In this conversation, Robin Hodgkins speaks with Caroline Bayman and Chris Newson of FGA Consulting Ltd, a UK-based consultancy that is working with brokers and their clients to help educate them on CSAs and to demostrate the benefits of CSAs to asset managers and their clients. Caroline's background includes many years in the commission management space working with both brokers and asset managers before becoming an entrepreneur in the real estate development world and, more recently, ...

In this conversation, Robin Hodgkins speaks with Hester White, an expert in building client relationship teams and focusing broker attention on using CSAs and commission management to fuel growth. Her background at firms such as Nomura, Jefferies, and Peel Hunt establish her as a true leader in her field and one to pay attention to. Hester's experience covers everything from sales to corporate access and from managing CSA teams all the way to sitting on management committees. She brings...

In this conversation, Michael Mayhew joins Robin to discuss recent the current status of CSA re-adoption in the UK. Mike is the founder and chairman of Integrity Research Associates, the premier source of information about research firms as well as the leading CSA blog. We recommend everyone signs up for his premium blog, which is often described by leading asset managers as a "must read". Mike's background on the research side led to the creation of Integrity Research in 2000. Mike is ...

In this conversation, Bob Nowicki returns to talk about the CSA business from the point of view of CSA brokers. The focus is on how they can easily increase their business and order flow by focusing more on selling CSAs rather than just treating them as an accommodation. 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 e...

In this conversation, we meet John McGough, one of the leaders in commission management spanning the past 20 years. John's expertise started at a SPSI, a brokerage unit of S&P and has expanded to several other brokers, always helping them significantly expand their soft dollar / CSA businesses domestically and globally. John is currently consulting at Castine as our head of business development. With the recent release of PS25/4 and last year's PS24/9, many asset managers in the UK are wo...

In this conversation, the decision makers on the ResearchPool and Castine teams talk about how this acquisition came to be. Pedro Fernandes, the CEO of ResearchPool, Tom Smith, Castine's EVP of Sales, and Robin Hodgkins, Castine's President discuss how the two companies came together, each of their business models, and how the combined solution will benefit the global market for research management, budgeting, and payment services using commission management / CSAs. ResearchPool...

In this conversation, we meet Aaron Walter, the Head of Research Management at Janus Henderson, a global investment manager. With 30 years of experience in research and Commission Management, Aaron has witnessed significant changes in the regulatory landscape across the US, the UK, and globally. Our discussion delves into Aaron’s career at Janus Henderson and how regulatory shifts in commission management have influenced his perspective on research and the industry’s response. The rec...

In this conversation we meet Jack Pollina, the Head of Commission Management, Client Relationship Management, and Sales for Virtu Financial. Jack has been involved in commission management since his fortuitous job at Hoenig & Co. Working in CSAs has been the hallmark of Jack's career - other than running a bagel store - and he leverages that knowledge with his team and clients to help them navigate the complexities of 28(e) and similar regulations worldwide. Our conve...

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 b...

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...

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 in...

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 Evercor...

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...

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...

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, ...

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...

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 ...

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...

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 an...

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 ma...