Rick Ryder is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Securities Arbitration Commentator.
I just attended my last SER Conference as a member of the Roundtable Board. I doubt I'll run for the Board again, but, after more than a dozen years of Board service, I have a respect for and dedication to this organization that combines with an affection for the very best of its membership. That this Conference was one among so very many I've attended (I think I've missed one gathering since our start in the early 90's) does not diminish my oft-repeated conviction that the most recent Conference was the best ever.
At the recent Conference in St. Paul, I heard a key speaker say that, of the many conferences at which he speaks each year, this group is "his favorite." I can't think of a better testimonial to the value of the SER conferences than this observation by someone with such a varied and broad perspective. As one who is a long-standing member, but one who also occupies a different perch than most, I share this view. Roundtable Conferences, I have long maintained teach me more about the realities of securities litigation/arbitration practice than at the many other conferences that SAC covers each year.
I'm speaking before an arbitration group in the Fall on the subject of RIAs in arbitration and I learned from a session run by SER's new President, David Keogh, key facts (caveat: hearsay) that I will incorporate into my presentation:
• SEC OCIE staff discourage RIAs from utilizing pre-dispute arbitration agreements (Wow!);
• Most advisor cases where SER experts present deal with state-registered RIAs, not federal RIAs;
• AAA officials are pushing all but the most complex RIA disputes into the new Consumer Arbitration Rules and out of the very expensive Commercial Arbitration Rules (Big news - Big change);
• E&O insurance may be a more effective solution to the unpaid Awards of insolvent RIAs than it can effectively be on the BD side (think carve-outs); and
• At the same time the SEC is widely regarded as examining RIAs on a once-a-decade basis, it is claiming the execution of 3,100 "exams" in 2018 covering its 13,000 SEC-registered RIAs.
That's the yield from just one session! On other subjects, we heard from SER Board members that the Roundtable has budgeted a reduction of its cash reserves in 2019, for the express purpose of inaugurating a quarterly newsletter (TEE: The Expert's Examiner), advertising in SIFMA, PIABA and other publications, strengthening its LinkedIn presence, and revitalizing the SER Website. With respect to the latter, attendees saw a video, professionally produced by one of our SER members for his Website, that has sparked a Board resolution to enable all members to link to video presentations from their SER Website account profiles. Look for other inter-active and dynamic changes to the Website in the coming year.
Back to the Conference, at the cocktail hour, I met a local litigator at the Friday cocktail hour who retained an expert after conducting a search on the SER "Find an Expert" facility. It sparked recollections from at least two recent arbitration seminars where we heard similar statements from the podium by lawyers who have used, and who have commended the use of, the SER search facility to the audience. This lawyer added the observation, in lauding the service, that he saved hours of search time; he felt fully informed on credentials; and, very importantly, he felt confident he was mining a database that would produce gems, not dross. His one criticism was that he could not view the experts in action (add videos -- ta-dah!).
Maybe the last item item to mention: in addition to the truly educational and thought-inspiring programs offered at the St. Paul Conference, the networking value of this annual gathering can't be beat. Perhaps most illustrative of that potential was the impressive fact that three long-time SER members paid additional consideration to SER, in order to sponsor cocktails and include advertising flyers in the Conference materials -- as an investment in the organization, surely -- but ultimately driven by the evident conviction that their next retention might easily be due to the attention paid them by attending colleagues.
There are many reasons to belong to SER. To miss the Annual Conference, as I've tried to demonstrate -- sacrifices a major benefit of membership! Yes, the search engine and blast email to members are great! SER is far more and the Annual Conference is at the heart of that!
