A Conversation with SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce & Private Markets Update

Sarah Grist

Senior Portfolio Analyst, Partner, & Deputy Region Head for the US, Albourne Partners

Sarah is a Senior Portfolio Analyst, Partner, and Deputy Region Head for the US. Sarah advises a range of clients with large alternatives portfolios. Sarah joined Albourne in London in 2012 and is now based in the San Francisco office. She has a particular focus on risk management, having previously worked in Albourne’s Risk Group, and produces Albourne’s quarterly Private Markets Outlook.

She holds an MMath from Durham University, is a CFA and CAIA charterholder, and a CIPM certificant.

Luis O’Shea

Executive Director, MSCI Research & Development, MSCI

As head of private-capital research at MSCI, Luis O’Shea oversees research engagements with clients, the writing of research papers and the research and design of analytical models on the private-capital platform.

Before joining Burgiss, which MSCI acquired in 2023, he held a series of research roles at BlackRock, Axioma, RiskMetrics and McKinsey & Company.

Luis holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics and physics from University College Dublin and a doctorate in mathematics from Cornell University.

Brian Digney

Research and Content Director, SBAI

Brian Digney joined the SBAI in March 2023 in the role of Research and Content Director. He is responsible for content development and co-ordination of the ongoing and future working groups on a wide variety of topics, including valuation of private assets, ESG & carbon footprinting, governance, insurance linked strategies, digital assets, asset management regulation and compliance as well as new topics to be determined in the future.

Prior to joining the SBAI, Brian was the Head of Due Diligence & Governance Oversight at Innocap Global Investment Management (Ireland) Ltd (2018-2023) in Dublin, a subsidiary of Innocap Investment Management Inc., a US$50bn hedge fund platform. He acted as Designated Person for Operational Risk Management, a regulated role by the Central Bank of Ireland. He also sat on Innocap’s Irish Risk Oversight and Valuation Committees. In 2017, Brian joined Albourne Partners in London as a Senior Operational Due Diligence Analyst. From 2015 to 2017 he was employed as an Operational Due Diligence Analyst at Mercer Sentinel in London. From 2010 to 2015 he held various Associate level roles at Decura LLP, Morgan Stanley and Citi.

Brian holds an LLB Hons in Law with Criminology and an M.Sc. in Management and Corporate Governance from University of Ulster. Brian is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

Hester M. Peirce

SEC Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Hester M. Peirce was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and was sworn in on January 11, 2018.

Prior to joining the SEC, Commissioner Peirce conducted research on the regulation of financial markets at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She was a Senior Counsel on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, where she advised Ranking Member Richard Shelby and other members of the Committee on securities issues. Commissioner Peirce served as counsel to SEC Commissioner Paul S. Atkins. She also worked as a Staff Attorney in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. Commissioner Peirce was an associate at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now WilmerHale) and clerked for Judge Roger Andewelt on the Court of Federal Claims.

Commissioner Peirce earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics from Case Western Reserve University and her JD from Yale Law School.

Christine Ayako Schleppegrell

Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

Christine Ayako Schleppegrell counsels asset managers on legal, regulatory, and compliance matters, focusing on advisers to private funds (private equity, hedge, venture capital, infrastructure, real estate, credit) and separately managed accounts. She spent several years in private practice and more recently at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in leadership roles in the Division of Investment Management. While at the SEC, Christine led the Private Funds Branch during a time of landmark rulemaking impacting private fund advisers, she draws on this experience to advise on current and pending regulations and to guide clients through enforcement and examination proceedings.

Christine’s practice focuses on the interpretation and application of federal securities laws, primarily the Advisers Act, Investment Company Act, Exchange Act, and Securities Act. She serves as a resource for SEC-registered advisers, exempt reporting advisers, and unregistered advisers, ranging from global asset managers with diverse product offerings to startup advisers launching their first funds. Christine provides strategic advice on fund and adviser structuring and deal-related regulatory issues that arise in connection with corporate purchases and mergers and acquisitions. She also specialises in counseling on marketing rule compliance and performance advertising as well as extraterritorial matters, including participating affiliate arrangements.