W. THOMAS CONNER
Tom Conner, a member of Sutherland’s Financial Services Practice Group, focuses his practice on representing financial services companies that issue and sell variable insurance products, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), commodity pools and other financial products. His practice combines regulatory experience with an extensive knowledge of the variable contracts, mutual fund, ETF, commodity pools and investment advisory industries. Tom assists clients in navigating the complex regulatory requirements governing insurance and securities products including the federal securities laws administered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
Before joining Sutherland, Tom was Vice President and General Counsel of the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) (formerly NAVA, the National Association for Valuable Annuities). He was responsible for the IRI’s regulatory affairs program and represented the industry in a number of significant regulatory matters, appearing before regulatory agencies including the SEC, FINRA and National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Tom currently serves on the IRI’s Board of Directors and continues to participate actively in the IRI’s Regulatory Affairs Committee, public relations and research initiatives and conferences.
In addition to private practice and serving as the IRI’s General Counsel, Tom was a staff member of the SEC in the Office of Disclosure and Investment Adviser Regulation and the Office of Insurance Products.