“Culture is Key” Jeff Kropschot, Kropschot Consulting Partners LLC During this session, attendees explored critical elements of a strong compliance culture and the compliance, operational, reputational and other benefits enjoyed by organizations that maintain a strong compliance culture. Jeff also shared illustrative examples of companies and individuals who have embraced and not embraced these essential principles. “Make Politics Boring Again” Linda Duessel, Federated Hermes This presentation explored the setup for the presidential election, where opinions about Biden and Harris are set in stone. Independent voters and a handful of swing states will likely determine the outcome. Still, the historical precedent is clear that the chances rest on the state of the economy and voter’s pocketbooks. Congressional races are so boring, but most important for the country’s future path. Politics may never be boring again. “Conflicted” Jeff Kropschot, Kropschot Consulting Partners LLC In this session, attendees explored examples of traditional and emerging conflicts of interest and self-dealing scenarios that arise in delivering fiduciary services. Attendees also discussed the risks and liabilities related to these scenarios and permissive exceptions to the duty of loyalty that may allow a fiduciary to engage in conflict of interest and self-dealing activities legally. Finally, attendees discussed actual conflicts of interest and examples of self-dealing, as seen through the eyes of a former Examiner and Chief Compliance Officer. “Fixed Income for All Landing Scenarios in 2024” Austin Stockfish, First Trust Advisors Two years had passed since the Fed’s first interest rate hike of this cycle, and roughly eight months had passed since the Fed’s last rate hike. While interest rates indeed remained higher for longer, interest rate volatility declined as the Fed shifted from an “increasing rate regime” to a “peak rate regime.” Austin sifted through the fixed-income markets, highlighting risks and opportunities at the time. “The Times They Are Changin’” Noah Helm, First Trust Advisors Growth crushed value and technology outperformed everything. COVID-19 and government intervention had huge implications for markets. The question became: Where would we go from there? Investors who stayed focused on fundamentals minimized risk and avoided emotional decisions. This mattered more than ever. Noah Helm shared First Trust’s view on where markets might head next. “Creating Team Engagement and Connection: Transforming Organizational Culture with the L.E.A.D. Operating System” Neil Stevens, Oconee State Bank, and Caleb Stevens, SouthState Bank With employee engagement at critical lows, as highlighted by recent Gallup findings, the need for effective, actionable solutions has never been greater. In this talk, Neil and Caleb Stevens introduced the L.E.A.D. Operating System, which is a groundbreaking approach designed to revolutionize workplace culture. They provided proven strategies to dramatically reduce turnover, increase retention, enhance sales and boost profitability. 29
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==