Home > 125 Events > The 2007 Wharton Economic Summit

The 2007 Wharton Economic Summit ::
Panels



Equity Markets in Transition
Sponsor: Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research of the Wharton School
Moderator: Marshall Blume, Howard Butcher III Professor of Financial Management; Professor of Finance; Director, Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research
Panelists:  Paul Bennett, Mitchell H. Caplan, Steve Greenblatt
Friday, April 13 - 3:00 p.m.-4:15 p.m. :: Full Summit Schedule

The equity markets are in a state of transition. The NYSE and Nasdaq have both become private corporations, designed to seek profit. The SEC has passed Regulation NMS, a lengthy and legalistic document that will force major changes in the trading of equities and other investment products, for better or for worse. It is likely to encourage increased computerized and algorithmic trading, giving an advantage to investors with electronic skills. Though Regulation NMS was designed to make the markets fairer to retail investors, it may actually harm them, as sophisticated traders and hedge funds profit at their expense.

Panelists
:: Paul Bennett
   Chief Economist, Research
   NYSE

Paul B. Bennett is senior vice president and Chief Economist of the NYSE. As Chief Economist and head of the research department at the New York Stock Exchange, Mr. Bennett is responsible for analytic support for the Exchange's various business and public-policy activities, and for support of academic and other professional research into equities market issues.

Before joining the NYSE in 2001, Mr. Bennett was a senior officer and economist of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he had worked since 1978. At the Fed, Mr. Bennett headed the Capital Markets Research division, was editor of the Bank's research journal and, prior to that, vice president for Fedwire Funds and Securities Transfers, among other responsibilities.

Mr. Bennett has published numerous papers on finance, economics, and securities markets in both academic and practitioner journals.

He holds a PhD in economics from Princeton University and a BA in economics from the University of Chicago.

Top
:: Mitchell H. Caplan
   CEO and Director
   E*Trade Financial Corporation

Mitchell H. Caplan, CEO and director of E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp., is a recognized financial services leader. With vision and operational expertise, he has led the Company to deliver significant top-line revenue growth and bottom-line results for shareholders. Since Mr. Caplan took the helm as CEO in January 2003, E*TRADE FINANCIAL's stock price has increased more than 500 percent, and its market cap has grown almost 600 percent from its start at $1.5 billion. With his leadership, E*TRADE FINANCIAL reported its fourth consecutive year of record revenue in 2006.

In keeping with E*TRADE FINANCIAL's pioneering spirit, Mr. Caplan continues to challenge the old ways of doing business - driving innovations that benefit customers and shareholders alike. Mr. Caplan has managed the company's integration of bank and brokerage functionality, providing customers with a unified cash management solution and has delivered the industry's first complete fraud protection guarantee.

Over the last four years, Mr. Caplan has led his management team to realign the business to more effectively focus on key customer segments and improve financial reporting transparency; to integrate back-office and customer-facing technologies, creating a unique business model that drives organic growth; and to engineer industry consolidation with the strategic acquisitions of Harrisdirect from Bank of Montreal and BrownCo from JPMorgan Chase.

Before joining E*TRADE FINANCIAL, Mr. Caplan served as vice-chairman of the board, and president and CEO of Telebank and Telebanc Financial Corporation. E*TRADE FINANCIAL acquired Telebank in early 2000, which subsequently became E*TRADE BANK. Mr. Caplan played a key role in integrating E*TRADE's various products and services in his capacity as chief financial products officer and managing director of E*TRADE North America, and as chairman of the board and CEO of E*TRADE BANK. In 2002, Mr. Caplan was named president and COO of E*TRADE FINANCIAL.

Mr. Caplan currently serves as a board member for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, for The American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science (ACWIS), and for the Aspen Music Festival and School. He also serves on the Corporate Fund Board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and as chairperson of Teach for America's Washington, DC advisory board. Mr. Caplan holds a JD and MBA from Emory University and a BA in history from Brandeis University.

Top
:: Steve Greenblatt
   Vice President, Corporate Strategy
   Liquidnet, Inc.

Steve Greenblatt oversees Liquidnet's Sales and Corporate Strategy groups. As head of Sales, he works with the Sales team focused on new Sales and Relationship Management. As head of Corporate Strategy, he focuses on the long-term planning and new business initiatives for the company. Mr. Greenblatt is one of Liquidnet's founding employees and previously led the company's Product Management group for its first five years.

Mr. Greenblatt brings nearly 15 years of experience in financial services application development, middleware technology, consulting, and solution integration. Prior to joining Liquidnet in early 2000, he served as vice president with Armonie Software, a company he co-founded in 1999. Previously, he served as the head of Implementation for VIE Systems and NEON, and in management roles with JP Morgan and Andersen Consulting.

Mr. Greenblatt holds an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business and a BS in Finance from Lehigh University.

Top