


Investing In Space
On July 20, 2022, the Education Advisory Group hosted a webcast titled “Investing in the Space Industry Upswing.” Moderating the event was Chris Quilty, Founder of Quilty Analytics. The expert panel consisted of: Ellen M. Chang, Vice President Ventures, BMNT; Dave...
The Latest and Greatest of Blockchain
On April 12, 2022, Will Cong, Founding Director of Fintech Initiative at Cornell University, moderated a panel to discuss “The Latest and Greatest of Blockchain.” The panelists included: Bobby Henebry, CFA, Founder and CEO, Henebry Blockchain & Cyrptocurrency...
ESG and the Evolution of Corporate Engagement
On June 16, 2021, David Sekera, chief US market strategist at Morningstar Research Services LLC, moderated the webcast “Evolution of Corporate Engagement,” which addressed two topics. First, how has the shift from in-person meetings to virtual interactions affected...
Capital Markets Series: Cryptocurrency – Institutionalization or just another fad?
Cryptocurrency represents the most volatile asset that comprises the capital markets in 2021. Price swings of greater than 10% in one week are common. At times it seems as though price action is driven primarily by the tweets of Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla who has added...
Capital Markets Series: Market Microstructure
On April 21, 2021, a full house gathered on Zoom to listen in on a panel discussion about ETFs and their effect on market microstructure, hosted by CFA Society Chicago’s Education Advisory Group. The discussion was moderated by Ben Johnson, CFA, director of global ETF...
Capital Markets Series: Real Estate
A full house gathered via Zoom on February 18, 2021, to listen in on a panel discussion hosted by Danny Kaufman, CFA, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of the JLL Chicago office. Featured in the discussion was Emi Adachi, Senior Vice President and Deputy Director...
LIBOR Cessation: Updates, potential market impacts and preparing for the end of LIBOR
A distinguished panel of experts met via video conference on February 2, 2021, to provide the CFA Society Chicago with an update on the transition away from the use of LIBOR as a reference rate in global capital markets. The event was hosted by the Society’s...
SPAC Investing – A Deeper Look at Blank Check Companies
On December 15, 2020, CFA Society Chicago’s Education Advisory Group hosted a Zoom event exploring SPAC investing. What is SPAC investing? Investopedia provides a nice summation; A SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) is a company with no commercial operations...
The State of the Illinois Budget
There was little joy in this Holiday Season discussion of the fiscal outlook for the state of Illinois. The state’s expenses have exceeded revenues since 2001 and ratings on Illinois debt have been falling for thirty years, driven by a growing pension debt (Note:...
The Future of Oil & Gas
On November 24, 2020, CFA Society Chicago hosted a virtual event addressing the road ahead for the energy commodities, the firms involved, and how that translates into future opportunities. Tim Flannery, CFA, CPA, managing partner at Copia Capital, moderated the panel...
Capital Markets Series: Private Debt
The development of the market for private debt (or private credit) was the subject of the third installment in the four-part series on capital markets hosted by CFA Society Chicago’s Education Advisory Group on November 18, 2020. The private credit market has grown...
Capital Markets Series: Private Market
Another large crowd assembled over Zoom for the second installment of CFA Society Chicago’s Capital Market Series on October 20, 2020, covering Private Allocations. The panel discussion featured Harisha Koneru Haigh, CFA, managing director of Private Investments and...
Capital Markets Series: Public Allocations
On October 7, 2020, a resilient crowd gathered via Zoom to listen in on the first installment of CFA Society Chicago’s four-part Capital Market Series, focusing on public markets. The event was a panel discussion featuring Bob Browne, CFA, executive vice president and...
Fixed Income Management—Navigating Risks to Bond Markets from COVID-19
On June 10, 2020, CFA Institute hosted a webinar entitled “Fixed Income Management—Navigating Risks to Bond Markets from COVID-19.” Christopher Vincent, CFA, president and chief executive officer of CFA Society Chicago, was the moderator and welcomed the attendees to...
The Impact of the Fed on the Corporate Bond ETF Market
In early March the financial markets were struggling with the impact of the pandemic on the economy. On March 23, 2020, the Federal Reserve Board (“Fed”) took the unprecedented action of announcing that it would directly purchase corporate debt and corporate bond...
The Path to Recovery in a Covid-19 World
The Covid-19 pandemic has inflicted a serious wound on the US economy. It will necessitate that a choice be made between a continued shelter-in-place lockdown and the re-opening of economic activity. There is little doubt that shelter-in-place has slowed the spread of...
Modern Monetary Theory
Historic Monetary and Fiscal Stimulus: Savior or Destroyer? The very current topic of Modern Monetary Theory–and especially it’s application to the present economic environment related to the COVID-19 pandemic–was the topic of discussion on April 22, 2020,...
Cannabis: Insights and Opportunities
Cannabis could one day become a $4 billion a year market in the state of Illinois. In the state’s first month of legal cannabis, tax receipts have already reached $10 million. The medical and recreational cannabis markets are one of the fastest growing industries in...SOFR: Life after LIBOR
What will life after LIBOR look like? On January 15, 2020, CFA Society Chicago held its event SOFR: Life After LIBOR, where a distinguished panel gathered to explain why the interest rate was going away and how potential alternatives are being developed. LIBOR has...
Opportunities in Hedge Funds in 2019
A distinguished panel gathered on October 10, 2019 at the Standard Club to discuss the current environment for hedge fund investments. Kenneth Heinz, president of Hedge Fund Research, Inc. served as the moderator. The panelists included: Kevin Doonan, Executive...
Investing in the New Space Race
The Educational Advisory group hosted an event on September 12 at the Palmer House Hilton to educate financial professionals, investors, and space enthusiasts on the technologies of space exploration, the geopolitical landscape, and potential winners and losers in the...
Impact Investing: A New Investing Paradigm
A large group of CFA charterholders and other interested investment professionals gathered at the Palmer House Hotel to hear the latest thoughts and techniques in Impact Investing from a distinguished panel on June 5. The moderator, Priya Parrish, is a leading...