Friday Afternoon Breakout Sessions

FRIDAY – APRIL 5 – Afternoon

PLEASE NOTE:  Breakout registration will open on Monday, March 11. Registrants will be sent an e-mail that announces the opening and provides instructions for registering. You must complete your breakout registration by Monday, March 18, at which time the online registration system will close.

Session I:  12:30 – 1:45 p.m.
Session II: 2:15 – 3:30 p.m.
On our registration website, you’ll have the opportunity to select two from the following list except where noted.

Workshop: Constructing a Value Stock Portfolio

Presented by:  James B. Hagerty, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager & Managing Director, Bartlett & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio
Workshop Description:  Review and discuss portfolio management from a value perspective, focusing on the insights of Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett. Incorporates top down and bottom up analysis.  Learn how various “value” disciplines, benchmark issues and risk considerations/results are applied. 

Workshop: Ethical Dilemmas in Investment Management

Presented by:  Wendy Pirie, CFA, CA, CPA/PFS, CAIA, Director, Curriculum Projects, CFA Institute, Charlottesville, VA
Workshop Description:  Thriving financial markets require a culture where investment professionals place trust, transparency, and investor interests first—no matter what the incentives.  That’s why a commitment to professional ethics that advances fair and efficient markets is at the core of everything CFA Institute does.  This interactive presentation examines several investment scenarios based on real cases that challenge participants to consider the various courses of action to address the issues involved. This breakout is offered only once, during Session I from 12:30-1:45.

Workshop: Equity Research - What They Don't Teach You in School

Presented by:  Sonia Parechanian, Equity, Mutual Fund and ETF Analyst, S&P Capital IQ, New York, NY
Workshop Description:  Equity research is an art, not a science. While textbook theory can lead to long-term "right" answers, in the short-term you'd be wrong. Is it better to be "right" on the fundamentals? Or are you a better analyst because your stock picks outperformed peers? 

Workshop: Fundamentals of Private Equity

Presented by:  Nicholas A. Peters, CPA, Managing Director, Tricor Pacific Capital, Lake Forest, IL
Workshop Description:  An overview of Private Equity: what it is, how it works, risks and returns. 
                                                                                

Workshop: Risk Management Case Study

Presented by:
William H. May, Senior Vice President & FRM Program Manager, Global Association of Risk Professionals, Jersey City, NJ
John Wengler, Director, Market Risk Controls, Hess Corporation, New York, NY
Workshop Description: Participants will conduct a real world case study under the guidance of the workshop facilitators, utilizing role playing to examine the various perspectives of the case, and group discussion to analyze risk-related alternatives.  The experience and insights of the facilitators will serve as valuable resources during each group’s decision-making process, while the case study exercise itself will illustrate the importance of managing financial risk and the responsibilities of a risk manager.  The workshop concludes with the revelation of how the situation was actually handled--rightly or wrongly — by the real life Wall Street firm facing the circumstances presented in the case.
 

Workshop: Within the Investment Committee in 2013

Presented by:  Richard T. Pawelko, CFA, CPA/PFS, CMA, Senior Research Analyst, JMG Financial Group, Ltd., Oak Brook, IL
Dennis R. Marx, CPA/PFS, Principal, JMG Financial Group, Ltd., Oak Brook, IL
Workshop Description: Investment Committees in 2013 are faced with interesting challenges in setting investment policy.  Differences in GDP and inflation in different regions of the world, significant central bank interventions and quantitative easing, lower than historical expected returns, new and innovative products such as ETFs and liquid alternative investments, and challenges to traditional asset allocation and valuation models are impacting Investment Committees.  This session will pull back the curtain to allow insight into how Investment Committees are considering these issues today.

Workshop: Fixed Income Investing

Presented by:  Michael Kemer, Portfolio Manager, Fifth Third Asset Management, Cincinnati, Ohio
Workshop Description:  A look into the analysis and trading world of a fixed income portfolio manager.  Discussion will include bond characteristics, richness/cheapness, and relative value vs. other products, as well as the process and interaction of executing a trade with a dealer.

Workshop: Hedge Funds — Liquidity as an Investment Style

Presented by:  Peter Schaffer, CFA, FRM, Chief Operating Officer & Director of Risk, Zebra Capital Management, Milford, CT
Workshop Description:  This workshop will explore Liquidity as an equity style just like large vs. small or value vs. growth.  We will discuss the relative performance of less-liquid publicly traded stocks and how risk and liquidity need to be managed so that investors can maximize the expected return/risk/liquidity trade-offs.  There will also be a review of the strategy implementation in the context of a global long/short hedge fund.

Workshop: Technical Analysis

Presented by:  Dave Johnson, Instructor, Investools, Salt Lake City, Utah
Workshop Description:  As the old adage goes, “Fundamentals tell you what to buy, technicals tell you when.” This workshop presents some rudiments on how to identify buy and sell signals based on the market’s price action as well as technical indicators. Examine fundamental charting techniques that allow you to make predictions about stock behavior and develop well-informed entry and exit strategies. Presented by Dave Johnson, one of Investools most accomplished instructors and an investment professional with more than 30 years’ experience.

Workshop: Buying Equities and the Brain - How Behavioral Finance Impacts Our Trading Decisions and Our Profits

Presented by:  Jonathan Citrin, Founder & CEO, CitrinGroup, Birmingham, MI; Adjunct Faculty of Finance, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Workshop Description:  Stock investing is a constant mind game; media, “market gurus”, product pushing, and our own emotional involvement all weigh heavily on our ability to prosper.  Learn to silence the noise and get out of your own way – pick stocks and invest with a new understanding of markets and yourself.

Workshop:  The Power of Moats - Competitive Advantages Drive Superior Performance

Presented by:  Heather Brilliant, CFA, Global Director of Equity & Credit Research, Morningstar, Inc., Chicago, IL
Workshop Description:  Heather Brilliant, CFA, will discuss Morningstar's Economic Moat framework and how to apply it to selecting great companies. She will share specific examples that illustrate how Moats can improve investment outcomes. 

Workshop:  The Modern Municipal Bond Market

Presented by:  William C. Elliott, Managing Director, PNC Capital Markets, Columbus, OH
Workshop Description:  This session will describe the fundamentals of this important segment of the fixed income marketplace and explore its role in current and future public infrastructure development.

Workshop:  Electronic Futures Trading Simulation

Presented by: 
Curt Zuckert, Manager, Channel Partner Management, CME Group, Chicago, IL 
Matthew Scharpf, Account Executive, CQG, Chicago, IL
Workshop Description: The “Electronic Futures Trading Simulation” will allow session participants to trade CME Group’s E-Mini S&P 500 Stock Index contract in a real time, simulated environment utilizing CQG’s front-end system. Session hosts will provide commentary on topics surrounding the market conditions occurring that day, along with other relevant market fundamentals and factors. Q&A time will be allotted during the session. Very limited seating. Students only. Due to the limited capacities of both sessions, registrants are not permitted to sign up for both this afternoon Futures trading simulation and the morning FOREX trading simulation. One per customer only, please, while space is available. 

Workshop:  Industry Analysis Using the Bloomberg Terminal

Presented by:  Mandeep Singh, CFA, Equity Research Analyst - Software, Bloomberg Industries, New York, NY
Workshop Description:  Learn how to analyze an industry, the competitive landscape and the major trends driving growth in that industry.