Compliance Seminar for Private Fund Managers - Miami

Issa Hanna
Issa Hanna is a Partner at Eversheds Sutherland and has been with the firm for over 15 years. He assists his broker-dealer, investment adviser, investment fund, insurance company, and insurance distributor clients in navigating applicable regulatory requirements while also achieving their key business objectives. Issa has extensive experience guiding clients through registration and compliance issues and representing them before federal and state regulators and self-regulatory organizations.  He has particularly deep expertise relating to the advertising and marketing regulatory regimes for his investment adviser, broker-dealer and insurance distributor clients, as well as the standard of conduct regimes for such clients (including the Advisers Act fiduciary duty, Regulation Best Interest and state insurance annuity suitability/best interest regulations). He frequently helps clients develop and update policies, procedures, agreements, and disclosures to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, and counsels clients on regulatory issues related to transactions and new product and service offerings, including obtaining regulatory approvals and assessing risks.

At Eversheds Sutherland, Issa is actively involved in the firm's Pro Bono, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, and Professional Development Committees. He is a frequent speaker and published author on many regulatory issues of interest to his clients. Issa earned his Juris Doctor (JD), with honors, from the University of Florida, Fredric G. Levin College of Law and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Duke University.

Scott Demar
Scott Demar is a Director within Kaufman Rossin’s Risk Advisory Services practice, where he works with a team of consultants to assist financial services clients with complex business and regulatory risks.

He brings over a decade of experience in regulatory compliance, having spent more than 10 years in the Division of Examinations at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prior to joining Kaufman Rossin. In that role, Scott led numerous examinations of SEC-registered investment advisers (RIAs), dually registered RIA/broker-dealers, and investment companies to assess their compliance with the federal securities laws.

In his current role, he advises RIA clients on a variety of compliance, risk and regulatory issues. Scott utilizes his knowledge and expertise, along with his regulatory experience, to help clients protect their organizations, implement effective controls and mitigate risks.

Scott earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance and a Master of Science in Accounting from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

Michelle Canela
Michelle Canela, MSL, CSCP® is Chief Compliance Officer at Mission Crest Capital LLC. She is a solutions-focused compliance professional with over 20 years of industry experience overseeing daily compliance, ensuring that company activities comply with relevant regulatory requirements, as well as applicable policies and procedures. Prior to joining Mission Crest, Ms. Canela served as Deputy Chief Compliance Officer at Lighthouse Investment Partners, LLC, as Director, Risk & Compliance at Intech Investment Management LLC and as an Investment Consultant at Ryan Beck & Co., currently known as Stifel Nicolaus. 

She received her B.A. in Finance from the University of South Florida, College of Business Administration, and her M.S. in Law from California Southern University. She currently holds the S7 securities registration. Ms. Canela holds the NSCP the Certified Securities Compliance Professional (CSCP) designation and the University of South Florida Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate. Ms. Canela has been an NSCP Member since 2009. She has served on the NSCP Board of Directors and as a former Board Chair.

Bart J. McDonald
Bart J. McDonald is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Regulatory Services, Inc. Mr. McDonald is responsible for RRS’s investment advisory practice and has over twenty-five years of public/private sector regulatory compliance experience. This experience includes a unique combination of advising and auditing investment advisers, private funds, broker-dealers, investment companies and business development companies relative to federal, state, and self-regulatory rules and regulations.

As a consultant, Mr. McDonald has conducted hundreds of compliance engagements to assess adherence to securities industry rules and regulations. His clients have included the largest multinational investment advisers, broker-dealers, private funds, banks, law firms and regulatory organizations. Mr. McDonald has extensive experience with all aspects of securities regulation, including portfolio management, performance marketing, soft dollars, trading, sales practices, branch office supervision, financial audits, internal controls, and registrations. In addition, he has guided hundreds of FINRA members through the FINRA New Member and Membership Continuance process. Mr. McDonald previously managed the broker-dealer registrations department of a major compliance consulting and outsourcing business.

As a regulator, Mr. McDonald was a Branch Chief and Compliance Examiner with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Southeast Regional Office. He was responsible for planning, conducting, and supervising complex financial, operational and sales practice examinations of investment advisors, private funds, broker-dealers, and investment companies. Mr. McDonald also managed inspections of FINRA District Offices, and managed oversight examinations of the NYSE and FINRA. Mr. McDonald provided investigative support to the SEC’s Enforcement staff on matters relating to fraudulent distributions and manipulation of securities, misappropriation of customer funds, material misrepresentations, unregistered broker-dealer and investment advisory activities, and undisclosed compensation. In addition, Mr. McDonald participated in several regulatory task force sweep examinations with the SEC, self-regulating organizations, and state regulatory bodies.

Over the course of his career, Mr. McDonald has been quoted in industry periodicals and asked to speak at regulatory and industry training programs. His presentations include Compliance Program Structure, Portfolio Management, Custody, Best Execution, Code of Ethics, Soft Dollars, Electronic Communications, Performance Advertising, and the SEC’s Chief Compliance Officer Outreach Seminar.

Mr. McDonald received a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Florida Atlantic University. He also holds the Certified Regulatory Compliance Professional designation from the FINRA Institute at Wharton, the NSCP Certified Securities Compliance Professional designation, and the ACAMS’ Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist designation.

Adam Aderton
Adam S. Aderton is a Partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher focused on enforcement and regulatory issues affecting asset managers. Before joining Willkie in 2002, Adam held successive leadership positions at the SEC and ultimately was Co-Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit, a national specialized unit that focuses on misconduct by investment advisers, investment companies, and private funds , from 2019 through 2022. Before joining the SEC, Mr. Aderton served as a law clerk to Judge J. Frederick Motz of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and worked in the securities litigation and enforcement practice at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. Mr. Aderton received his undergraduate degree from Truman State University and his J.D. from the University of Virginia.

Ted McCutcheon
Ted McCutcheon is a seasoned RIA chief compliance officer and securities regulation attorney.  He founded the law firm Securities Law Counsel, PLLC (SLC) to offer clients the benefit of twenty-plus years of experience as an investment adviser firm general counsel and chief compliance officer; and as an SEC enforcement investigator, litigator, and trial lawyer. SLC leverages information technology to provide efficient, solution-focused legal and compliance services for SEC-registered investment advisers and ultra-high net worth investors, as well as effective representation in SEC enforcement actions. 

Until July 2024, Ted served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Locust Point Capital, an adviser to private credit funds in Miami, Florida. Prior to that, Ted served as CCO and Counsel at Kawa Capital Management, a multi-strategy private funds manager. Ted also has experience in wealth management, having been General Counsel and CCO for W.E. Family Offices, a multi-family office adviser. Before going in-house, he spent ten years in the Division of Enforcement of the SEC as Senior Counsel and then as Senior Trial Counsel. Ted has a B.A. in English from Brown University, and a J.D. from Cornell Law School. He is admitted to practice law in Florida and New York.