Marilyn Ordover Leads NYSBA-Sponsored Symposium on Investment by Trustees at Columbia University

On September 23, 2011, Marilyn Ordover, of the Trusts and Estates Department and an alumna of the Columbia Law School, conceived and led, with the help of a co-chair and a planning committee, an extraordinary all-day Symposium at Columbia University to reexamine what constitutes prudent investment by trustees in light of the recent financial debacle. The Symposium was sponsored by the Trusts and Estates Section of the New York State Bar Association and Columbia Law School and featured not only expert panelists from the legal academy but icons of the world of finance. Many Surrogates also attended. Issues discussed included the status of modern portfolio theory and the efficient capital market hypothesis, what a trustee is legally bound to do and alternative investment strategies which should be permissible. The response was overwhelming.