Tag Archives: President’s Letter

A Letter from Our President

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I just returned from the 2017 CFA Institute Society Leadership Conference, held this year in Philadelphia. I have now attended seven Institute conferences for Society leaders over the past six years, covering both Society Leadership and America’s Regional conferences. It was also likely my last Society Leadership Conference, as I will finish my term as President of CFA Society Minnesota in August.

The Society Leadership Conference is attended by 2-3 representatives from all of the CFA Societies around the world. It is one of my favorite things I get to do as a Society rep, as I love mingling with industry practitioners from Ireland, Vietnam, Argentina, Vancouver, Qatar, Germany, Australia, Shenzhen and dozens more countries and cities from around the world. Regardless of where we call home we have the shared experience of having taken (and passed) all three CFA exams, in English, on the first Saturday in June over the course of 3, 4 or 10 years.

As I have mentioned in prior letters these conferences get better every year. The theme this year was “The Power of the Personal,” with many of the sessions focusing not just on Institute and Society initiatives but on personal and professional development. These sessions included training on delivering media interviews, improving presentation skills, and how to use mindfulness to improve health and job performance. It was a great combination of information and training for managing the local Society as well as improving my own professional skills.

During the plenary session on Friday morning I was able to participate in a debate on the future of the profession. Besides myself, the debate included Society leaders from New Zealand, France and South Africa. The moderator was from Turkey, making it a truly global panel. The exact motion we debated was “This house believes that the investment profession as we know it will be obsolete in 10 years.” I represented the opposition, arguing that the profession will not be obsolete at that time. We had a lot of fun during the debate and it was a highlight of the conference for many attendees. It definitely spurred lots of interesting conversation afterward.

Here is a summary of my argument. Despite the headlines of job losses in the industry, the flows from active to passive and the threat of artificial intelligence on analyst and research jobs, I believe that the investment profession’s core purposes of helping create wealth (by mobilizing capital to productive uses for future growth) and managing client savings, spending and financial risk through time will still be needed 10 years from now, and will still require human ingenuity and discernment.

The only risk is that if the profession isn’t trusted and transparent parts of the industry may be killed off by regulation, technology and disintermediation. But if we work together to align incentives between asset owners, asset managers, savers and beneficiaries the profession as we know it will be even stronger 10 years from now. We will continue to gain more tools than ever to fulfill our duties as investment professionals, tools we should embrace. And if we use those tools properly I expect that the demand for our services will only grow over time, not become obsolete, and will also help create a better society.

Have a differing view, or want to share your opinion on this motion? Please post a comment below. I look forward to reading your thoughts and ideas on the future of the investment profession.

Joshua M. Howard, CFA
President, CFA Society Minnesota

A Letter From Our Society President

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Joshua M. Howard, CFA

Last month the Board of Directors of CFA Society Minnesota met to discuss the status of our current three to five-year strategic plan, which has been in place for two years now.  We took some time to reflect on what we have accomplished, debated whether any goals needed revising, and brainstormed ideas on what we hope to accomplish in the upcoming year. I was once again impressed by the commitment of your Board of Directors, as 18 board members spent three and a half hours at the end of a work day engaged in strategic planning, which isn’t every analyst’s idea of a good time.

CFA Society Minnesota’s Mission and Vision, which you can find on our website under the About Us tab, guided us in the creation of our current strategic plan and continues to guide our thinking about how we run the Society.  Our Mission is “To promote and advance the professional excellence, ethical behavior and fellowship of our members through quality programs, educational offerings, and volunteer opportunities.” Our vision states that “We envision a CFA Society of Minnesota that is highly valued, well respected, and widely recognized by investors, academia, and the business community in our region.” Both our mission and vision were updated in 2013. They align with and compliment the CFA Institute’s mission and vision, recognizing that each entity (Society and Institute) has different capabilities and goals.

Our current strategic plan has three main objectives. They are:

  1. Member Engagement: Expand participation and involvement among Society members
  2. Industry Awareness and Involvement: Increase awareness of and involvement in the Society among professionals and firms in our local investment industry
  3. Operational Excellence: Improve the effectiveness and sustainability of the Society’s business processes

Each of these objectives is supported by 2-3 specific, measurable goals. These include finding ways to assist our members as they grow in their careers (leadership training, writing and speaking groups, etc.), building a brand campaign and adopting policies and procedures that will aid in long-term financial and organizational stability. If you would like to see a detailed strategic plan, please contact the Society office at executivedirector@cfamn.org and they would be happy to provide the latest version.  If one of these objectives or goals is an area you would like to support please let our staff know that as well. We are always looking for thoughtful, energetic volunteers to help us accomplish our strategic plan.

Joshua M. Howard, CFA
President, CFA Society Minnesota

A Letter from Our Society President

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Joshua M. Howard, CFA

With less than one month to go candidates are now in crunch time for the CFA examinations on June 4th. If you are a charterholder, you likely vividly remember the anxiety of these last few weeks before the exam, hoping that certain topics will be tested heavily, and that other topics will be avoided. You may also remember the constant checking to make sure you have the right ID, verifying that you packed enough writing utensils, practicing the route to River Centre (and maybe a backup route as well) and wondering how many backup batteries you really need for your calculator (is four too many?).

As we have for the past three years, CFA Society Minnesota provided prep classes at all three levels this year, offered over the course of three weekends in April and May. More than 60 candidates attended these classes, including a sold out Level II class. A big thank you to Travis Simon, our class coordinator, and all the instructors for the work they put in over the past few months helping candidates prepare for the exam.

In addition to those who took our classes many other candidates were involved in our study groups or used their Society membership to receive discounts on Schweser products. Candidate preparation is a core component of the work CFA Society Minnesota does, and I wish all candidates the best of luck on June 4th.

If you already are a charterholder please don’t forget about our post exam party, beginning at 4:30pm on exam day at the Eagle Street Grille in St. Paul. Come celebrate with the test takers at all three levels as they enjoy a much needed respite from studying and taking practice tests. Tell the candidates how great it will be when they finally pass Level III and receive the charter, at which point they can burn their CFA books in a celebratory bonfire – or, for the CFA nerds out there, prominently display them in their office. Just don’t tell them that the CFA exam nightmares will go away (e.g. forgetting your ID, being asked only FSA and quant questions, going to the wrong location, the Institute deciding to add a fourth level before you finish, etc.). As a couple coworkers of mine were discussing just the other day, including one who got the charter over 30 years ago, those nightmares still occasionally occur.

Joshua M. Howard, CFA
President, CFA Society Minnesota

A Letter from Our Society President

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Joshua M. Howard, CFA

Spring is here in Minnesota.  Even if the weather occasionally is lousy I still enjoy this time of year, as the first two weeks of April bring the NCAA championship game, the Masters, the home opener for the Twins, the Wild in the NHL playoffs, and the end of another Timberwolves season.  I also seem to enjoy this time of year much more than when I was a CFA candidate, especially as we get closer to Memorial Day.

I apologize for skipping my monthly letter in March – there was way too much basketball to watch. Despite my preoccupation with the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee, the Northern Iowa Panthers and all the other lower seeds that pulled off upsets, Society staff and volunteers were still providing value-add programming to our members.  Since my last letter the Society has offered multiple lunches, a Distinguished Speaker Series presentation, an After Market Appetizers event at Surly and the Upper Midwest Research Challenge finals.

In mid-March we also hosted the first ever CFA Institute conference held in the upper Midwest, when the Wealth Management conference came to Minneapolis. Almost 200 people from around the world attended the two day event. The presentations included a variety of engaging topics on behavioral finance, fundamental indexing, philanthropy, asset allocation, and many other topics pertinent to a financial advisor. With roughly a quarter of all charterholders now working in wealth management this conference was very relevant to our membership.

Two final thoughts. First, I want to wish the best of luck to the North Dakota State Research Challenge team as they head to Chicago on April 11th to compete in the CFA Institute Research Challenge Super Regionals (and hopefully the International Finals the next day). They did a fabulous job at the Regional finals in February and will be a tough team to beat.

Second, I want to personally thank Kris Kautzman for the work she did for the Society over the past five years.  Many of you knew her through her work on volunteer coordination, member engagement, or with our prep classes. She has moved on to her dream job, combining her non-profit expertise with her love of music, and I wish her all the best.

Joshua M. Howard, CFA

President, CFA Society Minnesota

A Letter from Our Society President

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Joshua M. Howard, CFA

CFA Society Minnesota’s Immediate Past President, Kim Brustuen, and I hosted a call last week for all Midwestern U.S. Society leaders to discuss best practices in building and running an effective Board. This is something our society has been focused on for a few years now, and we have made tremendous strides in moving from an operational board to a strategic board. During the call we shared our growing pains, struggles and accomplishments with over 20 other regional Society leaders and Institute employees.

One of the reasons we have such a respected Board is our ability to source volunteers. We have a large board (currently 24 members) and over 100 active volunteers that serve on our committees and help with individual events. This allows us to be innovative and try new things while still maintaining our popular events and programs. One of our main points on the call to Society leaders was that it is never too early to start planning for the next round of new volunteers. Although we currently have an abundance of energetic, thoughtful people on our Board and our committees, we must continually replenish our volunteer base. Every year we have 3-5 Board spots open up as long-time volunteers roll off the board, and committees frequently have volunteers who join or leave throughout the year.

When we prepare for Board transition we look for new Board members and committee volunteers from a variety of industries – some even outside of finance, such as people with experience in human resources, accounting or law. We look for a diversity of ages, experience and viewpoints. We strive to represent the interests of the entire body of local members and of all occupations either directly or indirectly related to investment management. Many people do not realize that you do not have to be a charterholder to be on our Board or to volunteer with one of our committees. Event and committee volunteers technically do not even need to be local society members, though most choose to join once they start volunteering.

Our Nominating Committee for the upcoming fiscal year will begin their work in May, but it is not too early to put out the call for new volunteers. If you have an interest in joining our Board, assisting with a single event, or helping one of our committees please let me know and I will get you in touch with our staff or a committee chair.  If you want to learn more about volunteering in general please send Kris Kautzman or me an email and we can discuss the current opportunities. I guarantee we have a spot for any level of time commitment. If you know of someone who might be a good fit we also accept referrals.

To all our past, current and future volunteers, thank you so much for your contributions to the CFA Society of Minnesota.

Joshua M. Howard, CFA
President, CFA Society Minnesota