ICI, Thrivent, and Stradley Ronon: Celebrating 100 Years of the Mutual Fund 

Eric J. Pan is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Company Institute. He took office as the 10th chief executive in ICI’s history on November 9, 2020. Pan was previously a managing director of Rock Creek Global Advisors LLC, an international economic policy advisory firm in Washington, DC, and a senior research fellow at the Center for Law and Economic Studies at Columbia Law School in New York.

Pan served as the director of the Office of International Affairs at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2015 to 2019 and head of international regulatory policy at the US Securities and Exchange Commission from 2011 to 2015. He represented both market regulators in international standard-setting bodies, including the International Organization of Securities Commissions and Financial Stability Board, and in regulatory dialogues with European and Asian counterparts. Before entering government service, Pan was the director of the Heyman Center on Corporate Governance and a professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, where he wrote extensively about financial regulation and corporate law. He also practiced corporate and international law with Covington & Burling in Washington, DC.

Pan is a graduate of Harvard College, the University of Edinburgh, and the Harvard Law School. He is a member of the American Law Institute and an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School.

Dorothy Donohue is the Acting General Counsel—Securities Regulation at the Investment Company Institute. She works on a wide variety of securities law issues affecting registered investment companies, including ESG-related issues, proxy-related matters, and fund disclosure. Ms. Donohue was Associate Counsel at the ICI Mutual Insurance Company from 2001–2002. Prior to that, Ms. Donohue was a member of the Division of Investment Management at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for eight years. While at the Commission, she was a staff attorney in the Rulemaking Office and the Office of Disclosure and Review, and Assistant Chief Counsel in the Office of the Chief Counsel. Donohue is a graduate of Fordham University and Georgetown University Law Center.

With more than 25 years of experience, Sara Crovitz provides counsel on all aspects of investment company and investment adviser regulation.

Sara’s sophisticated understanding of SEC regulation and compliance of investment companies and advisers is sought after in the asset management industry. As a result, her expansive practice covers the most pressing issues impacting the markets, and she is a frequent speaker and thought leader at prominent conferences and industry events.

Prior to joining Stradley Ronon, Sara was Deputy Chief Counsel and Associate Director at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC. Sara worked at the SEC for 21 years, including 17 years in the Division of Investment Management. While in the Division, Sara supervised the provision of significant legal guidance to the investment management industry through no-action and interpretive letters, exemptive applications, IM guidance updates, and other written and oral means. For many years, Sara also led the Division’s international efforts, including numerous IOSCO and FSB work streams.

Jamie Gershkow focuses her practice on advising investment companies, independent trustees and investment advisers on regulatory and compliance matters and the applicability and interpretation of securities laws. She frequently counsels on the formation, registration, and ongoing compliance of investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs), money market funds, and multi-manager funds; and prepares and reviews critical documents such as registration statements, proxy solicitation materials, shareholder reports, exemptive applications, compliance policies and procedures, and board reports. Jamie assists money market fund clients in addressing the many varied matters impacting money market fund management, operations, and compliance, including with respect to recently adopted reforms to Rule 2a-7. She also advises independent trustees of investment companies in corporate governance and regulatory matters.

Jamie is a frequent speaker and author on ETF and money market fund topics, and has been quoted by national media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal.

Jamie is a member of the New York Chapter of Women in ETFs (previously, Co-Chair of Events and Education), an organization that seeks to bring together people in the ETF industry to champion goals of equality, diversity, and inclusion; develop and sponsor talent; recognize and honor the achievements of women in the industry; and invest in the ETF community. Jamie also serves as the Co-Chair of Stradley Ronon’s Hiring Committee.

While in law school, Jamie served as a member of the Drexel Law Review. Additionally, Jamie graduated with pro bono service honors for her work with the Education Law Center and the Marshall Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project.

Jay Jackson is a Senior Counsel at Thrivent Financial and Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Thrivent Mutual Funds. He advises Thrivent on regulatory matters impacting all types of registered funds, including variable portfolios, open end funds, unlisted closed end funds, and ETFs. He also provides legal support to Thrivent’s affiliated broker-dealer and distributor.

Prior to joining Thrivent, Jay was Associate General Counsel at RBC Global Asset Management (US) Inc., where he also served as Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of RBC’s U.S. registered funds.  Previously, Jay was an associate in the New York office of Shearman & Sterling and in the Washington DC office of K&L Gates. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Marquette University and a JD from Southern Methodist University.

Prufesh Modhera is chair of the firm’s private investment practice group, and a proactive and practical adviser to investment management clients on federal securities law matters.

His practice includes counseling investment companies, investment advisers and independent directors on complex securities law issues arising under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. He also assists in responding to SEC inquiries and provides advice to boards of directors on various governance issues.

In addition, Prufesh helps sponsors and investment advisers form and structure private investment funds including domestic and offshore hedge funds, funds of hedge funds and private equity funds.