THE Bahamas will be front-and-centre at the Brazil Investment Summit 2013 (BIS) which takes place April 17-18 in Sao Paulo. With the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) as the event’s Gold sponsor and its CEO and Executive Director, Aliya Allen, as chairperson for Day 1 of the conference, The Bahamas will have the attention of the nearly 400 domestic and international funds, investors, traders and corporations in attendance to discuss key trends and investment strategies in the region.
 BIS is Brazil’s largest and premier investment conference attracting leading international and Brazilian funds and investors to discuss developments and trends in market regulation, fund strategy, trading and asset allocation.

This marks the second year in a row in which BFSB is a Gold sponsor of the event and CEO Allen has chaired one of the days of the two day summit. BFSB has participated in the event from its inception as a sponsor, exhibitor and presenter. Prior to Ms Allen’s remarks as Day 1 Chairperson to officially open the summit, The Bahamas will also host the event’s first session, titled “Advantage Bahamas: A Breakfast Briefing examining the Funds and Asset Management Regime in The Bahamas”.
 Minister of Financial Services, Ryan Pinder, who will be introduced by Wolfgang Reichenberger, Inventages Wealth Management, who will welcome attendees to the breakfast presentation and provide a summary of The Bahamas’ funds regime and the overall advantages of The Bahamas as a financial centre, including the implications and benefits to Brazilian funds and investors of The Bahamas’ recent IOSCO A signatory designation. The Minister will be followed by Linda Beidler-D’Aguilar, Graham Thompson & Co, and Tiffany Norris Pilcher, Ernst & Young, who will review the Bahamas SMART Fund model, the regulation of asset managers in The Bahamas and reporting and audit requirements.
 Under BFSB’s stewardship for the past six years, The Bahamas’ steady presence at BIS reflects the importance of Brazil to the country’s financial services industry, particularly the funds sector. CEO Allen said, “Brazil is one of the world’s most dynamic economies with growing financial sophistication for services and products. Our active presence in Brazil through BFSB initiatives complementing efforts independent of BFSB by member firms, has been instrumental in positioning The Bahamas as viable location for the growing Brazilian appetite for investment opportunities.”
 Ms Allen further noted that BFSB will follow up BIS participation with its Bahamas Landfall: Destination LatAm events in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico in May, as part of an integrated Latin America campaign that also includes advertising in one of the region’s leading financial publications. As a Summit Gold sponsor BFSB has been provided with a number of conference passes which are available to member firms at a substantial discount from the full conference rate. Interested member firms can contact BFSB for details.