2018 SMIFC Conference

Presentations

Some of the speakers have very kindly allowed us to share their presentations. For ease of viewing here some of the presentations have had their bullet point animations and timings removed.

Charles Bobrinskoy, Vice Chairman, Ariel Investments spoke on Chaos Theory and Investing - Is the Future Predictable? Can investment performance be predicted? Bobrinskoy examined two fundamentally different investment philosophies: Determinism and Chaos Theory.

 

The presentation is also available as a PDF file. Charles also demonstrated a double pendulum simulation. That file can be downloaded.This is an executable file that requires no installation to run on Windows.

You may not want to download an executable file, but there are several online demonstrations of the chaotic nature of double pendulums. One is hosted by the University of Reading and the other is on the bl.ocks.org coding site.

Pitch Competition

New this year, we were inviting schools to participate in a pitch competition that included a 5-page paper with maximum 5-pages of attachments or a 7-minute YouTube video. All the entries were of very high quality and there were just four points separating the top three papers. It was a difficult choice for the CFA panel that judged the papers but the winners were declared as:

1st Place - University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire - Team: Brock Schauer, Ben Zielinski, and Kyle Kolb - View Paper
2nd Place - Truman State University - Team: Daniel D’Nagy and Ben Wingo - View Paper
3rd Place - Hofstra University - Team: Thomas Maciura, Suveer Seemangal, and Emalee Jimenez - View Paper

We would like to thank the CFA panel who scored the papers and offered their insights to them:

John Brick, CFA Associate Portfolio Manager at Altman Advisors
Molly Carl, CFA Senior Portfolio Manager at Northern Trust
Shannon Curley, CFA CEO CFA Society of Chicago
Mike Drucker, CFA Executive Director of Business Development and Investments Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois

The winners of the video competition were decided by vote by the attendees. The winners of that competition were:

1st Place - University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire - Team: Brock Schauer, Ben Zielinski, and Kyle Kolb.

2nd Place - University of Nebraska-Kearney - Team:Tristan Crook, Adam Starr and Madisson Whalen.

3rd Place - Indiana State University - Team: Carlos Garcia, Jr., Devan Lunceford, Corey Maxedon and Tyler Thies.

Click on the YouTube Playlist icon in the top left to see the list of other videos.

 

 

The Student Managed Investment Fund Consortium (SMIFC) is pleased to announce a student pitch competition hosted by Kaplan in conjunction with our 6th annual conference October 4th and 5th in Chicago.

New this year, we were inviting schools to participate in a pitch competition that included a 5-page paper with maximum 5-pages of attachments or a 7-minute YouTube video. All the entries were of very high quality and there were just four points separating the top three papers. It was a difficult choice for the CFA panel that judged the papers but the winners were declared as:

1st Place - University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire - Team: Brock Schauer, Ben Zielinski, and Kyle Kolb - View Paper
2nd Place - Truman State University - Team: Daniel D’Nagy and Ben Wingo - View Paper
3rd Place - Hofstra University - Team: Thomas Maciura, Suveer Seemangal, and Emalee Jimenez - View Paper

The winners of the video competition were decided by vote by the attendees. The winners of that competition were:

1st Place - University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire - Team: Brock Schauer, Ben Zielinski, and Kyle Kolb - View Video
2nd Place - University of Nebraska-Kearney -  Team:Tristan Crook, Adam Starr and Madisson Whalen - View Video
3rd Place - Indiana State University - Team: Carlos Garcia, Jr., Devan Lunceford, Corey Maxedon and Tyler Thies - View Video

We would like to thank the CFA panel who scored the papers and offered their insights to them:

John Brick, CFA Associate Portfolio Manager at Altman Advisors
Molly Carl, CFA Senior Portfolio Manager at Northern Trust
Shannon Curley, CFA  CEO CFA Society of Chicago
Mike Drucker, CFA Executive Director of Business Development and Investments Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois

Student teams are invited to represent their university in the competition. Teams may participate in a number of ways. The first is a 7-minute (maximum) YouTube video describing the team’s analysis and recommendations for the subject company. The second way to compete is via a written paper. Written papers should be no more than 5 pages of narrative with no more than 5 pages of exhibits (a maximum of 10 pages total). Teams are invited to participate in both the video and written portions of the pitch competition. Awards will be given for 1st through 3rd place video pitches and also for the best paper.

SMIFC member schools may have more than one team represented in the competition. Non-member SMIF schools are invited to participate as well but will be limited to one student team participating in each the video or paper portions of the competition.

Schools that submit to either the video or paper competitions should plan to have at least one member of the team present at the conference. Preferably all team members will attend. The ideal team composition is 3 students. Teams of 2, 3, or 4 students will be eligible. Teams of less than 2 students or more than 4 students are ineligible for the competition.

Submissions

Videos should be submitted no later than 5pm Eastern, September 21, 2018. Teams should include a brief email with their video submission identifying their school affiliation and the team member’s names. There should be no identification of school affiliation or team member’s names in the video itself. To submit a video, please contact michelle.swick@indstate.edu who will provide a URL to which you may upload your video; alternatively you may upload your video to a hosting service such as Youtube or Vimeo and provide him with the video URL

Papers should be submitted to no later than 5pm Eastern, September 21, 2018. Two copies of the paper should be submitted. One copy should have school affiliation and team member’s names. The second copy should omit any identifying information; this copy will be forwarded to reviewers for grading. Papers should be submitted to michelle.swick@indstate.edu.

All entries, both video and paper submissions, will be recognized at the banquet Thursday, October  4th., 2018. The winning paper will be announced and the top 5 videos will be shown during the banquet. The judging for the top 3 videos will be “People’s Choice”.  Each table will have will have a score sheet and the results will be tallied and announced during the banquet.

The decisions of the judges, reviewers, and SMIFC leadership shall be final and not contestable. Every effort shall be made to insure blind and impartial review of all submissions.

Awards (Courtesy of Kaplan)

All student participants entitled to preferred pricing through conference attendance. Kaplan will build a dedicated portal for participants to access which will house a variety of offerings to address the diverse needs of students (CFA, FRM, CAIA, CFP education/exam prep review, SIE/Securities licensing, Insurance licensing)

Pitch competition winners (3 - 4 students) would each receive a scholarship for Kaplan Schweser's Premium Online Instruction Package (extended expiration of two years). Value is $1,099 per recipient. 

Package details:

Pitch competition teams #2 and #3 (4 -8 total students) would each receive a SchweserNotes Package. Value is $379 per recipient. 

Paper competition winners (2-4) students would each receive a SchweserNotes Package. Value is $379 per recipient. 

Competition Project: Analyzing the Performance of a Firm

This project is a financial analysis exercise of the subject company Apple, Inc. (ticker: AAPL). Financial ratios, valuation models and other statistics and variables can be used in the analysis. Macroeconomic Industry, and company specific data that are necessary to complete the analysis can be obtained from the following resources:

Macroeconomic and industry data

Federal Reserve Beige Book and Fred database
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Consumer Board website
World Bank
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
PWC estimates of future outlook
Deloitte estimates of future outlook

Company-specific data

EDGAR
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Company website
Morningstar

 

Use the techniques and tools you studied in your Finance classes to address the following questions and topics:

• What special business niches has AAPL developed over time?
   
• How well diversified is AAPL in terms of exposure to regional national, and international economic problems?
   
• Is the firm's asset portfolio heavily invested in assets that are likely to be affected by sharp regional, national or international economic, financial or political, changes?
   
• What are the financial strengths and weaknesses of Apple? Use financial ratios to answer this question.
   
• How well have the stockholders of AAPL faired over the last three to five years? Compare AAPL's stock performance to the Dow Jones Industrial Average or other market index and to its peers
   
• What is the intrinsic value (target price) of AAPL’s stock relative to its market value? Is the stock overvalued or undervalued? 
   
• Would you recommend purchasing the stock?

Evaluation Rubric

Video Criterion:

Financial Analysis (20%)
Valuation (20%)
Presentation (30%)
Team Involvement (20%)
Materials (10%)

Paper Criterion:

Business Description (10%)
Industry Overview and Competitive Positioning (20%)
Investment Summary (10%)
Valuation (30%)
Financial Analysis (15%)
Recommendation (5%)
Mechanical Construction (10%)

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge Kaplan for providing the awards for the winning projects.

Thursday, October 4

Noon - Registration / Check in

Boxed lunch courtesy of Bloomberg

1:00 p.m. - Welcome & Opening Remarks

Brien N. Smith, Dean, Scott College of Business, Indiana State University

Tarek Zaher, Professor of Finance, Scott College of Business, Indiana State University

1:10 p.m. - Global Issues for 2019 and Beyond

Charlie Bobrinskoy, Vice Chairman, Ariel Investments

Chaos Theory and Investing - Is the Future Predictable?

Can investment performance be predicted? Bobrinskoy examines two fundamentally different investment philosophies: Determinism and Chaos Theory.

2:00 p.m. - U.S. Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy

Dr. Daniel Sullivan, Chief Economist, Federal Reserve Bank, Chicago

2:50 p.m. - Break

3:00 p.m. - CFA Panel Discussion - Active Versus Passive Investment Strategies

John L. Emerson, CFA - Portfolio Manager, Columbia Wanger Asset Management, LLC

Garrett Glawe, CFA - Director, Asset Owners Channel at S&P Dow Jones Indices

Jeff Kernagis, CFA - Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, Investpro PowerShares Capital Management LLC

Marie Winters, CFA, CAIA - Senior Vice President, Team Leader and Senior Research Analyst, Northern Trust Asset Management

Moderator: Shannon J. Curley, CFA Chief Executive Officer, CFA Society Chicago

4:00 p.m. - The US Political and Economic Outlook

Robert Stein, Deputy Chief Economist, First Trust Advisors L.P.

4:50 p.m. - Break

5:00 p.m. - Consortium Partners Meeting

Agenda

Revenue

Membership Fees
Additional Sponsorships
Professional Registration Fees (i.e., professional societies like CFA, etc.)

SMIFC Journal
SMIFC Logo

Debriefing

Dates and venue for next year’s conference
Recommendations for logistical changes

5:00 p.m. - Indiana State University Alumni Reception

Willis Tower

7:00 p.m. - Dinner

“People’s Choice” Pitch Competition

Courtesy of Kaplan

Friday, October 5

8:00 a.m. - Breakfast

While the tours are in progress there will be breakout sessions available at 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00 a.m.

9:00 a.m. - Federal Reserve Bank Tour (45 minutes)

For Security Check: Please bring government issued photo I.D.

Group A: Ashland University, Auburn University, Hofstra University, Nazareth College, Radford University, University of Lynchburg, University of Nebraska-Kearney, & University of Northern Colorado.

9:00 a.m. - Thinkorswim Workshop

Brad Nave, Director of Trader Services, TD Ameritrade

The uses and applications of TD Ameritrade's Thinkorswim platform

9:45 a.m. - Break

10:00 a.m. - Chicago Board of Trade Tour (90 minutes)

For Security Check: Please bring government issued photo I.D.

Group A: Ashland University, Auburn University, Hofstra University, Nazareth College, Radford University, University of Lynchburg, University of Nebraska-Kearney, & University of Northern Colorado.

Group C: College of Wooster, University of Central Missouri, University of Detroit-Mercy, & Xavier University, 

10:00 a.m. - Federal Reserve Bank Tour (45 minutes)

For Security Check: Please bring government issued photo I.D.

Group B: Cedarville University, Eastern Illinois University, Indiana State University, Le Moyne College, Marquette University, Ohio Wesleyan, Smith College, & University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 

10:00 a.m. - Technical Analysis: Basics and Uses, for Risk Management or Career Paths

Julie R. Dahlquist, Ph.D., CMT, President, Technical Analysis Educational Foundation, Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Neeley School of Business

Buff Dormeier, CMT. Managing Director, Investments, Senior PIM Portfolio Manager, Well Fargo Advisors, LLC

10:45 a.m. - Break

11:00 a.m. - Federal Reserve Bank Tour (45 minutes)

For Security Check: Please bring government issued photo I.D.

Group D: California State-Fresno, Indiana State University, Northern Illinois University, Truman State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln,

11:10 a.m. - Professional Conduct and Ethical Codes are Good for Risk Management Practices!

Dr. Majed R. Muhtaseb, CFA, CAIA, Professor of Finance, California State Polytechnic University

12:00 p.m. - Working Lunch - Rethink Portfolio Diversification Solutions through Alternative Risk Premia (ARP)

Joseph Cusick, Director of OIC Education and Business Development, The Options Industry Council

Investors and asset owners are challenged to meet target returns in an environment of low yields and reduced diversification. Traditional asset allocation (60/40) is not what it used to be which is why asset managers are looking for Alternative Risk Premia, (ARP) strategies as a solution. Joseph Cusick will discuss how ARP may provide a solution toward better diversification and better risk-adjusted returns. It is time to dive into the expanding industry of Risk Premia.

1:15 p.m. - Closing Remarks

Tarek Zaher, Professor of Finance, Scott College of Business, Indiana State University

1:45 p.m. - Chicago Board of Trade Tour (90 minutes)

For Security Check: Please bring government issued photo I.D.

Group B: Cedarville University, Eastern Illinois University, Indiana State University, Le Moyne College, Marquette University, Ohio Wesleyan, Smith College, & University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Group D: California State-Fresno, Indiana State University, Northern Illinois University, Truman State University, & University of Nebraska-Lincoln,

2:00 p.m. - Federal Reserve Bank Tour (45 minutes - optional) 

For Security Check: Please bring government issued photo I.D.

Group C: Auburn University, College of Wooster, University of Central Missouri, University of Detroit-Mercy, & Xavier University 

Charles K. Bobrinskoy

Vice Chairman, Head of Investment Group, Portfolio Manager, Ariel Investments

Charles Kellogg Bobrinskoy serves as the Vice Chairman, Director of Research, and Portfolio Manager at Ariel Capital Management LLC. Additionally, he is a Portfolio Manager of Ariel Focus Fund. Mr. Bobrinskoy joined Ariel Capital in September 2004 and is instrumental in all firm wide strategic decisions. He is also a founding investor in the firm. Prior to joining the firm, he was employed in the Global Corporate and Investment Bank of Citigroup, Inc.

Bobrinskoy also served as a Managing Director and Head of North American Investment Banking Branch Offices, where he managed just fewer than 100 professionals across six North American branches, including Chicago. His investment banking career began in 1983 at Salomon Brothers, Inc. (a Citigroup predecessor company), where he held numerous leadership positions, including serving as the Head of Midwest investment banking for Salomon until 2000. Mr. Bobrinskoy has been an Independent Director of InnerWorkings Inc since August 2008.

He serves as a Trustee for the Museum of Science and Industry and the Chicago Urban League. Mr. Bobrinskoy is on the Board of Directors at La Rabida Children's Hospital, Big Shoulders Fund, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, Chicago Club, Lakeshore Athletic Club, Juvenile Protective Association and Duke University’s Library Board. He also teaches monthly stock market and investing classes at two of the Chicago inner-city schools. Mr. Bobrinskoy is an active member of the Commercial Club and the Economic Club of Chicago, as well as a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. He holds an A.B. degree in Economics from Duke University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

Shannon J. Curley, CFA

Chief Executive Officer, CFA Society Chicago

Shannon J. Curley, CFA, is the Chief Executive Officer of CFA Society Chicago since 2016, joining as Executive Director in 2014.  As Chief Executive, Curley is responsible for short and long term 

strategic planning, operational management, and external relations of the Society.  

Curley joins with more than 25 years of investment management and financial operational experience. He has been a Charterholder since 1997, and has been a member of the CFA Chicago since 2004. Previously, Curley worked at UBS O’Connor, LLC as a Director of the Long/Short Equity Hedge Fund, Portfolio Manager covering non-bank financials. He has held various financial and investment positions in New York, Houston and St. Louis before moving to Chicago. Curley has a MBA in Finance from Tulane University, a BA in Economics and BA minor in Mathematics from Fairfield University.

 

 

 

Joseph Cusick

Director of OIC Education and Business Development, The Options Industry Council

 

Joseph Cusick is currently Director of Institutional Education & Business Development, The OIC/OCC. Joseph is tasked in his current role for OIC/OCC to passionately marry 23 years of diverse market experiences, drawing from his background as a former CBOE Market Maker, SVP of online brokers optionsXpress/brokersXpress & Charles Schwab, where he developed several risk-sensitive equity allocations and tactical derivative programs.

Joseph also has a frequent contributor to various media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Barron’s, CNBC, BNN, and Bloomberg.

Julie R. Dahlquist, Ph.D., CMT

President, Technical Analysis Educational Foundation, Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Neeley School of Business

Julie R. Dahlquist, Ph.D., received her B.B.A. in economics from University of Louisiana at Monroe, her M.A. in theology from St. Mary’s University, and her Ph.D. in economics from Texas A&M University. Dr. Dahlquist has taught at the collegiate level for three decades. Currently, she is an associate professor of professional practice in economics and finance at the M. J. Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University. Dr. Dahlquist is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences. She is the coauthor (with Richard Bauer) of Technical Market Indicators: Analysis and Performance (John Wiley & Sons) and Technical Analysis of Gaps (Pearson). Her research has appeared in Financial Analysts Journal, Journal of Technical Analysis, Managerial Finance, Applied Economics, Working Money, Financial Practice and Education, Active Trader, and the Journal of Financial Education. She is a recipient of the Charles H. Dow Award (2011) and the Epstein Award (2012). She serves on the Board of the Market Technicians Association Educational Foundation and as editor of the Journal of Technical Analysis. She and her husband, Richard Bauer, have two children, Katherine and Sepp.

Buff Dormeier, CMT

Managing Director, Investments, Senior PIM Portfolio Manager, Well Fargo Advisors, Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC

Armed with research and investment programs, Buff Dormeier dynamically advises affluent individual and institutional clientele on strategies designed to help meet or exceed their specific investment objectives in what are often uncertain market conditions. This is accomplished by utilizing state of the art portfolio management strategies designed to grow and preserve wealth in a risk conscience manner.

Buff is featured in "Technical Analysis and Behavior Finance in Fund Management" – a European book comprised of interviews with 21 successful investment professionals. Buff is a double major graduate of Indiana State University participating in both varsity track and cross country as a student athlete.

 

 

 

 

 

John L. Emerson, CFA

Portfolio Manager, Columbia Wanger Asset Management, LLC

 

John Emerson is a portfolio manager of a mid-cap growth mutual fund at Columbia Wanger Asset Management, LLC. He is also a domestic equity analyst covering U.S. information technology and telecommunications stocks. Mr. Emerson joined Columbia Wanger in 2003 and has been a member of the investment community since 2002.

Prior to joining Columbia Wanger, Mr. Emerson was an equity research analyst for Spin-off Advisors. His experience also includes employment at Edward Jones as a senior accountant and as a senior associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mr. Emerson earned a B.S. from the University of Missouri and an MBA from the University of Chicago. In addition, he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Garrett Glawe, CFA

Director, Asset Owners Channel at S&P Dow Jones Indices

Garrett Glawe, CFA, is a director in the Asset Owners group at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). S&P DJI is the world’s largest resource for index-based innovation, data and research. Glawe builds and develops relationships with retirement plan sponsors, endowments, and foundations throughout the central US and Montreal, Canada. He currently manages relationships with 65 organizations that are responsible for $1.9 trillion in assets.

Glawe regularly presents S&P’s latest research and index innovations to his clients. His work touches on a wide range of topics including active vs. passive management, factor investing, the importance of benchmarks across asset classes, and environmental, social, and governance considerations. Glawe co-authored a research paper called “Big Things Come in Small Packages” that explores why the S&P SmallCap 600 has outperformed the Russell 2000 by 2% annualized since inception.

Prior to his current role, Glawe worked at MSCI from 2011-2015 and Ziegler Capital Management from 2008-2011. He began his career in the equipment finance industry from 2002-2006. Glawe earned his MBA from DePaul University in 2008, and bachelor’s degree in finance and MIS from Miami University in 2002. Glawe is a CFA charterholder and an active member of CFA Society Chicago. He began volunteering with the Society in 2010 and served as the co-chair of the Education Advisory Group from 2015-2017.

Jeff Kernagis, CFA

Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, Investpro PowerShares Capital Management LLC

Jeff Kernagis, CFA is a vice president, portfolio manager for Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC, a registered investment company that advises and sponsors the PowerShares family of Intelligent ETFs, a new generation of exchange-traded fund products. In his role, Jeff manages the Buy-Write and taxable fixed-income portfolios. Prior to joining Invesco PowerShares, Jeff was a portfolio manager at Claymore Securities, Inc. from 2005 to 2007. Prior to that, Jeff was a senior trader at Mid-States Corporate Federal Credit Union from 2004 to 2005 and a vice president of institutional futures sales at ABN Amro, Inc. from 1994 to 2003.

Jeff is a CFA charterholder and holds the Series 7 registration. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from DePaul University and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Dr. Majed R. Muhtaseb, CFA, CAIA

Professor of Finance, California State Polytechnic University

Dr. Muhtaseb is a Professor of Finance at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA with extensive experience in investment management research and and training. He claims global experience working in academia, industry and government.   His primary research interest is securities markets and portfolio management especially hedge funds performance, activism and manager fraud. He published more than 40 research articles  in leading refereed journals such as Journal of Financial Crime, Journal of Investing, Managerial Finance and the Financial Times, among others.

For two years ending in 2016, Dr. Muhtaseb served as a Senior Adviser at Securities & Commodities Authority in the United Arab Emirates, equivalent to US Securities and Exchange Commission. Earlier in his tenure, he worked as Research Director for Global Fund Analysis, a fund of hedge funds house in London, England.  Dr. Muhtaseb’s favorite hobby is travel. He visited more than 35 countries. Recently he was appointed Director of Global Leadership Initiative in the College of Business Administration.

Brad Nave

Director of Trader Services, TD Ameritrade

Brad Nave earned his degree from University of Nebraska at Kearney in Finance and Economics.  He started career as an intern in an interesting environment, working as an intern in overnight money markets and foreign exchange in Dublin Ireland for the summer of 2008. Brad started working with TD Ameritrade as a stock broker and has worked in numerous areas of TD Ameritrade, especially in the derivatives space. He moved closer to technology/operations and product management in 2013. Currently he is responsible for managing the support and operations of the middle office for the advanced trading customers for TD Ameritrade as well as the director of TradeWise Advisors.

Brien N. Smith

Dean, Scott College of Business, Indiana State University

 

Smith attained his PhD in industrial/organizational psychology in 1989 from Auburn University. He has over 25 years of administrative experience in higher education and has actively participated in university governance. Smith previously worked at Ball State University where he served a number of roles including associate dean, chair for the Department of Marketing and Management, and director of business graduate programs.

While at Indiana State, the college of business has experienced marked growth in undergraduate and graduate enrollments. Dean Smith has secured nearly 10 million dollars in grant funding for new and existing programs in the college. Under his direction the college developed the Student Managed Investment Consortium with over 30 university affiliates. The college continues to be recognized as a thought leader in insurance and risk management, hosting the Insurance Public Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. each year. Smith has published numerous articles in refereed proceedings and journals, including many of the most highly acclaimed journals in his field: Journal of Applied Psychology, European Journal of Operational Research, Journal of Business and Psychology, and Journal of Applied Social Psychology. He has delivered presentations and speeches at national and international conferences.

Dr. Smith has a strong interest in psychological applications to the workplace, and draws heavily from his organizational psychology background. His 2004 article, “Transformational and Servant Leadership: Content and Contextual Comparisons” in the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies has been cited hundreds of times in journal articles, periodicals, and books.

Robert Stein

Deputy Chief Economist, First Trust Advisors L.P.

Robert Stein is Deputy Chief Economist at First Trust Advisors L.P. a financial services firm based in Wheaton, Illinois. At First Trust, Mr. Stein is responsible for forecasting and analyzing economic indicators as well as writing economic commentaries.

Immediately prior to joining First Trust, Mr. Stein was Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department. At the Treasury Department, Mr. Stein was responsible for briefing the Secretary of the Treasury on U.S. macroeconomic developments and formulating policy proposals. Day to day, Mr. Stein was responsible for leading a team of twenty economists conducting in-depth economic analysis and research.

Between 1996 and 2002 Mr. Stein was chief economist for the Senate Budget Committee on Capitol Hill and an economist for the Senate Banking Committee and Joint Economic Committee. Prior to his tenure on Capitol Hill and the Treasury Department, Bob was a journalist for Investor’s Business Daily, where he covered the economy and authored many front page stories.

Originally from New Jersey, Mr. Stein received a B.A. in both Economics and Government from Georgetown University. He is also a CFA Charter holder.

Daniel G. Sullivan

Executive Vice President and Director of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Daniel G. Sullivan is director of research and an executive vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He oversees the Bank's research in monetary policy, banking and financial markets, microeconomics and regional economics. In addition, he has supervisory responsibility for the Bank's community development and policy studies division and the public affairs department. Sullivan also attends meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the group responsible for formulating national monetary policy.

Prior to joining the Chicago Fed, Sullivan was an assistant professor of economics at Northwestern University and also taught at Princeton University. In addition he is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy. His research is in the area of labor economics, especially issues related to displaced workers and alternative work arrangements.  He has published articles in leading academic journals including the American Economic Review, Econometrica,  the Journal of Political Economy and the Quarterly Journal of Economics.

Sullivan received a B.A. in mathematics and statistics from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University.

Marie Winters, CFA, CAIA

Senior Vice President, Team Leader and Senior Research Analyst, Northern Trust Asset Management

Marie Winters, CFA, is a senior vice president, team leader and senior research analyst for Northern Trust Asset Management’s taxable fixed income group with over $350 billion AUM. She is responsible for credit research and investment recommendations for high yield and investment grade credits in the telecommunications and technology sectors as well as managing a team of senior research analysts covering other industrial sectors. Winters was appointed to Northern Trust’s Asset Management Credit & Liquidity Risk Management Committee, which directs credit policy and procedures, and the Credit Strategy Committee, an economic forecasting group which advises Northern Trust fixed income portfolio managers. Winters received the Chairman’s Absolute Quality Award for her work performed on distressed investments in financial institutions. She began at Northern Trust in 1998 and helped launch the firm’s high yield mutual fund product which now ranks as one of the largest in the U.S.

Prior to Northern Trust, Winters held a variety of credit-related assignments in high yield securities, distressed investments, corporate finance, and credit risk management at First Chicago (now JPMorgan Chase). For two years, she also served as the credit officer and managed a team of ten analysts who were responsible for the credit underwriting for a communications and media commercial loan portfolio with $3.7 billion in loan outstandings, the second largest C&I loan portfolio for First Chicago. For more than four years, she traveled around the world to six continents as part of a high profile group that were the “eyes and ears” of the Board of Directors, assessing credit quality and loan portfolio risks. Winters also led the credit due diligence for First Chicago’s two largest community bank acquisitions.

Winters has an MBA with a specialization in finance and economics from Washington University where she received the Quantitative Business Analysis award for her class. She also holds a BA in mathematics from Knox College. She is a CFA Charterholder, a CAIA Charterholder (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) and is a Chapter Executive for CAIA in Chicago. Winters is a board member of Chicago Finance Exchange, an invitation-only organization comprised of the top 200+ women leaders in finance. In 2013, she became a member of the Executive Committee for Washington University’s newly formed Chicago Professionals Network. Additionally, Winters is a member of the Comer Development Board at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital.

Tarek Zaher

Professor of finance, Scott College of Business, Indiana State University

 

Tarek Zaher has held a number of professional positions with the industry and provided consulting services to a number of international institutions including the World Bank, the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan, and the Academy for Educational Development in the United States and the Ministry of Work in Dubai. He has also offered a number of seminars in investment and international financial management at a number of institutions around the world.

Dr. Zaher is the supervisor of the investment club at Indiana State University. He also manages and supervises other international portfolios for individuals and institutions. Dr. Zaher’s research has been published in numerous prestigious professional and scholarly journals, including the Journal of Financial Research and Journal of Banking and Finance. Dr. Zaher received three research awards from professional conferences and one research certificate of excellence. He was also recognized by the Scott College of Business as the winner of the faculty research award in 2002 and the winner of the exemplary service award in 2004.

Platinum Level

 

Gold Level

Silver Level

Organizers

coming