Good morning and welcome to this special meeting of the Asset Management Advisory Committee.

Before I start, let me remind you that I am speaking only for myself and not for the Commission, the Commissioners, or the staff. [1]

Also, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Ms. Renee Laroche-Morris, the newest member of the AMAC. As the Chief Operating Officer of BNY Mellon Investment Management, Ms. Laroche-Morris brings a wealth of experience as well as the unique perspective of a large asset manager and one of the largest custodian in the U.S. I look forward to her engagement on the important issues before the Committee. Ms. Laroche-Morris replaces Mark Tibergien who I would like to thank for his time and contributions while serving on the AMAC.

Turning to the agenda, today will be a short but impactful meeting as the AMAC considers recommendations concerning operational issues related to the COVID-19 market disruption, including electronic delivery, remote work, e-authorization, and dematerialization. These recommendations follow the AMAC’s informative meeting in May which highlighted the operational challenges that managers faced. The COVID-19 market disruptions highlighted weak spots and the recommendations today center around ones that are both significant and solvable such as the continued dependence on paper for shareholder and client communications. It also challenged us to reconsider our regulatory framework as its implementation created tensions in using modern technology such as virtual board meetings and e-authorizations.

The AMAC’s input today is very timely as staff considers the current regulatory approaches in these areas and the best way to integrate the use of modern technology while maintaining the necessary investor and market protections.

As always, I would like to thank the Chairman and Commissioners for their participation today. I also express my thanks to Ed Bernard for his leadership and to all subcommittee leaders and Committee members for their contributions. I would also like to thank Christian Broadbent, Jay Williamson, Angela Mokodean Wale Oriola, Emily Rowland and other Division staff who have worked tirelessly to support the Committee. Also, the Division’s Managing Executive Office and the Commission’s Office of Information Technology for enabling us to meet virtually today. With that, Ed I turn it over to you and I look forward to the discussion.