John H. Walsh to Retire From the SEC's OCIE, Announced at Ascendant Compliance Conference

SALISBURY, Conn., Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- To a maximum crowd of Chief Compliance Officers and Legal professionals, representing over $3 trillion in assets under management, Panelist David Lui had the privilege of publicly announcing John H. Walsh's, Associate Director – Chief Counsel in the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (" OCIE"), plan to retire from the SEC after 23 years of public service.  Co-panelists Richard Marshall and Marianne Smythe praised his many devoted years of public service and his great leadership at OCIE.  David Lui echoed the sentiment of the panelists and CCOs from the investment adviser industry, thanking him for his leadership and his important role in protecting investors.

The announcement was fittingly made at Ascendant's Compliance Conference, "Creating a Culture of Integrity:  Ethics, Fiduciaries, and a Self-Regulatory Organization and the Effects on Compliance."   The conference will be his last public speaking appearance in his role at OCIE.

"The industry is a better place because of John Walsh.  We will all miss his wise counsel," said Jon Higgins, CEO of Ascendant.  "We look forward to hearing his future plans and thank him for his continued support for Conferences + Education, as well as his dedication to making compliance a source of strength for every compliance officer out there."  

John Walsh is the Associate Director, Chief Counsel of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations of the SEC, and joined the Ascendant conference in San Diego for the "Update on Developments in Washington DC" panel session.  He was accompanied by David H. Lui, Chief Compliance Officer & Principal of Galliard Capital Management, an investment advisory subsidiary of Wells Fargo, Richard Marshall, a partner in the Investment Management and Securities Litigation groups of Ropes & Gray, and Marianne Smythe, a retired partner of Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering Hale and Dorr.  Marianne currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Rohatyn Group of funds and also does special projects relating to investment advisers and investment companies.

About Ascendant:

Ascendant Compliance Management is located in Salisbury, CT, with offices in New York City and San Francisco, CA.  Ascendant offers integrated compliance and business solutions for investment advisers, broker dealers, and hedge and private equity funds and provides conferences and online training.  For more information on Ascendant's services, or to sign up for email alerts such as this, please visit their website at www.ascendantcompliance.com or call 860-435-2255.

About the Conference:

Ascendant Compliance Management's Conferences + Education team is dedicated to the advancement of compliance professionals in the investment management industry.   The interactive approach follows all of the latest trends in SEC examinations (including the possibility of an SRO), risk assessments, insider trading, social media networks, compliance automation, ethics and fiduciary duty among other topics. This intermediate to advanced program explores in depth each item on the agenda. The goal of this program is to equip compliance professionals with the necessary tools for developing and maintaining the highest standards of business practice management.  To view the conference agenda, speaker list and travel information please visit www.ascendantcompliance.com.

SOURCE Ascendant Compliance Management