Monday, 22 May 2017
7:15 a.m.–5:30 p.m
7:15 a.m.–4:00 p.m
Exhibit Hall Open
CFA Institute Forum
The Forum is the place to go to connect with fellow delegates, hear first-hand about current CFA Institute initiatives, share your thoughts with staff, and learn about the benefits of membership. The Forum will be busy throughout the conference with speaker meet and greets, online demos, special-interest presentations, and small-group networking.
#CFAedge Social Media Lounge
Join the conversation using #CFAedge and stop by the social media lounge to ask our staff your burning social media questions. While here, you can view the leaderboard of the best social media posts from the conference, see a live feed of all social media coverage, take a souvenir photo, and satisfy your sweet tooth.
CFA Institute Career Center
Learn about the many career resources CFA Institute offers—including the newly launched, online CFA Institute Career Center—and meet with career and executive coaches. Coaches are available to discuss your career management, soft-skill, and leadership questions.
Headshots
Professional headshots are offered as a complimentary benefit to conference delegates. Come by to have your photo taken, then visit the social media lounge to start using it with your accounts.
Virtual Link
New this year, the CFA Institute Virtual Link will bring the Annual Conference experience online with live broadcasts of select sessions, exclusive speaker interviews, and discussions of current topics. Swing by the Virtual Link Studio to get a sneak peek.
Bookstore
Popular industry titles and a variety of books written by conference speakers are available for purchase. Speaker book signings will be held throughout the conference.
Recharge Lounge
Take a break to power up your gadgets and your mind with access to charging stations, internet kiosks, specialty coffee, and comfortable seating.
7:30–8:15 a.m.
7:30–8:15 a.m.
Sponsored Corporate Presentations with Breakfast
Equity Indices: Exploring Customers’ “How to Trade” Decision
CME Group
Tim McCourt
108 │ Level 1
- Understand which products are the most capital efficient and cost effective as new regulatory and capital regimes are being formed.
- Explore the ever-evolving decisions facing market participants as they access and risk manage their benchmark equity index exposure.
- Learn how to approach trading implementation decisions and those choices surrounding product and strategy implementation while exploring the total cost paradigm facing futures, cash baskets, ETFs, and OTC swaps.
Diversification Is a Free Lunch. What Are You Missing from Your Menu?
Glenmede Investment Management
Sean E. Heron, CFA
103 │ Level 1
- Well-diversified, passive portfolios sit on the efficient frontier. Extend your opportunity set with a “passive plus” approach.
- For those allocating capital and providing consulting services, compensation for the volatility risk premium is an often overlooked source of alpha.
- Learn how harvesting the volatility risk premium will not disturb, but enhance your current allocations.
Allocating to Emerging Markets Local Debt within a Global Fixed-Income Portfolio
OppenheimerFunds, Inc.
Wim Vandenhoeck
113 │ Level 1
- Gain exposure to drivers of return and the potential risk and return benefits of adding emerging markets local debt to your portfolio.
- Examine the maturation of emerging markets capital market structure, and explore the risk-adjusted return properties and diversification profile of emerging markets local bond strategy.
- Consider the outlook and return prospects within emerging markets.
The Trends That Will Define Our Lifetime
Vanguard
Joseph Davis
114 │ Level 1
- The dramatic transformation US and global economies will undergo as several large global forces take hold
- The implications of economic and investment trends for the economy and the markets
Plenary Sessions
Plenary Sessions feature industry thought leaders, who provide big picture perspectives, innovative insights, and broad outlooks on current issues of interest to the entire audience.
8:30–8:45 a.m.
Opening Remarks
President and CEO
CFA Institute
Tune in to these remarks as part of the Virtual Link.
8:45–9:45 a.m.
Strategic Investment Choices and Considerations in the Current Market Environment
Vice Chair
Allianz Global Investors
- The year 2017 will be one of political, policy, and economic transition. What is the global outlook for 2017, and what do these transitions mean for investment managers and clients?
- With a cyclical recovery generally expected of the world economy paired with much uncertainty, weak demographic and productivity trends, and economic imbalances, there will be challenges for investors in the coming year.
- There are a number of investment strategies and themes that will be key—clients need alpha now more than ever.
James Benoit, CFA, Moderator
CEO, FCMB Bank (U.K.) Limited
Chair, Annual Conference Advisory Group
9:45–10:15 a.m.
9:45–10:15 a.m.
Introducing the Learning Ecosystem
Presented by CFA Institute
Learn about the revolutionary, adaptive, online learning platform designed to
- prepare the next generation of candidates for exam success,
- guide and accelerate candidate preparation, and
- ensure efficient and effective study and drive engagement by offering cohesive, integrated study tools.
10:15–11:15 a.m.
Progress Interrupted: The Revolt against the Status Quo and the Challenge to 20th Century Institutions
Neil Howe
Author and Managing Director of Demography
Hedgeye Risk Management
Michala Marcussen, CFA
Global Head of Economics
Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking
Willis Sparks
Director of Global Macro
Eurasia Group
Gillian Tett, Moderator
US Managing Editor
Financial Times
- The Brexit vote, Trumpism in American politics, and growing separatist sentiments: Why is this happening, and what will be the consequences—constructive changes, or political and economic disarray?
- How will the effects of demographics and generational cycles play out globally? What trends will dominate global growth? How will the West manage its massive government debt burdens supporting entitlements for rapidly aging populations?
- Have terrorism, regional conflicts, and geopolitical tensions lead us to untenable positions in the path to globalization?
Tune in to this session as part of the Virtual Link.
11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m
Investment Wisdom from the Masters: Risks and Relative Values in Diversified Global Portfolios
Robert J. Shiller
2013 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences
Sterling Professor of Economics, Yale University
Jeremy J. Siegel
Author, Stocks for the Long Run
Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Gillian Tett, Moderator
US Managing Editor
Financial Times
- The strengths and pitfalls of valuation metrics
- The cyclical, political, and behavioral sources of market and economic uncertainty
- The outlook for markets, interest rates, and the global economy, and the effects of Trump administration policies on the markets and the global economy
12:15–2:00 p.m.
12:15–12:45 p.m.
Book Signing: Jeremy J. Siegel
Author, Stocks for the Long Run
Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
12:30 p.m.–12:50 p.m.
Transparency and Fairness: Celebrating 30 Years of Performance Standards and Looking Forward to GIPS® 2020
Presented by CFA Institute
- Consider the need for performance standards: Are they still relevant today?
- Review compliance data and the current state of the industry
- Respond to industry dynamics and prepare for the future state of the profession: GIPS® 2020
12:45–1:15 p.m.
Book Signing: Robert J. Shiller
2013 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences
Sterling Professor of Economics, Yale University
1:00–1:20 p.m.
Exploring the Future of CFA® Exam Delivery
Presented by CFA Institute
- Investigate alternative methods for exams, including various forms of electronic delivery
- Consider rapidly improving technology and increasing consumer demands for flexibility and service
- Examine which exam approach best represents the knowledge and skills required to succeed in the investment profession today
1:00–1:45 p.m.
Sponsored Corporate Presentations with Dessert
Does Digital Equal Robo?
Aberdeen Asset Management
Martin Jennings
201 │ Level 2
- Everything is digital, so what does digital disruption mean?
- Can digital enhance the value of the human interface? Is customization an option or is it one-size-fits-all?
- How can lessons learned from the United States shape what the robo-adviser looks like in the United Kingdom?
Global Fixed-Income Insights: Managing Portfolios in a Low/Rising Rate Environment
Amundi Smith Breeden
Jerome Barkate, CFA
204 │ Level 2
- In reaction to the global financial crisis and resultant slow recovery, central banks have pushed interest rates to historically low levels.
- For investors, particularly in the fixed-income space, generating attractive returns while reducing capital loss risk is a challenge.
- We share our experience and provide our insights about benefits from diversification, sector rotation, risk premium considerations, FX management, and derivatives products for capital protection and continued alpha delivery.
Current Trends in the Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) Industry
FactSet
Elisabeth Kashner, CFA
103 │ Level 1
- Discuss how ETF investor sentiment speaks volumes about which asset classes, regions, and strategies are attracting capital as ETFs continue to increasingly displace mutual funds.
- Evaluate why changes in market share around active management, strategic beta, and plain vanilla funds help you understand what’s going on, what is hot, and what is not in the ETF industry.
- Analyze recent ETF fund flows to understand what other trends are driving the industry and what’s in store for the year ahead.
The Great Risk Rebalance and Fixed-Income Markets: What Is Your Medicine?
Macquarie Investment Management
J. David Hillmeyer, CFA
108 │ Level 1
- Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
- Today’s economic backdrop is challenged by excessive debt, lack of pricing power, and market dislocations.
- With this backdrop, it is important to consider the possibility that asset returns and lifestyles will need to adjust in order to meet the new challenges we face as fixed-income investors.
What Is Really Driving Your Performance?
S&P Global Market Intelligence
Simon Chen
David Pope, CFA
114 │ Level 1
- Performance characteristics of high-profile mutual funds
- Sources of performance, with a particular focus on security level and factor exposure drivers of return
- Sector-specific insights that may be influential in portfolio construction and performance
What We Are Learning about Factor Timing
Thomson Reuters
Tim Gaumer, CFA
113 │ Level 1
- Factor performance (value, momentum, quality, and others) varies significantly over time. When and where does it make sense for investors to vary the emphasis placed on these factors?
- How can we use leading macroeconomic signals to adjust factor weights?
- What hints do institutional holdings give with regard to factor popularity and rotation?
- Does factor momentum still work? Is it better to simply stick with static factor weights?
1:30–1:50 p.m.
The New CFA Institute Career Center: We’ve Relaunched to Help Your Career Take Off!
Presented by CFA Institute
- Learn about improvements made in the relaunch and developments to come
- Hear advice on how to leverage this powerful tool to its full advantage in achieving your career goals
2:15–3:15 p.m.
Concurrent Practitioner Sessions
Concurrent Practitioner Sessions explore key topics in six tracks (Fixed-Income Management, Alternative Investments, Asset and Risk Allocation, Equity Investments, Private Wealth Management, and Policy and Practice) with analysis and commentary on important market sectors and trends from prominent charterholder practitioners.
2:15–3:15 p.m.
Risks and Opportunities in Farmland Investing
Founder and President
LandFund Partners
- Why should investors consider farmland, and how are farmland investments different from investments in commercial or residential real estate?
- What are the primary sources of risk and return for the asset class, and what key factors differentiate investments within the asset class? What impact do macroeconomic factors, such as inflation, have on expected returns?
- What impact might developments in agricultural practices have on the long-term value of the asset class?
Ron Rimkus, CFA, Moderator
Director, Content
CFA Institute
2:15–3:15 p.m.
Global Asset Allocations: Investment and Business Themes for 2017 and Beyond—A CIO’s Perspective
Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer
Northern Trust
- How to avoid placing unintentional bets by using a consistent, strategic framework for investing
- How to approach market corrections, geopolitical risks, home bias, and other consequential investment variables
- Which strategic investment trends or tactical trading opportunities to emphasize in the current environment
Mohammad Shoaib, CFA, Moderator
CEO
Al Meezan Investment Management Limited
Asset and Risk Allocation Track
Tune in to this session as part of the Virtual Link.
2:15–3:15 p.m.
Alpha, Beta, and Now . . . Gamma
Head of Retirement Research
Morningstar Investment Management LLC
- Achieving a goal generally requires guidance and advice beyond building great portfolios (i.e., beta) and selecting investments that outperform their peers (i.e., alpha)
- Certain financial planning strategies can better help investors achieve retirement success
- Gamma is a new metric to quantify the benefit of goals-based financial planning
Ben Steverman, Moderator
Reporter
Bloomberg
2:15–3:15 p.m.
Zero Interest Rates and the Search for Yield
Bo Becker
Professor
Stockholm School of Economics
Kathleen C. Gaffney, CFA
Co-Director of Diversified Fixed Income
Eaton Vance Management
R. David Ranson
President and Director of Research
HCWE & Company
Christopher T. Vincent, CFA, Moderator
Head of Fixed Income
William Blair & Company
- How to invest in the new paradigm in fixed-income markets: central bank policy divergence, zero/negative interest rates, and declining liquidity
- What major risks face the global economy and financial markets
- Which fixed-income strategies adapt well to a changing environment
2:15–3:15 p.m.
How ESG Standards Underpin Investment Analysis
Sector Analyst, Infrastructure
Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
- Measuring ESG performance drivers across industries
- Implementing ESG analysis in valuation and portfolio management
- Understanding how standards ensure quality outcomes
Justin Sloggett, CFA, Moderator
Senior Manager, Listed Equity and Hedge Funds
Principles for Responsible Investment
2:15–3:15 p.m.
Advising Private Wealth Clients through the Toughest Times of Life
CEO
Corgenius, Inc.
- Gain practical, proven skills to turn the awkward and mistake-prone time when a client experiences a family member’s death into an opportunity to make more of an impact on your client relationships than your financial savvy ever did
- Understand the best way to answer the dreaded “bad news” phone call (hint: Don’t say, “I’m so sorry”), the differences between how men and women grieve, and how to deal with irrational financial fears
- Learn to bring humor into meetings, help clients make wise decisions in the midst of loss, and raise the bar in ways that others can’t because they’ve never been taught
Christopher W. Cannon, CFA, Moderator
Chief Investment Officer
FirsTrust, LLC
3:15–3:45 p.m.
3:15–3:45 p.m.
3:15–3:45 p.m.
Speaker Meet and Greet: David M. Blanchett, CFA
Head of Retirement Research
Morningstar Investment Management LLC
3:45–4:45 p.m.
Concurrent Practitioner Sessions
Concurrent Practitioner Sessions explore key topics in six tracks (Fixed-Income Management, Alternative Investments, Asset and Risk Allocation, Equity Investments, Private Wealth Management, and Policy and Practice) with analysis and commentary on important market sectors and trends from prominent charterholder practitioners.
3:45–4:45 p.m.
3:45–4:45 p.m.
Emerging Markets—Optimism Misplaced?
Head of Global Emerging Market, Equities
Aberdeen Asset Management
- Greater volatility does not necessarily represent increased risk.
- Sentiment drives short-term moves, and fundamentals drive longer-term gains.
- Emerging market fundamentals are improving; sentiment will catch up.
George R. Hoguet, CFA, Moderator
Chair, CFA Society Boston Board of Directors
CFA Institute Research Foundation Trustee
3:45–4:45 p.m.
Bank Stock Investing in the Current Market
Managing Director
Morgan Stanley
- How to approach risk
- What impact protectionist sentiments and regulatory changes will have on global banking and investing
- Which opportunities to seek in the banking sector
Jeremy Tennenbaum, CFA, Moderator
Chief Financial Officer
The Altman Foundation
Equity Investments Track
3:45–4:45 p.m.
Comparing Model-Based Investing to Fundamental Investing in the Fixed-Income Market
Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Model-Based Fixed Income
BlackRock
- What the many advantages of a quantitative process are in managing fixed-income portfolios: more systematic alpha capture, better risk control, and minimization of common cognitive errors
- What the barriers are to using models in fixed income: data availability and quality, asymmetry of returns, lack of breadth, periodic trading, over-the-counter pricing, and liquidity
- How models and market experts can be combined to produce synergy between the two without compounding the problems of each
Barbara S. Petitt, CFA, Moderator
Head, Journal Publications and Managing Editor, Financial Analysts Journal
CFA Institute
3:45–4:45 p.m.
Meeting Investor Demand for Transparency and Trust: Complying with the CFA Institute Asset Manager Code
Ronald D. Peyton
Chairman and CEO
Callan Associates Inc.
Jane L. Stafford
General Counsel
Regulatory Compliance Association
Michael G. Trotsky, CFA
Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer
Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board
Jonathan Boersma, CFA, Moderator
Executive Director, Global Investment Performance Standards
CFA Institute
- Hear about the investor demand for and the benefits of compliance with the Asset Manager Code from industry experts.
- Learn how to easily adopt the Asset Manager Code by using the Regulatory Compliance Association (RCA) Asset Manager Code implementation tool.
- Join the growing number of firms that distinguish themselves from their peers by publicly committing to best ethical practices in asset management.
3:45–4:45 p.m.
Wealth Management in Practice: Building a Client-Oriented Culture
Blair duQuesnay, CFA
Principal and Chief Investment Officer
ThirtyNorth Investments, LLC
John T. Elmes II, CFA
Executive Managing Director, Business Development & Marketing
Pathstone Federal Street
Isaac Presley, CFA
President and Director of Investments
Cordant Wealth Partners
Lauren Foster, Moderator
Director, Content
CFA Institute
- Three perspectives on the opportunities and challenges of building a client-oriented wealth management practice
- Clientele philosophy and how it drives service levels and client communication, including marketing and social media
- Managing operational tradeoffs with respect to technology, information security, regulatory compliance, staffing, and other management challenges
