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CFA Society Sacramento Newsletter
Summer 2013 Featured Articles: CFASS Honors New Charterholders
New Charterholders
Meet Sunny Dhillon
Golf Tournament
Multi-Factor Models
2013 Career Event
Milestone Member
Anniversaries
In December 2012, the CFA Society Sacramento (CFASS) held its annual
CFA Charter Awards Ceremony and Holiday Dinner at the Hyatt Regency
Hotel. Over 60 CFASS members and guests attended this joyous occasion
to honor the 10 individuals who earned their CFA designation this past
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News from CFA Sacramento
This awards ceremony was particularly special as the CFASS
board recognized its longstanding members who reached milestone
membership anniversaries in 2012. Nearly 30 members were
acknowledged for reaching their 5, 10, 15, or 20 plus year membership
anniversary in 2012 (See the last section for the names of members
recognized). The CFASS board is especially grateful to these members
who have helped build a solid foundation for our local society and who
continue to reflect the highest ethical and professional standards for all
investment professionals in the Sacramento region.
The keynote address was delivered by Marla Harkness, CFA, Chair of the
Presidents Council. Her address focused on how the journey to become a
CFA charterholder is never easy. Many in attendance could relate to the
numerous stories she shared about candidates studying for CFA exams. While some stories were inspirational and others were just plain funny, all
of them spoke to the incredible resilience and strength of character that is
common among CFA charterholders.
Following the keynote address, the new charterholders were honored. Ms. Harkness, Brian Leu, CFASS President, and Roy Clothier, CFASS
Membership Chair, presented charters to Jonathan Apsley, CFA, James
Campbell, CFA, Colin Crane, CFA, Sunny Dhillon, CFA, Christopher Owen,
CFA, and Bill Singh, CFA.
Further recognition was given to the other society members who earned
their charter but were unable to attend the ceremony, including Sarah
Abernathy, CFA, Steve Karp, CFA, Phoebe Kwan, CFA, and Donnie Nielsen,
CFA.
Congratulations to all of our new charterholders for their remarkable
accomplishment. Meet Sunny Dhillon
Meet Simranjit 'Sunny' Dhillon, CFA, a recent CFA charter recipient
honored at CFASS Awards Ceremony and Holiday Dinner. Mr. Dhillon is a
member of CalSTRS
Fixed Income Team
where he assists in
managing a $7 billion
Investment Grade and
High
Yield
Bond
Portfolio. While many
new
charterholders
would take time to
soak in the glory of
their accomplishment,
Mr.
Dhillon
has
continued full steam
ahead towards his next
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News from CFA Sacramento
goals. He recently
passed the level I exam
of
the
Chartered
Alternative Investment
Analyst (CAIA) Program
in March and plans to enroll in business school this coming fall.
The youngest of five siblings, Mr. Dhillon has resided in the Sacramento
region for nearly 20 years. He completed his undergraduate studies at the
University of California, Davis, where he earned a Bachelor's of Science
degree in Managerial Economics. After graduating and working for several
years at State Street in portfolio accounting, his desire to transition to a
career in the front-office led him to pursue the CFA designation.
As many CFA charterholders can attest to, completing the CFA program
has been both professionally and personally gratifying for Mr. Dhillon. From a professional standpoint, the CFA curriculum enabled Mr. Dhillon to
develop a strong foundation in concepts related to portfolio management,
fixed income, and accounting. This gained knowledge not only allowed
Mr. Dhillon to transition seamlessly to his front-office position, but it has
also helped him to excel. He is able to consistently apply what he learned
through the CFA curriculum to his daily responsibilities as he conducts
fundamental analyses to develop investment theses for his buy and sell
recommendations. From a personal standpoint, earning his CFA charter
has reinforced what he learned about himself years ago - that if he fully
dedicated himself to a task, no matter the difficulty, he could accomplish
his end goal.
There were also a number of lessons Mr. Dhillon learned throughout his
experience in the CFA program that he wished he would have known at
the start. The most important lesson he would stress to future test takers
would be to join your local society early and take advantage of the
resources it has to offer. He wholeheartedly believes that participating in
the local society mock exam sessions and connecting with other test
takers to form study groups are essential in improving one's ability to pass
the CFA exams.
Aside from being engaged in the CFA program, CAIA program, and his
many other endeavors, when Mr. Dhillon is not submerged in Bloomberg
charts and company 10-K statements, he morphs into a fun-loving guy. His biggest joy is spending time with his wife who shares his enthusiasm
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News from CFA Sacramento
for outdoor adventures, such as hiking and camping. Mr. Dhillon is also a
sports fanatic and avid Sacramento Kings fan.
Congratulations to Mr. Dhillon and the best of luck to him and his future
endeavors.
8th Annual CFA Society of Sacramento
Golf Tournament
On June 12 th , 85 investment professionals from the CFA Society
Sacramento (CFASS) and its partners ventured out to Teal Bend Golf Club
for the 8 th Annual CFASS Golf Tournament. Mother Nature was kind to
the participants relative to last year, providing a mildly warm day with a
light breeze.
Players took to the course after lunch and found the favorable conditions
allowed for some low scoring. After the golfing was finished and the
scores were tallied, players were treated to a banquet where awards
were presented for first, second, and third place team scores in the
scramble format. In addition, awards were also presented for closest to
the pin and longest drive. It was a great day to be out on the course and a
great opportunity to spend time with other members.
The CFASS Board would like to extend a big thank you to Teal Bend for
providing a wonderful venue and to all who came out to participate,
making the 8th Annual CFASS Golf Tournament a great event. See you
next year!
Multi-Factor Models Get a New Look
Ease of use and better computation power make multi-factor models
more compelling
The ease with which portfolio managers can now access and use multifactor models in their investment decisions warrants a closer look, said
Lee O'Dwyer from Bloomberg at the CFA Society Sacramento's luncheon
on May 16 th .
Mr. Dwyer explained that multi-factor models can be comprised of any
quantitative or qualitative factor that is persistent in its predictability over
time. Multi-factor models are primarily utilized by portfolio managers to
analyze sources of equity returns and are most beneficial when trading
costs are accounted for.
Users of the Bloomberg service can now employ a suite of multi-factor
models designed by the Bloomberg team. These models offer easy access
to pricing and fundamental data, utilizing Bloomberg's network servers to
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News from CFA Sacramento
crunch the numbers. However, Mr. Dwyer noted there are a number of
alternative multi-factor models offered by other providers.
It is important to consider both the source and the volatility of the data
employed in a multi-factor model, Mr. Dwyer noted. Once composed, it is
also important to back-test a factor model to validate that its
predictability persists over an economic cycle. Incorporating a lag for the
data based on a reasonable assessment of its predictability is an
important part of constructing any factor model.
Mr. Dwyer further noted that users of these models should beware of the
temptation to use multi-factor models as a data mining tool. Lastly, he
emphasized the importance of beginning with an investment strategy that
the model is testing. If the result is a model that has poor predictability,
change the strategy first, then change the numbers or the parameters of
your lags.
Stay Tuned For Career Event in Fall 2013
Jo Lee, Employer Outreach / Industry Relations Committee Chair
We at CFA Society Sacramento are committed to fostering industry
relations in the Sacramento region by bringing local employers and talents
together. Last year, CFASS hosted its first career panel at the California
State University, Sacramento. Seasoned investment professionals from
various organizations in the Greater Sacramento region, including CalPERS,
CalSTRS, Wells Fargo, Intel, Rabobank, and FolioDynamix, were panelists.
Students and peers enjoyed the evening as the panelists shared their
unique experiences from a wide range of background - including
investment management, financial advisory services, corporate finance,
and the banking industry. Despite the less than ideal weather, it was a
successful event with over 80 attendees from the local business schools. The evening ended with an open networking session filled with hor
d'oeuvres, idea exchange, and interactions amongst students, speakers,
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News from CFA Sacramento
and representatives from the aforementioned organizations.
This fall, CFASS is excited to organize another career event similar to the
one described above. CFASS would like to invite peers and students from
all local business schools to attend to learn more about the CFA charter
and explore the career opportunities in the finance industry in the
Sacramento region. Stay tuned for more information on the
CFASS website, www.cfasociety.org/sacramento.
2012 Milestone Membership Anniversaries
5 Years:
George Leighton Allen Jr., CFA Richard Burton Desgroseilliers
Jeffrey H. Jaro, CFA Brian Matthew Leu, CFA Ping Liu, CFA
Na Luo, CFA Michael J Maduell
Russell Clark Mills David C. Phillips, CFA
10 Years:
Jason T. Bell, CFA
Brent Allen Cardwell, CFA Alan Richard Carlisle David Muir Carmany, CFA
Roy Almon Clothier III, CFA
Colleen E. Crowley, CFA Jane C. Delfendahl, CFA
Richard Eduardo Duffy Andy Takuzo Iseri, CFA Geraldine Lynn Jimenez, CFA
Ryan A. Kimball, CFA Fred F. Rogers, CFA
15 Years:
Geoff J. Bunton, CFA
Arnold B. Phillips, CFA
20 Years and More:
DeWitt F. Bowman, CFA (21)
Curtis D. Ishii, CFA (20)
Deborah Kanner (20)
Richard M. Rose, CFA (20)
Kevin A. Winter, CFA (20)
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News from CFA Sacramento
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CFA Sacramento | 915 L Street, #C252 | Sacramento | CA | 95662
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