CFA: Join CMP at the 70th CFA Institute Annual Conference
For 70 years, the CFA Institute has brought the latest thinking, expert opinions, thought leadership and networking opportunities through their Annual Conference. Kenneth Brandborg, Associate Partner at CMP, gives you his daily insights as he is attending this year’s conference in Philadelphia. Read about his initial thoughts and expectations here:
By Kenneth Brandborg, Associate Partner | The 22nd of May 2017, Philadelphia, USA
For the fourth time, I am attending the CFA Institute Annual Conference, and like previous years I am excited to go. It is the investment industry’s largest and longest-running educational gathering of investment professionals.
This year’s conference is being held in Philadelphia. I have never been here before, but if I should characterize it after just a few hours, I would say that it looks like a down beat version of New York – meant in a very positive way.
Philadelphia has a long and rich history. And historically, the CFA Annual Conferences that are held in the United States, have offered a very impressive line-up of speakers. This year in Philadelphia is no exception.
Among others, I look forward to hear Prof. Robert J. Schiller and John C. Bogle, founder of the Vanguard group.
Fintech – a new buzz word in town?
I look forward to the themes of the smaller sessions. For many years behavioral finance has been a hot topic. But at this years conference it will get a tough competition from the new buzz word in town: Fintech.
Fintech is very – and maybe too – hot these days. The first genuine products and solutions have started popping up based on blockchain. Until now, Fintech has primarily had its ventures into the payments sector. Therefore, I am curious about what new ideas and takes on Fintech that will come up and will it have an influence on the investment sector.
I ask myself: Will someone challenge the investment selection process? We have seen solutions, based on AI portfolio management like Betterment, but will this flow to the institutional domain? Will there be solutions that truly challenges the core competences of the portfolio manager with respect to fixed income or equity analysis?
I must admit I am skeptical. Robotics in investment management have been introduced, but are they more than patches on legacy systems? In reality, the investment management industry is so complex and dependent on the decisions and beliefs of the single analyst or portfolio management team. So, will Fintech only support the true value adding services?
During these three days, I hope to get some interesting views on these questions.
I hope to meet and discuss with a lot of fellow professionals about the state and the future of the investment management industry.
I will keep you updated on the blog with my daily insights from Philly.
The CFA Institute Annual Conference takes place from the 21st – 24th of May 2017, you can read more about it here
Kenneth Brandborg, Associate Partner
Kenneth, CFA charter holder, has worked in the financial sector since 2001 with focus on implementation and development of risk management, performance calculation and investment management systems.
Read more about Kenneth and our other CMP consultants here
