Contact:
Alyssa Gagen
Director of Social Media and Marketing, NICSA
508-485-1500
McLean, VA, August 21, 2014—NICSA, in partnership with Money Management Executive, proudly announces the winners of the 2014 NICSA/NOVA Awards, the Robert L. Gould Award, and the NICSA Lifetime Achievement Awards. These individuals and firms will be honored on September 11, 2014 in Boston at the 2014 NICSA General Membership Meeting.
OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE FUND INDUSTRY– ROBERT L. GOULD AWARD
Winner: Robert Tritt, Executive Vice President, DST
NICSA FUND INDUSTRY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Winner: Joan Dowd, Chief Compliance Officer, Boston Financial Data Services, Inc
INNOVATION IN BACK OFFICE OPERATIONS
Winner: Janus Capital Group, Global Technology and Operations
Honorable Mention: DST U.S. Investment Record Keeping Solutions, Alternative Investments
INNOVATION IN CUSTOMER SERVICE
Winner: OppenheimerFunds, Operations - Processing
CREATIVITY IN MARKETING OPERATIONS
Winner: Eaton Vance, Marketing Department
VISIONARY LEADERSHIP AWARD
Winner: Nancy A. Wiser, Wells Fargo Asset Management
Winner: Bob Adams, Executive Vice President, Fidelity Investments
These awards recognize outstanding service, creative, effective and operationally efficient efforts by fund companies and individuals who strive to serve clients, build business and improve overall service experiences.
“These 2014 honorees exemplify NICSA’s core values and are models for dedication, excellence, and leadership within the global investment community,” said Theresa Hamacher, President, NICSA. “We are especially proud to announce the winners of the Robert L. Gould Award and the NICSA Fund Industry Lifetime Achievement Award, two of the most prestigious awards offered to industry leaders who have gone above and beyond the call of duty within their organizations and the industry as a whole.”
Nominations were collected and winners were determined by an independent judging panel comprised of industry experts. Each submission was blindly scored to determine a winner in a number of award categories
For more information about NICSA, visit our website.
About NICSA
NICSA is a not-for-profit trade association founded in 1962 that provides the global investment management industry with discussion and education forums to better serve its customers by developing operational best practices. NICSA forums enable associates of asset managers, distributors, and service providers to collaborate to establish standards for operational best practices to assist compliance with regulations and continuously improve operating performance; stay up-to-date on the latest developments through education and information sharing; learn about trends in all types of investment vehicles, including mutual funds, hedge funds, unit investment trusts, UCITs and ETFs and connect members with peers to network and learn from each other, and foster skills that can help advance careers. For more information, visit nicsa.org
Contact:
Ellen Weinraub
Marketing Director, NICSA
508-683-1613
Marlborough, MA — April 9, 2009 — As the industry copes with the challenges of doing business in touch economic times, so must NICSA, a not-for-profit trade association which has served the mutual fund industry for over 47 years. “We are responding to the times”, says NICSA president, Theresa Hamacher, CFA. “We are offering new solutions to mutual fund industry professionals, but we are also holding true to our values”. That’s especially evident as NICSA rolls out it’s spring calendar of events aimed at providing free education for all aspects of investment industry operations.
We are doing a number of new things to help keep the industry informed and connected, including a series of short conference calls updating the members on hot topics, called “NICSA Now Briefings, ” webinars and networking through Linkedin. NICSA’s committees will be offering relevant educational sessions via webinars, which will be archived for members to view at their convenience. NICSA has always been known for providing high quality, independent educational content. In this environment of strained budgets and needing to do more with less, NICSA is offering more desktop delivery of programs for the industry ultimately preparing them to better serve their shareholders.
Spring webinars, which will be free to NICSA members and offered at a nominal fee to others, include:
Beginning in April, a series of NICSA Now Briefing Calls is planned to discuss the effects of changes in 403(b) Regulations.
Even in this environment, NICSA is not counting out live conferences, but they are not business as usual either. In May and June, NICSA will host shorter, local events that will keep members up to date at a very nominal out-of–pocket cost. Look for these in Denver, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Los Angeles and Boston. Information is available at nicsa.org.
About NICSA
The National Investment Company Service Association (NICSA) provides leadership and innovation in educational programming and information exchange within the operations sector of the investments industry worldwide.
NICSA was established in 1962 as a forum for operations and shareholder servicing professionals in the mutual fund industry. Today, NICSA membership totals more than 250 companies operating in major financial centers around the globe, and includes mutual fund complexes, investment management companies, custodian banks, transfer agents and independent providers of specialized products and services.
For more information, visit nicsa.org
McLean, VA, February 13, 2017 —NICSA is pleased to announce the release of a new white paper to its member firms: Broker/Custodian Resignations, An Assessment of Firm Preparedness and Current Practices. The Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule—whether delayed, altered, or implemented in April 2017—has thrust an increased complexity onto client servicing and puts critical process development squarely at the forefront of 2017 business planning for the financial services industry.
A recent survey, developed by senior members of the Association’s Risk and Compliance and Transfer Agency Committees, was distributed among NICSA member firms to gauge current industry preparedness for a potential surge in dealer/custodian resignations and to open a dialogue about procedural development. The results of the survey informed this white paper and are presented with the intention of illuminating the issues, highlighting the implications, and helping those affected to make better-informed decisions using the perspectives of their industry peers.
#PressRelease
#Operations
#PR-Compliance
Marlborough, Massachusetts – September 8, 2008 – NICSA (The National Investment Company Service Association) announced today that it has launched the mutual fund industry’s first “transparent” conference. For the first time ever, the trade association will offer online access to session content for a highly-regarded industry conference, as well as the opportunity to interact with speakers and event participants – before, during and after the event.
In an innovative approach to content delivery, NICSA’s Technology Summit 2008 will connect NICSA members and the fund industry at large, by providing online access to speaker presentations, video clips, relevant links and discussion boards about the sessions. In the weeks leading up to the conference, participants will be able to view content, comment about the topics and ask questions of the presenters. Input from these discussions will help shape the discussions at the live event.
“This open concept is part of NICSA’s plan to offer more desktop delivery to our members”, says Theresa Hamacher, NICSA’s president. “NICSA’s Technology Summit 2008, Innovate – Mobilize – Deliver, takes its theme quite literally, and offers a novel approach to business-technology content delivery. “ While desktop delivery will not replace the experience of attending a conference, it offers the convenience of anytime, anyplace access to NICSA’s high quality content. Those interested can participate in the virtual experience by visiting the association’s website, nicsa.org/Technology.
The live event is scheduled for October 26-29 at the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort at Summerlin, and features industry experts addressing technology solutions to the current environments challenges. Those who participate in person will be treated to daily keynote addresses by IT thought-leaders, including the highly anticipated opening speech by MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte. Negroponte is one of the foremost futurists of our time, offering valuable insights on innovation, technology and their impact on business that few can match. He is the driving force behind One Laptop Per Child, a project to bring affordable computers to children worldwide.
Also in the works from NICSA are complementary conference call briefings on hot topics and a webinar series on fund distribution issues.
Contact:
Ellen Weinraub
Marketing Director, NICSA
508-683-1613
About NICSA
The National Investment Company Service Association (NICSA) is a not-for-profit trade association providing leadership and innovation in educational programming and information exchange within the operations sector of the investment industry worldwide.
NICSA membership totals more than 250 companies operating in major financial centers worldwide. The membership represents all segments of the mutual fund industry including mutual fund complexes, investment management companies, custodian banks, transfer agents and independent providers of specialized products and services.
NICSA’s services to members include education, training and networking opportunities through conferences on a wide range of industry issues and developments, specialized publications, and access to a huge network of industry professionals in NICSAs membership directory. Visit: nicsa.org
Boston, MA—Changes in employee benefits, longer life spans, uncertainty with Social Security and Medicare, and the rising cost of health care have made planning for and funding retirement more difficult than it was for previous generations. Combined with the fallout from the recent recession, the result is that Americans are experiencing low levels of confidence in their retirement expectations. In fact, the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) reported last year that a quarter of all Baby Boomers have little to no confidence in their ability to meet their retirement goals. But the National Retirement Planning Coalition—a group of prominent financial industry and advocacy organizations—says that there is hope, and it all begins with a financial roadmap and a plan for saving.
The coalition has worked to organize National Retirement Planning Week® —a national effort to help consumers focus on their financial needs in retirement. NICSA is proud to announce that it will once again be supporting National Retirement Planning Week® 2012, which will take place from April 9 to 13.
McLean, VA, June 19, 2018—NICSA announces the launch of two new committees as it further expands its reach into the product and distribution arenas. Deepening the association’s engagement among distribution and data analytics executives will complement NICSA’s historical mission of advancing leading practices among technology, compliance and operations professionals within the asset management industry.
Under the leadership of President Jim Fitzpatrick, the Association has moved toward a more broadbased industry trade organization. Distribution, product, and key accounts are now a major focus of NICSA, a direct reflection of high level trends seen in the global asset management industry. To that end, NICSA recently announced the formation of two new committees: the Product & Distribution Committee, and the Data Analytics Committee. These two groups will share responsibility for shaping the direction of NICSA’s program offerings in these areas.
“These new committees represent NICSA’s forward looking evolution as a trade organization. Product, distribution, and data analytics are high-impact themes that are of great interest to the asset management community. I am excited to work with both of these groups, each comprising exceptionally dedicated professionals with the expertise needed to shape evolving industry dialogue around these topics,” said Fitzpatrick.
#PressRelease
#DistributionandSales
#PR-ProductDistribution
Contact:
Alyssa Gagen
Director of Social Media and Marketing, NICSA
508-485-1500
Boston, MA, October 1, 2014—NICSA proudly announces new additions to its Board of Directors including: George Batejan, Global Head of Technology & Operations, Janus Capital Group as the new NICSA Chairman of the Board of Directors along with Dan Houlihan, Senior Vice President, Northern Trust Company, who has been appointed as vice chair.
The NICSA Board of Directors has also elected three new members to its 2014-2015 roster: Anne Hebard-Duduch, Managing Director, Business and Product Development, Boston Financial Data Services; Lisa Hill, Managing Director, BlackRock; and Rheeta Wise, Senior Vice President, MFS.
Selections for newly appointed Board members were made among senior-level representatives from member asset management and broker-dealer firms and were voted in at the 2014 NICSA General Membership Meeting on September 11, 2014 in Boston.
“I am pleased to welcome this stellar group of industry leaders as members of the NICSA Board of Directors,” said Theresa Hamacher, President, NICSA. “Last year, NICSA continued to grow and improve its programs and services, and looking ahead at 2015, we have a lot of exciting new endeavors in store under this new leadership.”
Barry Benjamin, Partner, PwC will continue as the Treasurer on the NICSA Board of Directors.
If you are interested in learning more about NICSA, visit our website.
About NICSA
NICSA is a not-for-profit trade association founded in 1962 that provides the global investment management industry with discussion and education forums to better serve its customers by developing operational best practices. NICSA forums enable associates of asset managers, distributors, and service providers to collaborate to establish standards for operational best practices to assist compliance with regulations and continuously improve operating performance; stay up-to-date on the latest developments through education and information sharing; learn about trends in all types of investment vehicles, including mutual funds, hedge funds, unit investment trusts, UCITs and ETFs and connect members with peers to network and learn from each other, and foster skills that can help advance careers. For more information, visit nicsa.org
Contact:
Alyssa Gagen
Director of Social Media and Marketing, NICSA
508-485-1500
Boston, MA, November 5, 2014—Policies and procedures regarding beneficiary designations vary widely, concludes a NICSA survey of retirement plan administrators and individual retirement account custodians released today. The survey was conducted in June by NICSA’s Retirement Committee, with the assistance of the Insured Retirement Institute.
Beneficiary designations are important to consumers because retirement accounts are excluded from an investor’s estate upon death. Instead, the assets in the accounts are transferred to heirs according to the terms of the beneficiary designations provided by account holders.
The survey found little consensus among providers when it comes to policies for naming beneficiaries or for the documentation required after death. For example, there was no consensus on the appropriate default beneficiary when an IRA account holder fails to name a beneficiary. Only 30% of respondents name the estate as the default beneficiary, while 43% designate a surviving spouse and then the estate, and 22% distribute first to a surviving spouse and then to children -- and only after that to the estate.
Even in policy areas where there was more consensus, there was rarely unanimity. Few survey responses received close to 100% support.
Because of the variance among firms, investors and their beneficiaries working with more than one provider could well be subject to multiple policies and will likely need to provide each provider with different information.
“There’s usually a lot more consistency in operational policies in the asset management industry than there is here,” notes Theresa Hamacher, NICSA’s President. “We hope that the survey generates a dialogue about policies for beneficiary designations.”
Beneficiary designations can be very complex, which means that administering them often involves considerable manual processing. In fact, only 1 in 4 survey respondents have an online capability that enables investors to update designations themselves.
Complete survey results are available to NICSA and Insured Retirement Institute members at nicsa.org and www.irionline.org.
About NICSA
NICSA is a not-for-profit trade association founded in 1962 that provides the global investment management industry with discussion and education forums to better serve its customers by developing operational best practices. NICSA forums enable associates of asset managers, distributors, and service providers to collaborate to establish standards for operational best practices to assist compliance with regulations and continuously improve operating performance; stay up-to-date on the latest developments through education and information sharing; learn about trends in all types of investment vehicles, including mutual funds, hedge funds, unit investment trusts, UCITs and ETFs and connect members with peers to network and learn from each other, and foster skills that can help advance careers. For more information, visit nicsa.org
Wellesley, MA - May 10, 2004 - The NICSA Board of Directors have approved a modification in NICSA’s membership fee structure. NICSA membership fees have remained unchanged for the past ten years. During that decade consumer prices increased 27% and industry assets grew 252% from $2.1 trillion to $7.4 trillion. In that same time, although NICSA has made every effort to control expenses, the costs to NICSA of providing quality services to its membership have increased significantly
In order to ensure that NICSA is able to continue to provide its members with the best possible service in carrying out its missions of education, training and networking, NICSA will implement a modest increase in membership fees. This adjustment will become effective as of the members next annual membership renewal date.
While our membership fees have not increased over the past ten years, the services we provide our members have grown substantially. Here are a few examples of NICSA initiatives during that time period:
NICSA has been both innovative and active in providing services to its membership. In order to maintain the organization’s ability to continue to carry out this role, there will be an increase in the base Corporate Location Membership fee of $250 per year. Additionally, a completely new National Corporate Membership option will be offered, allowing all employees of a corporate entity nationwide to be eligible for valuable NICSA benefits. This is an enhanced membership level for the many geographically distributed member firms to consider. Also newly introduced is the Global Leader Membership for the most dedicated of NICSA supporters.
Updated NICSA Membership Fee StructureUpdated NICSA Membership Fee StructurePrimary Corporate Location Membership: $1,250
NICSA membership for All Employees of a Corporate Entity that work within a Specific Metropolitan Area. (currently $1,000)
Additional Location Membership: $1,000
Incremental membership to cover One Additional Metropolitan Area. (currently $750)
National Corporate Membership: $3,000
NICSA membership for All Employees of a Corporate Entity and its Wholly Owned Subsidiaries Nationwide.
NICSA Global Leader Membership: $10,000
For leading entities that wish to support NICSA in fulfillment of its mission, membership for All Employees of an Enterprise, including ALL its Affiliates Worldwide. NICSA Global Leader member firms will receive priority access and placement for Exhibitor and Sponsorship opportunities at NICSA events.
International Corporate Location Membership: $500
NICSA membership for All Employees of a Corporate Entity that work within a Specific Country outside of North America. (No change in current dues.)
Boston - January 26, 2004. The National Investment Company Service Association (NICSA) announced today that it is partnering with New England College of Finance (NECF) to promote a new online program with UC Berkeley Extension. This innovative and timely program, entitled "Accelerated Program in Financial Services", was created under the direction of an Advisory Board of senior management from prominent companies in the banking and investment management/mutual fund sectors. The program targets college graduates who seek industry knowledge as well as graduate-level education. The program has received funding support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and is recommended for seven to nine graduate credits in transfer into masters degree programs.
"This is an exciting and very timely program", says Barbara V. Weidlich, president of NICSA. "We can now offer anytime, anywhere access to industry-specific education delivered at the graduate level, with credits transferring into highly regarded MBA programs. This will provide a perfect complement to NICSAs existing portfolio of conferences, seminars, regional meetings, and our online Certified Mutual Fund Specialist program delivered in partnership with Acadient."
In this jointly-delivered, fast-paced program, students will be engaged in parallel tracks. They will enroll in either a finance or general management concentration through Berkeley while simultaneously focusing on financial services education through NECF. Students will participate in online cohort groups at NECF where they will apply the lessons learned in their Berkeley studies to real-world financial situations. All learning will therefore be tied to the industry, ensuring relevance, practicality, and collaboration among students and companies. The program will culminate in a Capstone Project, which students will create as a strategic deliverable to their employers. The program may be completed in six to eight months.
"We are delighted to welcome NICSA as a partner in this important industry-driven program", says Robert A. Regan, president and CEO of NECF. "The NICSA brand resonates throughout the industry, and its large global membership is precisely the audience this online program is targeting. By leveraging our combined resources, brands, and intellectual capital, NICSA, UC Berkeley, and NECF deliver extraordinary value to the financial services industry."
Under the terms of this partnership agreement, NICSA and NECF will share revenues, and members of NICSA will receive a substantial tuition discount in the program. In addition to promoting the program to its members, NICSA will serve on the Advisory Board overseeing the program, where it will provide thought leadership on behalf of its members.
The program is scheduled for a March 2004 launch and will be offered four times throughout the year. Admission is open to college graduates of the financial services industry, and requires a written recommendation from management.
About NICSA
The National Investment Company Service Association (NICSA) is a not-for-profit trade association providing leadership and innovation in educational programming and information exchange within the operations sector of the worldwide investment industry.
NICSA membership totals more than 400 companies operating in major financial centers in the United States, Europe and Asia. The membership represents all segments of the mutual fund industry including mutual fund complexes, investment management companies, custodian banks, transfer agents and independent providers of specialized products and services.
NICSAs services to members include education, training and networking opportunities through conferences on a wide range of industry issues and developments; specialized publications, and access to NICSAs membership directory. NICSA also offers an On-Line Learning Center featuring the Certified Mutual Fund Specialist Program, the first-ever certification program of its kind.
NICSAs website (nicsa.org) offers up-to-date information about all of the Associations programs and activities.
About NECF
New England College of Finance is a not-for-profit educational organization serving all segments of financial services. Founded in Boston in 1909 as a banking institute, NECF achieved national prominence when it became recognized as an accredited, degree-granting college - the only organization of its kind in America ever to achieve full collegiate status. In 2002, NECF was selected by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to be its partner in delivering online education to the financial services industry worldwide. A major eLearning grant from Sloan enabled the creation of NECFOnline and its partnership with UC Berkeley Extension.
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