| Next Event: |
Radisson Plaza Hotel
11:30am-1:15pm |
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Sponsor Ad: | |
CFA Minnesota appreciates all of our sponsors, including:
Want to promote your firm through an ad like this? Click here. |
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Board Member Spotlight | |
Your Name, CFA
Member, Board of Directors
Members of the Board of Directors of the CFA Society of Minnesota represent our diverse membership of more than 1,200 analysts, investment and fund managers, and other financial professionals. Board members are active ambassadors of the local society, promoting the designation and society events and membership through participation on a variety of board committees. Leadership and networking opportunities, along with a sense of "giving back" and helping to improve the society are just some of the reasons board members serve.
CFA Minnesota has begun our annual planning process, which includes the formation of this year's nominating committee to help build a strong board of directors for the upcoming fiscal year. The nominating committee is seeking qualified candidates willing to commit 10-20 hours per month and who are representative of our diverse membership and employer firms.
Do you know someone who is well connected, a good leader, has interesting programming ideas or is sincerely passionate about the CFA designation? Is it you?
To nominate yourself or another member of the CFA Society of Minnesota to a term on the board, please email your resume to info@cfamn.org. It will be passed on to the nominating committee for review, and you will be contacted. For questions about our election process, please contact Maren Amdal. |
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Board of Directors Committee Updates |
Nominating Committee
Chair Tony Carideo has opened nominations for positions on the CFAMN Board of Directors.
Business/Financial Committee
As we begin buget planning for FY 2010-11, Chair Jessica Murray would welcome new committee members.
Education Committee
Have an interest in supporting candidates or improving educational opportunities? Interested in GIRC? Contact Chair Jake Seltz.
Employment Committee
Chair Kristine Mogollon is reaching out to employers to post positions on our Job Board.
Membership Committee
This active committee is enhancing our new Mentor program. Contact Josh Howard to get invoved!
Programs Committee
Have you noticed the number of great programs we've offered recently? We always welcome suggestions! Send them to Chair Dan Aronson.
Public Awareness Committee
Sales of spots in the Business Journal supplemental is underway! Chair Karen Florez will be glad to chat.
Planning Committee
Vice President Robert Buss is helping oversee execution of the 2009-10 Annual Plan. |
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Welcome New Members! |
9 new members joined CFA Minnesota in May. Welcome! |
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Contact Information |
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When was the last time you updated your contact information?
CFA MN has been working on a major database project, as has CFA Institute. We have been surprised at how much out-of-date information we have for our members! Please take a moment to log-in and update your membership record. Click here.
Note: Your receipt of this email does not mean your contact info is correct in the Institute database. | Financial Funnies
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Money can't buy happiness. You also need high-yield stocks, prime real estate and a solid credit rating! | |
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Recommended Reading | |
The Investor's Manifesto: Preparing for Prosperity Armageddon and Everything in Between
"So how do we take care of ourselves? Easy. I believe The Investor's Manifesto: Preparing for Prosperity, Armageddon and Everything in Between is the shortest and most lucid explanation of index investing and simple asset allocation yet written. . . . This is a must-read book."
-Scott Burns, Syndicated Columnist and Principal of Assetbuilder.com
Product Description
A timeless approach to investing wisely over an investment lifetime. With the current market maelstrom as a background, this timely guide describes just how to plan a lifetime of investing, in good times and bad, discussing stocks and bonds as well as the relationship between risk and return.
Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, The Investor's Manifesto will help you understand the nuts and bolts of executing a lifetime investment plan, including: how to survive dealing with the investment industry, the practical meaning of market efficiency, how much to save, how to maintain discipline in the face of panics and manias, and what vehicles to use to achieve financial security and freedom.
- Written by bestselling author William J. Bernstein, well known for his insights on how individual investors can manage their personal wealth and retirement funds wisely
- Examines how the financial landscape has radically altered in the past two years, and what investors should do about it
- Contains practical insights that the everyday investor can understand
- Focuses on the concept of Pascal's Wager-identifying and avoiding worst-case scenarios, and planning investment decisions on that basis
With The Investor's Manifesto as your guide, you'll quickly discover the timeless investment approaches that can put you in a better position to prosper over time.
Click here to for more information about this and other recommended reading available for purchase through our Amazon.com Store! Every time you shop at Amazon.com, you can support your local CFA Society. Simply purchase through our Amazon.com portal - located on our home page and our NEW Recommended Reading page. |
| Registering for Events |
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A note about event registration through our new website:
We are now taking advantage of the registration portal provided by CFA Institute. The new improved system includes attendance tracking, automatic application of CE credits, and an estimated savings for our society of more than $10,000 per year.
Using the system is simple. Each individual registrant must have a CFA Institute website log-in name and password. All that is required is first/last name and a valid email address. Unfortunately, at this time the new system does not allow guest registration in the same way our previous application allowed. Guests are welcome, but will need to have their own user name and password. As host, you are welcome to create this account for them. On-site registrations will be allowed as available, payable with check or by registering online on-site. |
| Networking |
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Join the CFA Minnesota Linkedin Group! |
| Social Networking |
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We have recently started a Facebook Group. Click here to begin networking with colleagues through this social networking utility. |
| Join Our List |
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Greetings!
June has certainly busted out for the CFA community this year with 139,900 candidates enrolled for the exams that took place this past weekend. This represents a 9% increase in overall enrollments globally, though locally we saw a decrease in the number of candidates who sat in St. Paul - just under 700. CFA Institute issued a press release last week about these numbers and we've included a portion of it for you near the end of this newsletter.
On a local leve,l we saw a huge response to our Annual Member Survey. Thank you to the 273 of you who took the time to help us improve our society offerings by providing your feedback. We're still analyzing our survey results, but we've heard several things loud and clear: More free networking events, lower cost on lunches and a continued focus on high-quality presentations. To that end, we're working on adjusting our current calendar and pricing to meet these needs. We are also pleased to note that 70% of respondents have seen improvement in the society in the past year. We're glad our efforts toward positive change are being noticed and we promise to continue to work hard to serve our members.
On the subject of being noticed for positive change, CFA Minnesota is thrilled to have been selected for the second consecutive year as the winner of the Society Excellence Award for Excellence in Planning. An independent panel of judges reviewed more than 60 applications from the 139 CFA Institute member societies globally. Click here to read more about it!
We hope to see you at our upcoming luncheon "Assessing Portfolio Risk" on June 17th and hope you appreciate the new member price point.
Maren Amdal, Executive Director
CFA Society of Minnesota |
| FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Monthly Member Missive |
Would you like to feature your firm in an upcoming newsletter? Click Here. |
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Municipal Bond Strategies for Today
From the Fixed Income Team of Stonebridge Capital Advisors | |
 Municipal bonds are a critical asset allocation for high net worth investors given the anticipated increase in tax rates in 2011. Add to that the possibility of higher interest rates, and the importance of rigorous credit analysis, diversification and immunization strategies are paramount. The goal: Keeping boring old municipal bonds unexciting during challenging markets, yet delivering consistent tax-exempt yield for investors seeking higher yield and preservation of principal.
Stonebridge Capital Advisors has never relied strictly on rating agencies and monoline insurance coverage to assure or support credit quality. It is our belief that each issue must undergo our internal credit analysis and due diligence to arrive at our own credit rating. Our process is rigorous, thorough and repeatable (credits are reviewed regularly). Because we perform our own credit analysis we are able to search out and find credit worth, non-rated bonds that provide significant yield increases over rated bonds.
Please Click Here to read this article, and here to see other Stonebridge communications.
About Stonebridge Capital Advisors
Stonebridge Capital Advisors has been a manager of individual tax-exempt bonds since 1997 with many of our portfolio managers having managed municipal bonds for more than 35 years. Stonebridge has been fortunate to have achieved many acknowledgements of success over the years and was mostrecently ranked #1 by Investment News, through independent research firm Prima Capital Holding, Inc. |
| 06/17/10 - June Educational Event: | |
Assessing Portfolio Risk
with Matt Moran, Chicago Board Options Exchange
As investors have struggled to cope with bear markets over the past decade, more attention has been focused on alternative investments and tools that can be used to achieve the goals of managing portfolio risk, increasing income, and enhancing long-term risk-adjusted returns. This presentation discusses a number of risk-management strategies and related benchmark indices, including the protective put, the buy-write, the collateralized put-write, the protective collar, and the use of futures and options on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) that measures implied volatility. Twenty-two years of historical data show that certain options-based benchmark indices have generated attractive risk-adjusted returns, with stock-like returns and bond-like volatility. A key source of return for options writers has been a persistence of "overpricing" for index options. The presentation will also review past studies by Duke University, EnnisKnupp, Ibbotson Associates, and Callan Associates, and it will explore the benefits and disadvantages of key options strategies.
 Biography
Mr. Moran is vice president of business development for the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), where he is responsible for many of the exchange's educational efforts for pension funds, mutual funds, and other institutional investors. Previously, he was trust counsel at Harris Bank and vice president at Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He is an associate editor of The Journal of Trading and is on the advisory boards of the Chartered Alternative Investments Analyst Association and Journal of Indexes. Mr. Moran holds JD and MBA degrees from the University of Illinois.
Thursday, June 17th, 2010
11:30am - Registration opens
12:00am - Presentation & Lunch
Radisson Plaza Hotel
35 S. 7th Street Minneapolis, MN 55402
NEW PRICE: $25/Members, $45/Non-Members
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August Golf Outing: 08/03/10 With FPA Minnesota! - Register Today! | |
CFA Partnering with FPA for 2010 Golf Outing!
Welcoming current members and all interested industry professionals.
 Plan to take a break to enjoy a day of golf at Island View Golf club in Waconia on Tuesday, August 3rd. Island View Golf Club is a challenging 18-hole semi-private golf course that is situated off the shores of scenic Lake Waconia. Fairways lined with trees, rolling hills, and well-manicured greens offer championship golf with some of the most scenic holes in Minnesota.
This first-class tournament brings the Board Room outdoors so you can network with other financial and business professionals from around the state of Minnesota. The unique Scramble format opens the tournament up to golfers of all abilities. For all of the non-golfers out there, we hope you will participate in the Bocce Ball tournament!
Mark your calendars today! Registration will be through the FPA MN website. Register by June 15th to receive a FREE MULLIGAN! Challenge - With 100 participants, Island View will donate $1,000 to Minnesota Make A Wish Foundation!
We hope to see you there!
Click here for more information and to Register! |
| WHAT DID I MISS?: |
May Events Summary | |
| 05/27/10 - May Monthly Luncheon: | |
Are You Smarter Than a NEW Charterholder?
with Michael McMillan, CFA Institute As CFA exam day neared, CFA Minnesota brought in CFA Institute exam expert Michael McMillan to discuss recent updates and changes to the CFA exam. His presentation was well received, and he answered a variety of detailed questions from his very engaged audience.
- In the past 15 years, exam registrations have skyrocketed from just over 20k to nearly 220k.
- 182 exam sites in 89 countries.
- All MC and IS questions now have only 3 answer choices
- Increasing proportion of curriculum developed by CFA Insitute
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| 06/05/10 - CFA Post Exam Party! | |
Annual Post Exam Party
at McGoverns Pub, St. Paul, MN More than 75 weary exam takers joined representatives of the CFA Minnesota Society Board of Directors for beers and appetizers following the exam this past Saturday. The mood? In a word: Relieved!
Congratulations to all who sat for the exam! |
| INDUSTRY EVENTS: |
Other associations may submit listings directly to info@cfamn.org | |
| 06/15/10 - ACG MN: June Luncheon | |
 "Is Green Working?"
Alternative Energy Panel: John Patrin, Veeco Instraments Inc
Doug Berven, POET
Lauris N. Molbert, Otter Tail Corporation
Andrew J. Ritten, Faegre & Benson
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Windows on Minnesota
IDS Center - 50th Floor
80 South Eighth Street
Minneapolis, MN 55403-2138
Click Here for more information! |
| 06/15/10 - FPA MN: June Meeting | | |
Through a Glass Clearly: Navigating Health Care Coverage in Retirement
Our program for June 15, 2010 will feature two terrific presenters!
Michele Kimball - Planning for a "Healthy Retirement" - What You Need to Know NOW: Participants will fully understand the need to incorporate health care expenses as part of retirement planning. The discussion will focus on different health care coverage options and expenses for early retirees versus retirees age 65+, including a basic overview of Medicare, Medicaid and Medigap insurance, and how the new health care reform law affects all retirees.
Deb Newman - The Current and Future Face of Long Term Care: In this presentation we will illustrate case studies to make clear the use of innovative products including creative "health based" long term care insurance (LTCI) and ground breaking "asset based" solutions. You will come to understand how to apply long term care insurance from a financial planner's point of view.
Golden Valley Country Club
Breakfast, Tuesday June 15th, 2010 Registration and Networking: 7:30am
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| JOB BOARD SPOTLIGHT: |
To feature an open position at your firm, click here |
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Job Board Spotlight | |
Employer: Your Firm Name Here
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Seeking qualified applicants? Promote your open position to the more than 3,700 financial professionals who receive this email.
Click here to visit the CFAMN Job Board. |
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CANDIDATE OPPORTUNITIES: |
Prep course providers and university representatives should contact our Education chair. |
| | Congratulations, Candidates! | | |
You did it! With the exam behind you... RELAX!
CFA Minnesota is proud of the nearly 700 candidates who sat for the CFA exam this past weekend at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, MN. Your society sends our best wishes for a relaxing summer while you await your results. Congratulations on all the hard work you've put in preparing for the exam and on making it through the day. We were glad to celebrate with so many of you at the post-exam party following the test.
A special thanks to our volunteer study group organizers, Manas Khemani and Travis Hoium. |
FOR IMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 2, 2010 - Charlottesville, VA
CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, announced today that 139,900 candidates from 160 countries have enrolled for the CFA exam in June 2010. Despite the financial crisis, the number of candidates remained resilient and has increased by nine percent, reflecting the strong commitment among finance professionals to high standards of competency, integrity, and professional excellence, which are at the core of the CFA exam.
Asia Pacific continues to be the largest source of candidates, accounting for 40 percent of the total, followed by 37 percent from the Americas, and 23 percent from EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa). Asia Pacific also led the worldwide growth, with a 12 percent increase in number of candidates. View key statistics for the global CFA exam registration (PDF).
"Investors need trustworthy professionals to manage their wealth. This is the most important lesson the world has learnt in the global financial crisis. We are delighted that a significant number of individuals from across the world continue to be committed to pursuing the CFA designation, which has ethics, rigor, tenacity, and analytics at its core," said John Rogers, CFA, president and CEO of CFA Institute.
"At this time of global economic instability, we believe it is especially important for the investment industry to be led by professionals who put investors' interests first. Finance markets cannot function effectively without ethical behavior, and transparency and CFA charterholders are integral to this," Rogers said.
Click Here to read the full release. |
| Annual Premier Sponsor - MSPBJ | | |
Visit the online version of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, where you'll find the latest breaking business news, updated throughout the day, some of this week's top stories from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal and other popular features from the print edition. Click Here. |
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