Crane Data is making plans and preparing the agenda for our eighth annual ultra-short bond fund event, Bond Fund Symposium, which will take place March 27-28, 2025 at the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach, Calif. Crane's Bond Fund Symposium offers a concentrated and affordable educational experience, as well as an excellent networking venue, for bond fund and fixed-income professionals. Registrations are now being accepted ($1,000) and sponsorship opportunities are available. We review the preliminary agenda and details below, and we also give the latest update on our upcoming "basic training" show, Money Fund University, which will be held next month in Providence, Dec. 19-20. (We'll also be hosting our Crane Data Holiday Party alongside MFU, so please join us Thursday, Dec. 19 from 5:00-7:30pm at the Renaissance Hotel in Providence.)
Bond Fund Symposium's Day One (3/27) morning agenda includes: Keynote: Ultra-Shorts Bond Funds: Surf's Finally Up with Teresa Ho of J.P. Morgan Securities, Dave Martucci of J.P. Morgan A.M. and Jerome Schneider of PIMCO; Bond Market Strategists: Rates & Returns with Jay Barry of J.P. Morgan Securities and Ira Jersey of Bloomberg Intelligence; and ETF Index & Near-Cash ETF Trends, with Bill Ahmuty of State Street Global Advisors and James Palmieri of State Street Global Advisors. (Note: The agenda is still a work in progress, so let us know if you're interested in speaking or have any requests!)
The Day One afternoon agenda includes: Senior Portfolio Manager Perspectives with Richard Mejzak of BlackRock, Dave Rothweiler of UBS Asset Management and Nicholas Tripodes of Federated Hermes; Long-Term & Core Bond Fund Issues with Matthew Brill of Invesco and Priya Misra of J.P. Morgan A.M.; LGIPs & Bond Fund Ratings with Steven Johnson of Fitch Ratings; and, ESG and DE&I Bond Fund Offerings featuring Henry Shilling of Sustainable Res & Analysis and Samuel Ramirez, Jr. of Ramirez A.M.. Monday will close with a reception sponsored by Northern Trust (which is open to anyone in the area to "crash" too).
Day Two's agenda includes: State of the Bond Fund Marketplace with Shelly Antoniewicz of ICI and Peter Crane of Crane Data; Regulatory Update: Bond Fund Issues '25 with Aaron Withrow of Dechert LLP and Rebecca Rodrigues of Stradley Ronon; Money Funds & Conservative Ultra-Shorts with Peter Crane of Crane Data and Dan LaRocco of Northern Trust A.M.; Bond Fund Data & Information with Peter Crane of Crane Data and Michael Masih of S&P Global Ratings.
Portfolio managers, analysts, investors, issuers, service providers, and anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of bond funds and fixed-income investing will benefit from our comprehensive program. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Hyatt Regency. We'd like to thank our past sponsors and exhibitors -- Wells Fargo Securities, Fitch Ratings, Fidelity Investments, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Allspring Global, S&P Global Ratings, StoneX, Invesco, BofA Securities, Northern Trust, Bloomberg Intelligence, Goldman Sachs, Federated, Payden & Rygel, PIMCO and Dechert -- for their support. (We'd also love to get some new ones!) E-mail us for more details.
Also, our 14th Annual Crane's Money Fund University will be held December 19-20, 2024 at The Renaissance Hotel Providence Downtown. Crane's Money Fund University covers the history of money funds, interest rates, regulations (Rule 2a-7), ratings, rankings, money market instruments such as commercial paper, CDs and repo, and portfolio construction and credit analysis. We also include segments on offshore money funds and ultra-short bond funds.
New portfolio managers, analysts, investors, issuers, service providers, and anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of "cash" investing should benefit from our comprehensive program. Even experienced professionals may enjoy a refresher course and the opportunity to interact with peers in an informal setting. Attendee registration for Crane's Money Fund University is just $750, exhibit space is $2,000, and sponsorship opportunities are $3K (Bronze), $4K (Silver), and $5K (Gold). A block of rooms has been reserved at the Renaissance Providence Downtown.
Money Fund University's comprehensive program is good for anyone -- beginners and experienced professionals looking for a refresher -- alike. The latest MFU agenda is available online and we are still accepting registrations. (We're also willing to "comp" tickets for large Crane Data or sponsor clients, so let us know if you're interested.)
We'll also soon be making plans for our next "big show," Money Fund Symposium, which will be held June 23-25, 2025, at The Renaissance Boston Seaport in Boston. (Let us know if you'd like details on speaking or sponsoring.) Finally, mark your calendars for next year's European Money Fund Symposium, which will be held Sept. 25-26, 2025 in Dublin, Ireland. Watch for details on these shows in coming weeks and months.
