Background

Rebecca Cowdery is a partner at our Toronto office. She joined Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)  in November 2003, after nine years as a senior investment funds regulator with the Ontario Securities Commission. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a law degree from the University of Alberta. She was called to the Bar in Alberta in 1983 and in Ontario in 1986.

Areas of Practice

Rebecca practises corporate, commercial and securities law, specializing in the investment funds and asset management field. Her practice focuses on compliance, regulatory and governance issues facing participants in the investment management industry, including fund managers, portfolio managers and dealers.

Rankings and Recognitions

• Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2012 (Mutual Funds Law)
• Recognized by The Best Lawyers in Canada as the 2012 Toronto Mutual Funds Law Lawyer of the Year
• Recognized in the 2011 edition of PLC Which Lawyer? (Investment Funds)
• Recognized in The 2012 Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada (Investment Funds & Asset Management)
• Recognized in the 2011 Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Investment Funds & Asset Management)

Professional Experience

Rebecca has over 20 years of experience in working with the investment management industry as a lawyer and a regulator. Since joining BLG, Rebecca has assisted clients in keeping on top of regulatory developments and in implementing new regulations and compliance expectations and practices. She works with fund managers to establish new products and to manage funds in compliance with applicable regulation. Among other things, she assists fund managers and independent review committees to effectively implement and comply with National Instrument 81-107. Rebecca also focuses on advising firms about effective implementation of the new regulatory and compliance requirements for registrants mandated by the Canadian securities regulators.

Rebecca acts as regulatory counsel to the RESP Dealers Association of Canada (since 2008) and regularly participates in committees of the Portfolio Management Association of Canada and The Investment Funds Institute of Canada. Rebecca also provides regulatory updates to the Canadian Institute of Financial Planners and to the Federation of Independent Mutual Fund Dealers of Canada.

Rebecca was at the forefront of all major investment fund regulatory reform initiatives during her tenure at the OSC and has recognized expertise in investment management public policy, regulation and practice. Her responsibilities while at the OSC included:

• Leading the Canadian Securities Administrators policy projects to update and reform mutual fund regulation. This work included creating and implementing the national instruments dealing with mutual fund prospectus disclosure (81-101), mutual fund operations and management (81-102), commodity pools (81-104) and mutual fund sales practices (81-105). Rebecca was the principal author of the CSA concept proposal 'Striking a New Balance: A New Framework for Regulating Mutual Funds and their Managers' and worked after its publication in March 2002 to develop draft rules to regulate fund governance.
• Leading the Canadian Securities Administrators work to harmonize the regulation of mutual funds and segregated funds.
• Leading the Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia securities commissions work to create and recognize the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada as a self-regulatory organization.

Professional and Community Activities

Rebecca is a past member of IFIC's NI 81-107 Fund Governance Standing Committee (from 2006 to 2011) and a past member of IFIC's Manager Issues Committee (2004-2006).  She also participates in the regulatory and compliance committees of the Portfolio Management Association of Canada.

Rebecca is a frequent speaker about topics of interest to the investment management industry, including:

• Co-Chair and speaker at the Strategy Institute’s annual Risk Management and Compliance Readiness Strategies conferences for portfolio managers (from 2003 to 2011)
• Member of the organizing committee and frequent facilitator for the annual Northwind Institute Investment Funds Invitational Forum (Langdon Hall) (from 2003 to 2011)
• Co-speaker, with Prema Thiele, on regulatory issues relating to financial planners at the 8th Annual National Conference of the Canadian Institute of Financial Planners in Niagara Falls (June 2010)
• Moderator of a workshop on dealer issues at the Canadian membership meeting of the National Society of Compliance Professionals (June 2010)
• Co-speaker, with Prema Thiele, on registration reform issues for dealers at the 9th Annual Compliance Forum of the Association of Canadian Compliance Professionals (May 2010)
• Speaker on registration reform issues at Toronto Spring and Fall Summits of the Independent Financial Brokers of Canada (May and November 2009)
• Co-speaker, with Prema Thiele, on registration reform at the Dealer Advisor Forum organized by The Investment Funds Institute of Canada and Advocis (September 2009)
• Moderator of a workshop on trading practices for fund managers and portfolio managers at the Canadian membership meeting of the National Society of Compliance Professionals (June 2009)
• Co-speaker, with Prema Thiele, on registration reform at the Distributors' Summit organized by AdvisorGroup held at Niagara Falls, Ontario (June 2009)
• Co-chair, speaker on disclosure issues and workshop leader on commission sharing arrangements at the Soft Dollar and Best Execution Regulations Conference (Strategy Institute) (November 2008)
• Speaker on fund manager registration issues at 5th Annual Registration Reform Conference (Strategy Institute) (May 2008)
• Speaker on fund manager registration issues at the Registration Reform Conference (Canadian Institute) (November 2007)
• Panellist speaking on conflicts of interest and governance at the Investment Company Institute's academic and practitioners conference held in Washington D.C. (October 2006)
• Panellist speaking on fund governance and NI 81-107 at two events held by The Investment Funds Institute of Canada, including its annual conference (August and October 2006)
• Panellist speaking on Canadian regulation and practice at the 9th panel discussion held by the American Enterprise Institute of Washington D.C. in its series 'Is There a Better Way to Regulate Mutual Funds?' (May 2006)
• Moderator of a panel discussion on the evolution of mutual fund governance at the ICI/IBA Globalisation of Mutual Funds conference held in Bermuda (May 2006)

Rebecca is responsible for many of the Investment Management Bulletins and Alerts published by BLG's Investment Management Group and organizes and participates in BLG client educational seminars. She organizes and prepares comments to the securities regulators on securities regulatory initiatives for BLG's Investment Management Group.

While at the OSC, Rebecca was the OSC's representative on the investment management committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), a committee of regulators of collective investment schemes in most of Europe, North America, Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.