Our Consortium

Our CEO

RFG’s consulting service for endowments and foundations was established in 2014 at the request of ten leading U.S. charitable organizations. Today, RFG represents a consortium of 29 organizations with AUMs ranging from over $1 billion to well over $25 billion.

At the request of consortium members, RFG offers a peer-to-peer networking capability guided by professionals experienced in highlighting risks and developments that others might overlook. RFG participation provides clients with a vehicle for synchronizing awareness of issues and solutions, using the following mechanisms:

A weekly thought-leadership newsletter covering legal, regulatory, and operational issues, specifically tailored to the needs of RFG consortium clients and broadly distributed across their staff areas.
Two in-person meetings every year.
Ad hoc webinars on areas of interest.
White papers and training decks on mutually selected topics such as: cyber-incident response plans; what to do when a Chief Investment Officer leaves; how to think about the changes to tax audits of partnerships and the like.
An annual benchmarking survey and accompanying report.

Clients also have access to an extensive proprietary online database identifying U.S. laws and regulations that apply to charitable organizations and the investment managers they use. Information is organized based on investment activities, types of clients, and other relevant factors. The database covers many operational issues, with information gained from prior benchmarking surveys and other key sources. The system “augments the intelligence” of subscribers by providing insights into the approach an experienced expert in the field would take while considering an important topic or a business opportunity.

Consulting can also be provided to clients by arrangement on an hourly basis. Because the CEO is an experienced high-level lawyer, consulting includes provision of legal services through an affiliated law office.

Deborah Prutzman is the Chief Executive Officer of the Regulatory Fundamentals Group LLC. She has an exceptionally wide-ranging and deep background in the domestic and international financial services industry, and has hands-on experience in regulatory risk management and corporate governance.

As General Counsel to the Merrill Lynch Global Bank Group, Ms. Prutzman conceived and managed the reorganization of Merrill's U.S. banking operations to create a full-service federal thrift, which enabled Merrill to offer banking services throughout its network of financial advisors. She built and recruited a 60+ person team of legal and compliance professionals. Her team handled regulatory and product issues with a unique focus on "knowledge management" systems designed to assure both quality and consistency of results, and business partner understanding of key issues.

Ms. Prutzman also served as General Counsel of CLS Services, the world's foreign exchange netting system, during its start-up stages. In the absence of precedent, she developed rules and contracts that satisfied the laws and regulations of 13 jurisdictions and allowed 63 of the world’s largest financial institutions to clear foreign exchange transactions on a real-time, continuously linked basis. She recruited and staffed the legal and compliance function.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Prutzman developed an expertise in payment system matters and was instrumental in the drafting of Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code, the law that governs electronic funds transfer in the United States.

Also, Ms. Prutzman has been a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Arnold & Porter, where she specialized in lending transactions (including securitizations); acquisitions; electronic payments, clearing and settlement; and bank regulatory issues.

She earned her law degree from Columbia University, where she was a member of Law Review.

Pathfinder

What Our Clients Say

Clients Say

“The clearing house effect is particularly important. It’s a great way to learn what our peers are facing.”

“The RFG Conferences are rich with timely content, providing actionable insights and opportunities to hear from and network with the savviest of our investment peers in the Endowment & Foundation community.”

“You have made us better investors.”

“The forum you provide is HUGELY beneficial….”

“Your work on reporting requirements has been outstanding.”

“We have gotten a lot out of our partnership with RFG, and we think others can too.”

“The summaries you prepared on the Congressional inquiry…were circulated to our CFO and others in the organization…they were just what we needed.”

“When we lost our CIO, your white paper on how to handle a CIO transition was invaluable.”

“As a new client, so far, you have exceeded expectations.”

“The RFG Weekly Roundup™ is a fantastic resource.”