Tom Bisset is a member of Sutherland's Financial Services Practice Group and concentrates his practice in investment management focusing on investment company, investment adviser and variable insurance product regulatory matters. Before joining the firm, Tom was a Senior Counsel in the Office of Insurance Products in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Investment Management, which is responsible for reviewing all applications for exemption from the Investment Company Act, requests for no-action assurance and registration statements that pertain to variable insurance products. He also served for two years as a staff attorney in the SEC's Division of Market Regulation. During his tenure with the SEC, Tom participated in several significant SEC projects, including the October 1987 Market Break Study. He has extensive experience in all aspects of the SEC's inspections and examination programs. Recent Publications and Speaking Engagements · Co-author, "SEC Adopts New Soft Dollar Guidelines," The Investment Lawyer (September 2006) · Co-author, "SEC Clarifies Meaning of Research and Brokerage in Proposed Soft Dollars Release," The Investment Lawyer (January 2006) Industries Financial Services Legal Alerts Legal Alert: Illustration Disclosures Lead to Dismissal of Universal Life Insurance Class Action, November 29, 2011 Legal Alert: ERISA Participant Disclosure Will Not Violate SEC Advertising Rules, November 2, 2011 Legal Alert: Insurance Regulators Heighten Focus on Life Insurer's Separate Accounts, March 17, 2011 Legal Alert: Cost of Insurance Litigation - Recent Ruling on Meaning of "Mortality Experience" and Other Developments, February 7, 2011 Legal Alert: Model Privacy Forms, January 11, 2011 Legal Alert: Federal Court: Egregious Facts May Permit Life Policy Rescission After Expiration of Incontestability Period, October 21, 2010 Legal Alert: DOL Finalizes New ERISA Disclosure Rules for Participant-Directed Retirement Plans, October 20, 2010 Legal Alert: Summary Judgment Granted for Defendant in Certified Deferred Annuity Class Action, October 8, 2010 Legal Alert: Annuity Surrender Charge/MVA Disclosures Held Insufficient in California, October 6, 2010 Legal Alert: Court Rejects Suit Alleging Fraud and Negligent Design in the Sale of Universal Life Insurance Policies, September 30, 2010 Legal Alert: The Dodd-Frank Act: A New Era of Financial Regulation and the Implications for the Insurance Industry, August 3, 2010 Legal Alert: Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Urges More Tailored Derivatives-Related Disclosures by Investment Companies, August 3, 2010 Legal Alert: Securities and Exchange Commission Consents to Delay of Indexed Annuity Rule Effective Date, December 9, 2009 Legal Alert: Ninth Circuit Overturns Denial of Class Certification in Action Involving Sale of Annuities to Senior Citizens; Orders Class Certified, August 31, 2009 Legal Alert: Class Certification Denied in Fixed Indexed Annuity Interest-Crediting Case, July 27, 2009 Legal Alert: Court Rules on the SEC's Indexed Annuity Rule, July 22, 2009 H.R. 2733 Nullifying Rule 151A and Amending Section 3(a)(8) of the 1933 Act, June 11, 2009 Legal Alert: Supreme Court to Hear Investment Adviser Fee Case, March 16, 2009 Legal Alert: Class Decertification Denied in Action Involving Bonus Annuity Claims, March 2, 2009 Legal Alert: Class Certification Denied in Fixed Annuity Interest-Crediting Case, February 26, 2009 Legal Alert: SEC and FASB Provide Clarification on Fair Value Accounting Rules, October 2, 2008 Legal Alert: SEC Proposes Guidelines for Directors Overseeing Mutual Fund Portfolio Trading, August 5, 2008 Legal Alert: Seventh Circuit Rejects "Reasonableness" as the Standard for Excessive Fee Claims Under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, May 30, 2008 Legal Alert: Enhanced Disclosure and New Prospectus Delivery Option Proposed for Mutual Funds, November 30, 2007 Publications SEC Adopts New Soft Dollar Guidelines
September 2006 Reprinted with permission, Investment Lawyer SEC Clarifies Meaning of Research and Brokerage in Proposed Soft Dollars Release
January 2006 Reprinted with permission, The Investment Lawyer Contributing Author, The Handbook of Stable Value Investments (F. Fabozzi, ed.; 1998, Frank J. Fabozzi Associates) "Roundtable on the Role of Independent Investment Company Directors: Issues for Independent Directors of Bank-Related Funds, Variable Insurance Products Funds, and Close-End Funds," The Business Lawyer Nov. 1999, Vol. 55, No. 1. |