Below is a list of recent Speaker Series events. Note: you must be a member in good standing and logged into the site in order to download archived presentation materials.
Intro to Bloomberg Intelligence: Joel Levington, CMA
Explosion of M&A Activity and Credit Implications:
Picks & Pans:
Both panels will be followed by a Q&A session.
BI Credit (March 23, 2022) (Powerpoint)
Featured Speakers:
First Panel:
Lale Topcuoglu, Swiss Re, Managing Director, Head of Credit
Winnie Cisar, CreditSights, Global Head of Strategy
Priya Misra, TD Securities, Head of Global Rates Research
Second Panel:
Joyce Chang, J.P. Morgan, Chair of Global Research
Janet Henry, HSBC, Global Chief Economist
Cathy Hepworth, PGIM, Head of Emerging Markets Debt
A Talk with Jim Bianco, President and Macro Strategist at Bianco Research, L.L.C. Jim discussed his views on the fixed income markets, the Fed and his year-end outlook.
Sustainable municipal investing through funds still represents a small segment of the overall sustainable investing universe, yet there is developing interest in the area. In addition to impact-oriented funds as well as funds that integrate ESG, there is now a green bond municipal ETF and just last month, a new actively managed ETF was launched. Most products rely on ESG integration approaches but assessing factors relevant to munis may be more nuanced. Also, with about 50,000 different state and local governments and other issuing authorities in the US of varying sizes and tax bases, social and environmental data disclosures vary and oftentimes may be insufficient. ESG rating firms are stepping up to fill the gaps but many asset managers have developed their own approaches to integrating ESG into their investment management practices. The panel focused on developments in the sustainable municipal sphere and shared their views on investment approaches, data challenges, disclosure practices and how these may be aligning with investor expectations.
Webcast conversation with the co-founder and co-chairman of Oaktree, and FIASI Hall-of-Fame member, Howard Marks, CFA as he discussed his investment philosophy. This talk was hosted by Taylor Riggs, CFA of Bloomberg TV.
Private Debt has become THE area for fixed income over the past couple of years, growing at a faster clip rate than most other areas of the capital markets. Two truly Outstanding Investors addressed private debt nuances, challenges, and opportunities. We also heard from the well-regarded author of Private Debt – Opportunities in Direct Lending.
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The program also included a summary of the outstanding book Private Debt: Opportunities in Corporate Direct Lending by Stephen Nesbitt, a well-written, comprehensive book on private debt.
Martin Fridson, CFA presented empirical research that leads to some surprising conclusions about the high yield market, including.
Watch Presentation
Martin Fridson on High Yield Research PowerPoint (pptx)
CLOs occupy the intersection of corporate credit analysis and structured finance. Despite the fears of many, CLOs have weathered the COVID crisis in good shape. The real action in this area is with the subordinated tranches and few have seen more than our well-regarded, well-respected panelists.
Our experts explain the ins and outs of this durable asset class from the perspective of investors: how to make money, avoid losses, and grow a solid business.
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The Fixed Income Analysts Society (FIASI) in collaboration with Fordham University’s Center for Research in Contemporary Finance and the O’Shea Center for Credit Analysis and Investment are pleased to host an early evening virtual presentation by the authors of three winning research papers in the ESG in Fixed Income Research Competition.
On April 23, 2021 FIASI and Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business announced the winners of three undergraduate and graduate student research papers, as part of the first annual Student Research Competition on environmental, social and governance (ESG) focused investments and innovations. The following winners will present their research paper findings and engage in brief Q&A sessions.
We held a discussion about the automakers and their credit worthiness, views from rating agencies, sell-side and buy-side research as the autos undergo a generational change.
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Authors of the upcoming book:
pdf Undiversified: The Big Gender Short in Investment Management (360 KB)
Are interviewed by: Bob Kricheff, Senior VP and Global Strategist, Shenkman Capital Management.
Conference Schedule was:
Thursday, April 22nd, 2021
Friday, April 23rd, 2021
Senior members of Bloomberg Intelligence’s credit research team will discuss favorite Bloomberg functionality and how it’s applied in credit analysis. Following, the team will pitch both investment grade and high yield bonds we believe to be too wide or tight to peers.
Prof Edward I. Altman, Max L. Heine Professor, Emeritus, Salomon Center, NYU Stern School of Business, and a 2001 FIASI Hall of Fame member presented his assessment of the credit climate from just before the unexpected COVID-19 global health crisis to its immediate and extended impact. Based on a recently completed research paper, Professor Altman will share his analysis of the performance of several key indicators of the nature of credit cycles, including default and recovery rates on high-yield bonds, and the number of large firm bankruptcies that are expected over the next twelve months and beyond, yield spreads and distress ratios and liquidity. The focus of the research paper is primarily on the nonfinancial corporate debt market in the United States, but also covered is the leveraged loan and collateralized loan obligation markets as well as the increasingly large and important BBB tranche of the corporate bond market.
The agenda for the webinar is as follows:
We hope you are doing well as we enter what seems to be a new worrisome phase of the COVID pandemic. As we’ve been managing through this crisis during these many months, one of the most difficult challenges has been the inability to have face-to-face/in-person interactions with work colleagues and FIASI Members. We’ve all had to adapt and FIASI is no different in this respect. I'm pleased to report that FIASI's financial condition remains sound and will allow us to adapt as needed. FIASI’s Board would like to update you and also ask for your support and assistance with some new initiatives.
FIASI hosted a brief virtual meeting on Thursday, November 19th, at 5pm EST and filled those who attended in on the status of the Hall of Fame, some future programming events and our strategic plan initiative.
In line with our deliberations around the FIASI strategic plan and our conclusions that FIASI needs to step up its programing, expand membership and diversify its sources of income to ensure the organization's sustainability, the Board has made a decision to implement a new committee structure involving both Board Members and our Membership (you!) in order to better facilitate activities and meet our objectives. Our strategic planning committee believes this new structure will provide more avenues for member participation and additional reasons to join FIASI. Furthermore, FIASI is expecting that successful committee participation by its Members will serve as an effective way to groom them for eventual Board level participation. To start we have identified three committees for which we want Member participation.
The Board and our Members will work side-by-side on these committees to ensure that FIASI meets its long-term objectives by: 1) serving and growing FIASI's membership, 2) supporting and enhancing our programming with relevant targeted content, including the Hall of Fame, ESG, WIFI and other future events, and 3) leveraging marketing and outreach efforts, including social media in a smart, effective way in this evolving world in which we live and work. We believe our future is bright and we invite you to be part of FIASI’s future by participating in these efforts with us.
We hope you joined us but if not, watch the video by clicking the link below.
Sincerely,
The Strategic Planning Committee
Welcome Remarks:
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Moderator: Henry Shilling, Sustainable Research and Analysis LLC
Panelists:
Mark Zandi
Chief Economist of Moody's Analytics, co-Founder of Economy.com
Mark discussed his views on the US economy and his special insights into the ADP National Employment report, released that morning.
James Grant
Founder: Grant's Interest Rate Observer
FIASI Hall of Fame Member
Presented by: Martin Fridson, CFA
Moderator: Jerry van Koolbergen, DBRS Morningstar
Panelists:
View promotional video (short)
View promotional video (long)
Moody's Credit Outlook report is available here. Published Monday and Thursday mornings, Moody's Credit Outlook provides you with the credit implications of current events.