Our Consortium

Our CEO

As the only entity dedicated exclusively to the needs of nonprofit investment offices, RFG offers a deep understanding of the intricate nonprofit and financial services environment in which charitable organizations operate.

Unlike other service providers, which typically specialize individually in investments, operations, contracts, compliance, or regulatory matters, RFG provides an integrated focus on when and how critical developments might impact staff functions in each of these areas. Moreover, RFG’s holistic approach is process-oriented: no other service provider has systematically baselined and documented the challenges that arise when a nonprofit pursues complex and bespoke investments—whether through private funds, separately managed accounts, in the U.S., or in foreign jurisdictions.

RFG membership provides clients with access to:

A weekly thought-leadership newsletter covering legal, regulatory, and operational issues specifically tailored to the needs of RFG consortium members.

In-person meetings where members gain meaningful insights on important topics while developing and fostering deep connections with like-minded peers.

Webinars and group discussions that allow consortium members hear from experts on “hot” topics and discover how peers are thinking about difficult issues.

A resource library of more than 200 white papers, training decks, and webinars on topics vital to investment offices such as national security issues, U.S.-China relations, investing in India, and much more.

RFG Pathfinder®: The Investment Office’s Guide to Structure, Compliance, and Investments - An extensive proprietary online database identifying U.S. laws and regulations that apply to charitable organizations and the investment managers they use. The system “augments the intelligence” of members 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.

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.”