CFA Institute Conferences
CFA Institute president and CEO Paul Smith, CFA, stood before a crowd of more than 1600 investment professionals from across the globe at the 70th CFA Institute Annual Conference in Philadelphia, and asked a critical question: “What is finance for?”
“The big fear society has is your standard of living is going to drop dramatically [in retirement]. And that’s what clients come to you and ask for help on,” says Diane Garnick, chief income strategist and managing director for TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association). So what does the retirement data say? One of the most worrisome trends is the gender retirement gap.
Latin America has achieved a pivotal milestone, Jorge Castañeda explained at the inaugural CFA Institute Latin America Investment Conference. After decades of difficulty, democracy seems to have finally taken root. Ron Rimkus, CFA, explains.
Effective financial advisory firms combine technology’s unique strengths with human insights, and the 2017 CFA Institute Wealth Management Conference explored ways that these combinations can deliver value to clients.
Barbara Roberts shared the lessons she has learned in her over 20 years as an entrepreneur and entrepreneur adviser at the CFA Institute Alpha and Gender Diversity conference. She focused on what she calls “the owner’s journey,” specifically the issues owner-entrepreneurs must navigate in managing their wealth.
Some familiar leadership competencies include decisiveness, confidence, flexibility, intelligence, perseverance, and respect. But executive coach and author Julie Jansen notes a few others that deserve closer examination.
“While women’s leadership advancement is no longer impossible,” says Hannah Riley Bowles, “it is awfully tricky.” She urges women to think about career negotiations from a more strategic perspective.
“Fear has defined my working life,” Lucy Kellaway says. But it was not the fear that she inspired in others or the fear that others attempted to instill in her. She was driven by a self-imposed fear of “being found out,” a fear that she would fail to meet expectations. That fear was her greatest weapon.
Fresh off her ouster as CEO of Citi Global Wealth Management, Sallie Krawcheck spent some time studying the causes of the Great Recession. An epiphany led her to what she believes was the prime culprit: groupthink. So is there a cure for groupthink that could forestall another financial crisis? Krawcheck thinks there is.
The leading posts to emerge from the European Investment Conference in London include a report on Tim Harford's take on economic forecasting; a Lindsey Matthews, CFA, presentation on the resurgence of middle-office positions; and a dire warning from Michala Marcussen, CFA, on the consequences of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union.