In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast , SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. reflects on the recent Member Briefing where he was joined by Scott Anderson, Ph.D. , Chief US Economist and Managing Director at BMO and Co-Chair of the SIFMA Economist Roundtable. Together, they unpack key takeaways from SIFMA’s 2025 Mid-Year Economic Survey, conducted following the June FOMC meeting....
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, SIFMA's President and CEO speaks with Lisa Bleier, Head of Wealth Management, Retirement, and State Government Relations at SIFMA, and Jennifer Spoeri, Executive Director of NAPSA. Together, they unpack key takeaways from the recent World Elder Abuse Awareness Day webinar and discuss the broader efforts by both organizations to protect senior investors from financial exploitation.
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast , SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., is joined by colleague Joe Corcoran, Managing Director and Associate General Counsel, to discuss SIFMA’s recommendations to the Securities and Exchange Commission on how to reform the Consolidated Audit Trail, or the CAT. Together, they discuss: Background on CAT Why CAT is back in the Spotlight SIFMA’s key recommendations for reform
In the latest episode of The SIFMA Podcast , SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen Jr. is joined by colleagues Peter Ryan and Charles DeSimone to unpack SIFMA's response to the SEC Crypto Task Force’s request for information on digital assets. Together, they discuss: Key issues raised by Commissioner Hester Peirce’s statement SIFMA's policy recommendations on securities classification, custody, and tokenization - covering both sell- and buy-side perspectives The need for clarity, consistenc...
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, we recap key moments from SIFMA’s 2025 Anti-Money Laundering & Financial Crimes Conference, held in Washington, DC. SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. , is joined by Saima Ahmed , SIFMA's Executive Vice President and General Counsel, and Bernard Canepa , Managing Director and Associate General Counsel at SIFMA, to discuss insights from the conference's moderated keynote sessions. Highlights include conversations with: Dr. Michael Faulkender,...
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, we recap highlights from SIFMA’s 2025 Operations Conference & Exhibition, held in Orlando, Florida. SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. , is joined by Chief Operating Officer Joseph Seidel and Stephen Byron , Managing Director and Head of Technology, Operations, and Business Continuity. Together, they unpack insights from two standout sessions: Redefining Efficiency and Client Strategy in a Changing Regulatory Landscape Executive Insights: Mo...
In recognition of Financial Literacy Month, SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. hosts a discussion with Lisa Hunt, Managing Director and Head of International Services at Charles Schwab, and Melanie Mortimer, President of the SIFMA Foundation. In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast , they explore the critical role of the financial services industry in advancing financial education, the work being done by Charles Schwab and the SIFMA Foundation in supporting financial education, and the...
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast , SIFMA Chief Operating Officer Joseph Seidel is joined by Dr. Guowei Zhang , Managing Director at SIFMA, to unpack the critical role of leverage ratios in the U.S. Treasury market – and why exempting them from leverage ratio calculations may be key to strengthening market resilience. Together, they explore: How current leverage ratio requirements, implemented in 2018, may limit banks’ capacity to intermediate in Treasury markets. SIFMA’s latest analysis quan...
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. sits down with SIFMA General Counsel Saima Ahmed to unpack key takeaways from the 2025 SIFMA Compliance & Legal Annual Seminar. They discuss top regulatory priorities, evolving compliance expectations, and what’s on the horizon. With exclusive conversations live from the Seminar floor, this episode brings you firsthand insights from: Mark Uyeda , Acting Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC...
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, SIFMA’s President and CEO, Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., sits down with Katie Kolchin, CFA to discuss the latest U.S. Equity Market Structure Compendium . This report summarizes market activity and themes in 2024, including: the AI boom, market concentration, higher-for-longer rates, earnings growth, and more.
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, SIFMA’s President and CEO, Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., sits down with Katie Kolchin, CFA to discuss the themes and market metrics that are shaping the U.S. fixed income markets in 2025.
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, SIFMA's Chief Operating Officer, Joseph Seidel , sits down with Robert Toomey , the head of SIFMA's capital markets group, William Thum , managing director in SIFMA’s Asset Management Group, and Stephen Byron , the head of SIFMA’s operations and technology group, to discuss the recent compliance extension from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its Treasury Clearing rule and SIFMA's work on behalf of the industry to implement the mandate set out...
Recently, SIFMA has met with our Board to set our 2025 priorities on behalf of our members and in support of our mission to promote effective and resilient capital markets. In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, SIFMA's president and CEO, Ken Bentsen, and SIFMA's COO, Joseph Seidel, sit down to discuss SIFMA’s priorities for the year ahead.
Who is subject to the SEC's rules? When do they go into effect? What are the margin implications? How will firms account for increased volumes? In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, SIFMA's COO, Joseph Seidel, sits down with EY's Brendan Maher and SIFMA's Steve Byron, William Thum, and Rob Toomey to answer these questions and more.
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, we highlight just some of the conversations that took place at SIFMA's Annual Meeting. Our discussions with industry leaders like BlackRock's Larry Fink and Edward Jones' Penny Pennington include top-of-mind issues including: The expanding role of the capital markets and their potential to positively impact society and contribute to economic growth; SIFMA's priorities on behalf of our members, including critical issues like mandated clearing of U.S. Treasury...
In this episode of the SIFMA Podcast, Ken Bentsen, SIFMA's President and CEO, is joined by Katie Kolchin, SIFMA Managing Director and Head of Research, for a discussion around the recently updated SIFMA Insights Primer series. This series of reports explains the inner workings of capital markets, breaking down important technical and regulatory nuances. Listen in as Ken and Katie dive into the Capital Markets Primer, which provides readers with a deeper look at markets and the role of financial ...
In this episode of the SIFMA Podcast, Ken Bentsen, SIFMA’s president, and CEO, sits down with Stephen Byron, Managing Director, Head of Technology, Operations, and Business Continuity, SIFMA to discuss the 5 key takeaways from SIFMA’s 2024 Operations and Technology Conference and what’s ahead in the operations space.
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, we share a replay of the Treasury Clearing panel discussion at SIFMA’s recent Operations Conference & Exhibition. But first, SIFMA’s Chief Operating Officer, Joseph Seidel, sits down with panel moderator Robert Toomey and SIFMA Asset Management Group’s Bill Thum to outline what firms need to be doing today to prepare for the SEC rules, SIFMA’s new documentation to allow market participants to meet their clearing documentation needs efficient, and next st...
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, SIFMA’s Chief Operating Officer Joseph Seidel sits down with Craig Lewis, former Chief Economist and Director of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, or DERA, at the SEC, to discuss the SEC’s approach to economic analysis as the basis for rule proposals.
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, SIFMA's Chief Operating Officer Joseph Seidel sits down with Dr. Peter Ryan, Managing Director, and Head of International Capital Markets and Strategic Initiatives, to discuss the status of the Basel III Endgame proposal in the United States. A recent study found that the proposal would cause U.S. economic growth to decline by up to 56 basis points – equivalent to a 25% reduction in the U.S. compound annual growth rate. While there is uncertainty around the ...
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, SIFMA president and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. and Ken Cella, Principal and Head of External Affairs for Edward Jones and 2023-2024 Chair of SIFMA's Board of Directors, discuss SIFMA's commitment to fostering effective and efficient capital markets, our role on behalf of the membership, and the goals we have set out to achieve under the direction of our leadership.
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, SIFMA president and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. sits down with Robert Toomey and William Thum, who outline SIFMA and SIFMA AMG's partnership to advance multiple workstreams and short-term deliverables that will set the stage for long-term implementation. These include standard documentation, enhancements to market structure, further needed regulatory reforms, and an operations timeline for all participants to adjust ahead of the 2026 go-live for U.S. Treasur...
In this episode of The SIFMA Podcast, SIFMA's Joseph Seidel and Dr. Peter Ryan identify and discuss three key takeaways from SIFMA's recent Basel III Endgame Roundtable. The Basel III Endgame package of reforms: Is unprecedented in its scale and scope and deviates from its original intent; Must be re-proposed in full for both substantive and legal reasons; and Must be subject to wide-ranging and material revisions that also take into account the proposal's interactions with other elements of the...
In this episode of SIFMA's podcast, Ken Bentsen, SIFMA's President and CEO, and Tom Price, Managing Director of Technology Operations and Business Continuity, discuss the final days leading up to the transition to T+1 day settlement. They discuss the industry's readiness for the transition, the history of settlement cycles, and the benefits of T+1. They also highlight the resources available and the importance of communication during this transition.
In this episode of the SIFMA Podcast SIFMA President & CEO Ken Bentsen sits down with Scott Smith, Director of Advice Relationships at Cerulli Associates, and Lisa Bleier, Head of Wealth Management and Retirement and State Government Affairs at SIFMA. They discuss new findings issued by SIFMA and Cerulli Associates regarding the current landscape of financial planning, namely the increasing desire from investors for personalized comprehensive advice delivered through trusted advisors. They a...
About 30% of the world is neurodivergent and these are major untapped talent pools. With some minor adjustments and accommodations to workplace processes we can enable these colleagues to work in this industry, be their very best and create an inclusive culture. In the latest episode of our SIFMA DE&I podcast series, we sat down with JPMorgan Chase’s Head of Office of Disability Inclusion and Neurodiversity, Bryan Gill for a discussion on JPMorgan Chase's investment in neurodiversity, bringi...
The military is one of the most diverse organizations in the world. It requires a diverse skill set and grit to be in the service and we learn just how easily veterans can translate those skills into the financial services industry. In the next episode of our SIFMA DE&I Podcast series, we chat with Academy Securities Founder and CEO, Chance Mims on the nation’s first veteran-owned and operated firm and their commitment to recruiting and empowering military veterans. Chance shares insights on...
We kick-off part II of our SIFMA DE&I Podcast series with PIMCO’s Head of Public Policy, Libby Cantrill, for a discussion on Libby’s career path starting from what sparked her initial interest in finance to her time on Capitol Hill and the journey that has led to her current role at PIMCO. She shares insights on the role of mentors and sponsors throughout her career which provided her with an important example early on that you can be a pioneer but at the same time be a parent and/or a spous...
In this episode of The SIFMA podcast, Joe Siedel, SIFMA's Chief Operating Officer, and colleague Ellen Greene, Managing Director of Equity and Options Market Structure, discuss why the SEC's rulemaking agenda continues to raise questions. They dive into some of the key questions around the equity market structure proposals and how they may affect listed options and innovation. With the move to T+1 next May, Joe and Ellen also talk about why customer education is a critical component in the trans...
In this episode of Top of Mind with SIFMA Insights, Katie Kolchin, CFA, Head of Research, is joined by Torsten Slok, Chief Economist and Partner at Apollo Global Management to recap the recent FOMC meeting, exploring the actions taken and shedding light on the future of rate hikes.
