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.
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:
Moderator:
Panelists:
Moderator:
Panelists:
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:
James A. Bianco, President of Bianco Research, L.L.C.
2:00—2:10 Defining ESG Integration
2:10—2:20 Sustainability, Corporate Performance and Investment:
2:20—2:40 Evolution of ESG ratings:
2:40—3:40 Panel Discussion—ESG Integration in Investment Grade Fixed Income:
Moderator — Mark Howard, BNP Paribas Securities
Panelists:
3:40--4:00 Networking Break
4:00—5:00 Panel Discussion—The Rating Agencies:
Moderator — Ralph DeCesare, TD Asset Management
5:00—6:00 Panel Discussion—ESG Integration in NonInvestment Grade Fixed Income:
Moderator — Henry Shilling, Sustainable Research & Analysis LLC
Panelists:
6:00—6:15 Closing Remarks
6:15--7:00 Cocktails & Networking
Eric Beinstein, J.P. Morgan's Head of High Grade Research and Strategy
Jack Kranefuss, Senior Director
David Peterson, Senior Director
Patrice Cucinello, Director
Richard Sylla, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Stern School of Business, NYU
He talked about: "Alexander Hamilton on Fiscal Responsibility".
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.