including our commission management, compensation, and compliance solutions for investment managers and retail and institutional brokers, please visit CastineLLC.com

In this podcast we meet Joe Larizza, the Founder and CEO of Mirador, LLC. Mirador was founded in 2015 and has grown to be a leader in providing outsourced CTO services and third-party solutions to brokers, high net worth individuals, wealth management firms, endowments, and foundations. Building on a foundation of client support honed from his experience on Wall Street, Joe has built a team of over 160 people and has expanded Mirador to other locations around the country. One of the areas of expertise that Mirador provides is a series of solutions to wealth managers. In this capacity, Joe and his team have worked with many Castine clients on their compensation needs. In this podcast - the first of two on this subject with the Mirador team - Joe discusses the basics of compensation management that Mirador imparts to their clients. For more information on Mirador, please visit MiradorLLC.com.For more information on Castine LLC, including our commission management, compensation, and compliance solutions for investment managers and retail and institutional brokers, please visit CastineLLC.com

In this podcast we meet Jason Glazer. Jason is the Head of Product Management at Piper Sandler, which acquired Cornerstone Macro, where he was the Chief Operating Officer. Jason's travels through sales and finance have included many situations where he was mentored by wonderful teachers. In his new role, Jason is continuing the mentiorship focus but where he mentors others. The opportunities for growth that the acquistion by Piper Sandler brings, and Jason's involvement throughout the research process lead to a very interersting conversation. For more information on Piper Sandler, please visit PiperSandler.com.For more information on Castine LLC, including our commission management, compensation, and compliance solutions for investment managers and retail and institutional brokers, please visit CastineLLC.com

In this podcast we meet Pedro Fernandes. Pedro is the founder and CEO of ResearchPool, which provides workflow management tools, research discovery, and ESG meeting and interaction management to asset managers worldwide. ResearchPool's products are also used by the sell-side to monetize research, monitor consumption, expand distribution, and help with compliance issues around MiFID II. We discuss how ResearchPool was formed and some of the interesting opportunities that have come their way as they have grown since 2015. For more information on ResearchPool, please visit ResearchPool.com.For more information on Castine LLC, including our commission management, compensation, and compliance solutions for investment managers and retail and institutional brokers, please visit CastineLLC.com

In this podcast we meet Steve Dimitriou. Steve is the founder and managing partner of Mayflower Advisors, which has operated since 2002 and now manages over $1.7B in assets. Mayflower launched an RIA firm in 2020 and we cover what led to that decision and the steps they've taken on the rollout. Steve has lots of words of wisdom for those who are thinking of setting up RIA's in this informative interview.For more information on Mayflower Advisors, including their private wealth management and institutional advisory services as well as their retirement plan consultancy, please visit MayflowerAdvisors.com.For more information on Castine LLC, including our commission management, compensation, and compliance solutions for investment managers and retail and institutional brokers, please visit CastineLLC.com

In this podcast we meet Mike Carrodus, who is the founder and CEO of UK-based Substantive Research. We cover Mike's background in this episode and will meet up again in a future episode to discuss more about the creation of Substantive Research. Substantive was formed in 2015 and provides research discovery and research spend analytics, both of which provide immense value-add to any manager. The firm also runs what is considered to be the "go to" conference for information about commission management, which is held twice a year in London and in New York. Mike's travels from publishing to research to running one of the leading research providers in the institutional investment space is fascinating. We hope you enjoy meeting Mike.For more information on Substantive Research, including their research discovery and spend analytics services, please visit SubstantiveResearch.com.For more information on Castine LLC, including our commission management, compensation, and compliance solutions for investment managers and retail and institutional brokers, please visit CastineLLC.com