Kathleen H. Moriarty

Kathleen H. Moriarty concentrates her practice in financial services matters. She has extensive experience in the establishment and representation of exchange-traded investment companies (ETFs) and was instrumental in the early development of the structure, creation and registration of SPDRs. She has also advised clients on the establishment of various other U.S. ETFs, including iShares, VIPERS, ProShares, and WisdomTree. Ms. Moriarty has been actively involved with ETF projects globally, including assisting the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong with the structure and creation of the Hong Kong Tracker Fund and representing the American Stock Exchange and NYSE Arca in connection with the cross-listing of DIAMONDS on the Singapore Exchange and Euronext N.V. She regularly advises foreign entities and delegations from both public and private sectors with respect to the regulation and operation of U.S. ETFs.

Ms. Moriarty has also represented a variety of market participants in connection with the creation, structuring and development of other derivative securities and non-investment company exchange traded vehicles (ETVs), such as the SPDR Gold Trust and the ETFS Silver Trust. In addition, she represents and counsels broker-dealers and other institutional market participants in connection with trading issues and other securities laws matters relating to the purchase and sale of ETF and ETV shares. She also represents domestic and foreign ETF managers in connection with the licensing of financial indexes, such as Finans Portfoy Yonetimi A.S. in connection with the Dow Jones Istanbul 20, as well as index providers licensing their financial products to ETFs.

Ms. Moriarty received her A.B. from Smith College in 1975 and her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1980. She is admitted to practice in New York. She is a member of the ABA Federal Regulation of Securities Subcommittee on Investment Companies and Investment Advisors and the Regulation of Futures and Derivative Instruments Committee.

She is also a member of the Investment Management Regulation Committee of the New York City Bar. She was invited to serve as a panelist at the Joint Meeting on Harmonization of Regulation before the CFTC and SEC in September 2009.

Ms. Moriarty was named a New York Super Lawyer in 2007 and 2006 and received an honorable mention for her contribution to the Exchange Traded Funds sector at the Capital Link Third Annual Close-End Fund and ETF IR Awards. She was included in the ETF Database’s ETF Hall of Fame on July 14, 2009.

Ms. Moriarty sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Indexes. She is a frequent speaker, and has published and appeared on national television on the topic of ETFs and ETVs. She is the author of the chapter entitled “Legal and Regulatory Issues Related to ETFs and Certain Other Exchange-Traded Instruments” in the textbook Exchange-Traded Funds, ed. by A. Seddik Meziani, Riskbooks, June 2009; and is the subject of an interview entitled "SPDR Woman: SEC Looking Over Its Shoulder," published on IndexUniverse.com, February 25, 2011.