Greetings!
Spring! What an exciting time to be a member of the CFA Society of Iowa! We are in our Spring Programming homestretch. Our April program featuring Steve Murphy of S&P was fabulous, and we are extremely excited to feature Barclays Capital's own, Inho Choi, CFA to provide us with "Current Trends in Insurance Investment Strategies in a Volatile Regulatory and Capital Markets Environment." Given the topic, this is a perfect opportunity to invite a co-worker, candidate, or potential member to join you for the luncheon. We will also be approving our slate of candidates for the 2011/12 Board. Society members: don't forget to cast your vote! For our candidates, we'll be providing a live Schweser Mock Exam both in Des Moines and Iowa City on May 21st. Prepare to celebrate with our candidates at the Post-Exam Party on June 4th. And for our golfers, make sure you've reserved space on your calendar for the upcoming June 17th golf outing! Laura Beebe,
CFA Society of Iowa, President |
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Upcoming Luncheon Meetings | | Wednesday, May 11th Luncheon and Annual Meeting:
In addition to our monthly speaker, we will also be approving our slate for the 2011/12 CFA Society of Iowa Board.
 Mr. Inho Choi, CFA, Director of Financial Institution Restructuring group at Barclays Capital.
Topic: Current Trends in Insurance Investment Strategies in a Volatile Regulatory and Capital Markets Environment
The CFA Society of Iowa is thrilled to host Barclay's Mr. Choi for a dynamic discussion centering on his expertise relating to the Insurance Industry's various opportunities and challenges relating to asset portfolios, liability management and the current capital and funding environment. Current regulatory and accounting trends that are materially impacting the Insurance and Financial Industries will be addressed, and there will be ample time for member Q&A.
Prior to Mr. Choi's employment as Financial Institution Director for Barclay's, he worked at BNP in structured product and derivative dales, JP Morgan in Insurance product development and finally, at Lehman Bros. in Insurance Strategies and structuring various investment and balance sheet risk management strategies for Insurance clients.
Mr. Choi has BS and MBA from NYU's Stern School of Business and holds a CFA Charter.
Register here by noon Friday, May 6th. Cost is $30 for members/$35 for non members.
May's Luncheon will be held at The Des Moines Club located at 666 Grand Ave., on the 34th Floor of the Ruan Center. Registration and buffet luncheon service begins at 11:30 with program to begin at 12:00. |
| 2011-12 Board Election | | Ballots have been distributed for the 2011-12 CFA Society of Iowa Board of Directors. All Society Regular members are eligible and requested to vote. Ballots must be received by April 30.
If you did not receive an email containing the link to the electronic ballot, you may request one by emailing: iowacfa@gmail.com. |
| Schweser Live Mock Exam - May 21st | |
As a local society, it is our goal to support candidates within our geographical area in any way we can to achieve the best possible results this June. Many candidates have indicated an important step in their successful preparation was participation in a live testing simulation.
This year, in cooperation with Kaplan Schweser, we will be offering the Live Schweser Mock Exam on May 21st in two locations: Des Moines (Pappajohn Center of Higher Learning) and Iowa City (Iowa City Public Library) from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This is an opportunity free to the members of the CFA Society of Iowa and $40 for non-members.
Click on the appropriate exam location and level to register.
Des Moines - Level I, Level II, Level III
Iowa City - Level I, Level II, Level III |
| Exam Day: June 4th - Post-Exam Party |
 CFA candidates probably have Saturday, June 4 fixed in their minds as it is the next test date for all three levels of the CFA exam. As we have in the past, the CFA Society of Iowa is planning a post-exam party for all candidates and members. To celebrate the completion of a long day of testing, please join the CFA Society of Iowa in the Polk County Convention Center lobby after 5:00 pm for complimentary appetizers and beverages. |
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2011 Golf Outing - Save the Date! |
 2011 CFA Society of Iowa Summer Golf Outing. When: Friday, June 17th, beginning at 1:15 p.m. Where: The Legacy Golf Club, 400 Legacy Parkway, Norwalk, Iowa
This year's outing will include an 18-hole event for $35 and 5-hole event for $15.
Not a golfer, but interested in participating? We need your help!If you are interested in volunteering at the event, please send your name and contact information to iowacfa@gmail.com.
Are you interested in purchasing a CFA Society of Iowa Golf Shirt for the day's festivities? Purchase yours here! |
| 2011 Global Investment Research Challenge Finals |
 The University of Iowa CFA Global Investment Research Challenge team secured first place at the Nebraska/Iowa/South Dakota challenge and was the representative at the Americas final in April. Teams from North and South America competed in Omaha to determine the representative for the global finals the next day. "Although we did not advance, the experience was tremendous. The students had a terrific presentation and represented the university well," said Catherine Zaharis, CFA, from the Tippie School of Management who accompanied the group. "There were many interesting activities in our days at the Americas Finals in addition to the competition. We met Warren Buffett when he spoke with the teams in a two hour Q&A, as well as Joe Ricketts, Founder of Ameritrade and American Film Company, whose first film - Conspirator - is out in theatres this week. And we shared a fabulous evening with Iowa alums Curt and Carol Lane. Curt is on the Tippie Board of Visitors and runs a hedge fund, Concordant Partners. Tippie was represented in the Challenge by Kshipre Pitre, Wes Harrington, Eric Eckerman and Jared Plotz, and the company they presented was Werner Enterprises." Local CFA Society of Iowa member, Paul Galloway, CFA is Assistant Director of Capital Markets for Principal Financial Group, and made time to serve as a volunteer judging papers in January, and travelled to Omaha to volunteer as a judge in the Americas Finals. "I mentored a team in 2010 and felt that the GRIC was an excellent opportunity for young college talent to show their skills. In addition, I view this as a chance to give back to our local society by helping out so when I was asked to participate again this year, I was in." Galloway added, "I was eager to hear the presentations and was absolutely blown away by the level of competition. They were well prepared and they knew their respective company inside and out, as well as the industry. In addition, they addressed the judge's questions with poise and confidence. I view this competition as a way to recruit future talent into our industry by giving them a taste of what investment analysis is about. " Galloway had the pleasure of judging the team from the University of Southern California, which was the Americas winner. A team from Italy was named winner of the entire competition on April 8th. |
| What You've Missed - At a Glance | |
 April Luncheon, "State and Municipal Credit, Bankruptcy, Defaults, Pensions, Etc.: Rhetoric or Reality?" - Mr. Steve Murphy, Managing Director in Corporate and Government Ratings for Standard & Poor's
In the wake of increased media focus and Meredith Whitney's prediction that their would be numerous large municipal bankruptcies during 2011, Mr. Murphy tried to present a balanced perspective on the state of municipal finances. While acknowledging that the state of municipal finances has clearly deteriorated and face continued headwinds, he made a strong case that municipalities have the incentives and ability to weather these challenges, with few near term prospects for default. To illustrate this point, he noted that of almost 18,000 rated municipal entities, none defaulted in 2009 and only three defaulted during 2010.
Mr. Murphy also highlighted some of the unique aspects of the Chapter 9 provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code available to municipal entities. He noted that the provision is relatively infrequently used, as issuers cannot be forced into bankruptcy on an involuntary basis. Chapter 9 also makes no explicit provisions for liquidation or reorganization. As this process lacks the teeth of Chapter 7 or 11 in the corporate realm, it does not get invoked frequently.
Mr. Murphy pointed out that in 2007 55% of the U.S. municipal market was backed by AAA insurance wrappers. With the demise of many of the AAA insurance providers and declining availability of bank letters of credit for protection, investors will increasingly be reliant on independent credit assessment when underwriting municipal investments.
When asked to highlight the areas within the municipal sector where he saw the greatest risk on a relative basis, Mr. Murphy highlighted the following:
- Small municipalities undertaking large projects
- Prisons
- Toll Roads
In summary, Mr. Murphy provided an engaging and informative look at the municipal debt sector.
Written by Russ Rowley, CFA. Russ is Secretary of the CFA Society of Iowa and is Managing Director of Global Fixed Income Research of Principal Global Investors.
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| Professional Development | |
Did you know that the CFA Institute has several career management webcasts available to members at no charge? This is a great way for members to gain career tips at their own convenience!
This month we highlight a presentation entitled "Presenting Yourself as a Leader" which was delivered by Mr. Neil Grammer of Dialogue Strategies at the Toronto CFA Society's 2011 Professional Development Day.
Mr. Grammer has coached thousands of mid- to senior-level managers in many industries, such as finance, professional services, and consumer-packaged goods and advertising. His work has been published in The Globe and Mail and has appeared on BNN. Mr. Grammer has an MBA from York
University and an MSc from University of Michigan.
In this presentation, Mr. Grammer provides us with some great advice for sharpening our communication skills and speaking to an audience with the confidence of a great leader.
Click here to log into the CFA Institute's website and view the presentation. |
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Do you have information you would like to include in a future edition of our newsletter? Please send your ideas to iowacfa@gmail.com |
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Our Mission |  | |
The mission of the
CFA Society of Iowa
is to lead the investment profession in the state of Iowa, and to maximize value for current and future members
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 CFA Golf Shirts for Golf Outing | |
Are you interested in purchasing a CFA Logo Golf Shirt for the June Golf Outing?
Or add an additional piece to your casual Friday selections to help promote your designation?
Purchase one of these high-quality Cutter & Buck Textured Golf-Shirts with the CFA of Iowa Embroidered logo.
Cost is $25 for Members. To order, simply click on your size:
 | | Men's Logo Shirt |
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