RG & Associates is pleased to announce the launch of its new website. Log-on and check out the new site and all its new features, including:

• Event Calendar - dynamic event section including highlighted events, RG & Associate produced events, partner events and important finance industry events.
• News - current news section with the option to add an RSS feed to your site, personal page or mobile device.
• Event Support – online form to request event and market planning support from RG & Associates.
• Newsletters / Event Invites – automatically receive newsletter updates, event notifications and more.
• Meet the Team – learn more about the RG & Associates team, and how we can assist you with event planning and event production, as well as market strategies and more.

The Consortium is Back in New York

Plan sponsors, minority and women-owned firms, consultants, fund of funds and others—hold the date for The Consortium on June 9 – 10, 2010. We’re pleased to be returning to New York, and have an expanded program designed to deliver maximum networking and business intelligence gathering opportunities for all attendees.

The Consortium includes two additional half-day forums—The Intensive for plan sponsors, foundations and endowments and The Bootcamp for minority and women-owned firms that might benefit from strategic counsel regarding fundraising, operations and marketing. Both these half-day forums are on June 9, 2010, just prior to The Consortium opening night reception.

Register Today
More than 300 investment professionals representing close to $1 trillion in assets under management attended in 2009—and we anticipate even greater audience engagement in 2010. Review the preliminary agenda details and more—then register today.

One-on-One with Sharon Morrow, 2010 Planning Committee Member, The Consortium

As Managing Director and member of Smith Whiley's Investment Committee, Sharon Morrow is responsible for marketing and client service initiatives for the firm's various managed funds. The firm has managed in excess of $600 million in alternative investments since its formation. She sat down recently with the RG & Associates team to talk about The Consortium:

What do you value most about The Consortium?
I'm a marketer, and I know that people do business with people they know. The Consortium offers finance professionals on both sides of the investment table with a tremendous opportunity to meet new potential business partners, and reconnect with existing ones. There's no substitute for one-on-one interactions, and more than any other event in the emerging manager arena, The Consortium is the ideal forum for facilitating those contacts and connections.

As a Planning Committee member, what do you hope to achieve?
One of my goals is to make VIP Connect—the speed networking portion of The Consortium—bigger and more robust than ever. That means including more qualified emerging managers and more institutional investors, including public plan sponsors, corporate plan sponsors, foundations and endowments. The value of investing with emerging managers is clear to me and others who have attended The Consortium—my other key objective for 2010 is to spread the word and expand the network of attendees. There are dozens of plan sponsors across the country that have active emerging manager programs—each and every one of them should have a presence at The Consortium.

One-on-One with David Ourlicht, 2010 Advisory Committee Member, The Consortium

David Ourlicht was confirmed as Commissioner and Investment Committee Chairman of the $12 billion New York State Insurance Fund in August 2008. Driven by the leadership of the Fund's board, a new $150 million emerging manager program was recently launched. He sat down recently with the RG & Associates team to talk about The Consortium:

You've attended The Consortium in the past—what aspects do you value most?
The Consortium gave me a broader view of the emerging market arena and introduced me to a wider spectrum of managers than I could have met one by one on my own. I also value the opportunity to interact with other fiduciaries and share best practices—it's a rare opportunity for candid conversation with colleagues.

As an Advisory Committee member, what do you hope to achieve?
I think there's a tremendous opportunity in expanding the participation of fiduciaries from unions governed by Taft-Hartley regulations, corporate plans and as well as broader participation from public plans. The membership based of these groups is diverse and many, like their public plan sponsor colleagues and insurance funds, are searching for investment partners that will provide qualified returns while also mirroring the diversity of the membership base. For these fiduciaries, identifying emerging managers that fit within their investment thesis or strategy would be tremendously beneficial. I think The Consortium can play a key role in helping make those connections.

What challenges exist?
Empirical data shows that emerging managers more consistently deliver higher returns than larger investment firms—yet too few fiduciaries incorporate emerging managers into their overall mix. It's every fiduciary's responsibility to find the best investment with the best risk/return ratio. Many of the best minds in finance are at The Consortium, now the challenge is to get more fiduciaries in the room and partnering with them.

2010 Committee Members
RG & Associates extends a special thank you to our 2010 Advisory and Planning Committee members. Each takes an active role in shaping the event, including selection of key speakers and overall event format.

Advisory Committee Members
* Cheryl Alston, Executive Director, Dallas Employees' Retirement Fund - Advisory Committee Chair
* Wale' Adeosun, Chief Investment Officer, Rensselear Polytechnic Institute
* Solange Brooks, Portfolio Manager, CalSTRS
* Raudline Etienne, CIO, New York State Common Retirement Fund
* Robert Greene, Trustee, Virginia Retirement System
* R. David Kelly, Trustee, Teacher Retirement System of Texas
* Kim Lew, Director of Investments, Carnegie Corporation of New York
* Dr. Louis F. Moret, Board Member, CalPERS
* David Ourlicht, Commissioner, New York State Insurance Fund
* Darryl Walker, Board Member, Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association
* Richard White, Board Member, Orange County Employee' Retirement System

Planning Committee Members
* Laureen Costa, Portfolio Manager, JPMorgan Private Equity Group
* Debra Draughan, Managing Member, The Process Management Group, LLC
* Kristin Finney-Cooke, Senior Consultant, MERCER
* Kristie Goodman, Vice President of Marketing, Parrish Capital Advisors, LLC
* Leslie Hale, CFO & Senior Vice President, RLJ Development, LLC
* Lofton Holder, Managing Director, Asset Management, Investcorp LLC
* Irene Marom, Principal, Talon Eight, LLC
* Sharon Morrow, Managing Director, Smith Whiley & Company
* Luis Restrepo, Chief Executive Officer, Multitrade Securities, LLC
* Tom Straw, US Investor Relations, TMS Capital
* Sasha van de Water, Managing Partner, Keyhaven Capital Partners Ltd.
* Kelly Williams, Managing Director, Credit Suisse Customized Fund Investment Group

Upcoming Industry Events

RG & Associates is actively involved in planning and producing events that provide finance professionals with active networking, educational and professional development opportunities. An upcoming event that may be of interest is:

THE GLOBAL ROAD SHOW
March 5 - 18, 2010
Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and London

An initiative for U.S. Private Equity/Venture Capital Funds and International Institutional Investors, the GLOBAL ROAD SHOW is hosted by the United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration in cooperation with RG & Associates, Deloitte, and Jones Day. The goal of the global, multi-city event is to enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. venture capital and private equity sector.

VIP Connect—A Powerful Event Tool

RG & Associates is pleased to introduce its new, proprietary web-based tool that takes one-on-one speed networking and business relationship development to a whole new level. The VIP Connect system provides a framework for conference participants to select people or firms of interest and forge a connection with them. Back-end management tools provide conference hosts or organizers with a flexible, easy to use interface for managing interactions. VIP Connect integrates directly into RG & Associates' produced event websites and can be branded with your firm's look and feel. We'd be happy to provide your team with a demo of the web-based platform so you can gauge the systems' robust matching and meeting management features.