28 June 2017

Frances Barney, CFA, on Tackling Enterprise Investment Risk Management

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Frances_Barney

Written by Andrew C. Canter, CFA

Institutional investors face a unique challenge: If they must take risk to meet return requirements, then how can they measure that risk in a comprehensive manner? Integrated risk reporting and management quickly becomes complicated for institutional investors, given the lack of consistency in various systems and reports used by their underlying managers, funds, and investments.

At the 70th CFA Institute Annual Conference, Frances Barney, CFA, discussed how this challenge can be addressed through enterprise risk analysis. Barney, who is head of global risk solutions at BNY Mellon, gave a presentation on effective ways to review all of an investor’s assets for embedded investment risks. (However, this review would exclude normally non-investment risks, such as regulatory risk or longevity risk.)

Barney suggested a few different ways to approach enterprise risk analysis: Read More

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15 June 2017

Seizing Opportunity in Philadelphia

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CFAedge Exhibit Hall
By Oluwaseun Daniel Oyekanmi

There is a saying that “not all fingers are created equal,” and this is very true when it comes to opportunities. Some opportunities may be recaptured, while others are only for a set season — the latter are usually the ones that are life-changing. Some may call them destiny-defining moments, and others may call them opportunities of a lifetime, but one thing is certain: they greatly reward those who grab them. Read More

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9 June 2017

Recovery or Expansion? A View of the US Economy

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Abby_Joseph_Cohen

At the 70th CFA Institute Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Goldman Sachs Senior Investment Strategist Abby Joseph Cohen, CFA, declared that the US economy is not just in recovery, it is now in an expansion. Growth, as always, has varied by sector, but Cohen saw room for optimism. From her perspective, the United States is looking far healthier than it did during the years in and around the 2008 financial crisis. Read More

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8 June 2017

The Sharing Economy and the Evolution of Crowd-Based Capitalism

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The Sharing Economy and the Evolution of Capitalism

Technological advances are reshaping our jobs and the nature of work. How will the global economic system evolve? What will the future of work look like?

Read More

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7 June 2017

Emerging Market Equities: Unloved and Under-Owned

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Devan_Kaloo

“Emerging market (EM) equities has a history of headlines — mostly negative — and volatility,” said Devan Kaloo, Head of Global Emerging Markets Equities at Aberdeen Asset Management. Yet there is reason for optimism, Kaloo assured attendees of the 70th CFA Institute Annual Conference, especially for those value investors who dive deeply into the fundamentals, which may be turning positive.

One primary reason for greater volatility in EM equities is less liquidity. Free float on the average EM company is only 30% whereas it is closer to 70% for companies in developed markets. “If you have a dollar to buy Exxon at 100% float, it has a different effect than buying a dollar of PetroChina with its 25% float,” said Kaloo. This fact can move markets. Read More

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6 June 2017

10 Habits of Highly Effective Job Seekers

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Hellmann_Robert
A good job search ends quickly. An unsuccessful one drags on for weeks or even months with nothing to show for it, except perhaps disinterest, despondency, or even disaster.

The work you put into structuring a job search can be more important than the work you dedicate to the search itself.

At the 70th CFA Institute Annual Conference, executive coach Robert Hellmann, president of Hellmann Career Consulting, discussed what to do when your job-search efforts have stalled.

“I want to give you a way to diagnose an ailing job search,” he declared. Hellmann outlined 10 behaviors that form the foundations for an effective search. If any are unfamiliar, then focusing in on them could revitalize your efforts: Read More

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5 June 2017

The Importance of Avoiding Unintended Bets in Your Investment Portfolio

By

Robert_Browne

Investors are familiar with the benefits of diversification across asset classes within their portfolios. There are also many articles and speeches on how to properly conduct an asset allocation exercise. Yet once the allocations are put in place, how do you make sure that you are getting the exposures you were looking for? And how do you avoid assuming unintended risks?

At the 70th CFA Institute Annual Conference, Robert P. Browne, CFA, CIO at Northern Trust, discussed how asset allocation decisions are made using quantitative methods, while the underlying (active) portfolios are often run by managers from the fundamental school of investing. Read More

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2 June 2017

Thaler on Choice Confusion: To Intervene or Not to Intervene

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Thaler on Choice Confusion: To Intervene or Not to Intervene

Investing and throwing darts share many traits.

Most investors and dartists miss. But simple behavioral nudges can help improve our accuracy so that we’re more on target.

Read More

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1 June 2017

How Can Investment Firms Find their Way to Greatness?

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Investment_Panel

At the 70th CFA Institute Annual Conference, a panel of business leaders considered a challenging question for investment professionals: What makes investment firms great?

Paul Smith, CFA, president and CEO of CFA Institute, was joined on stage by Joseph Brennan, CFA, principal and head of the equity index group at Vanguard; Tina Byles Williams, founder and chief investment officer of FIS Group; and Leo P. Grohowski, executive vice president and chief investment officer at BNY Mellon Wealth Management. Smith challenged the group to consider whether it takes more than just performance to truly make a firm great, and if so, what did they think it was? Read More

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31 May 2017

Sir Paul Tucker Diagnoses Threats to the Success of Financial Capitalism

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Paul_Tucker
Sir Paul Tucker is not shy about making an audience feel uncomfortable.

In fact, the crowd was rather ill at ease during Tucker’s presentation at the 70th CFA Institute Annual Conference, and not just because the topic was systemic risk. Read More

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