Following the conclusion of our European Money Fund Symposium last month in Dublin, Crane Data is now making plans for its "basic training" conference, Money Fund University. Our 10th annual MFU will take place at the Renaissance Hotel in Providence, R.I., January 23-24, 2020. Crane's Money Fund University is designed for those new to the money market fund industry or those in need of a concentrated refresher on the basics. The event also focuses on hot topics like money market fund regulations, money fund alternatives, offshore markets, and other recent industry trends. Our educational conference features a faculty of the money fund industry's top lawyers, strategists, and portfolio managers, and the Providence show will include an extended free training session for Crane Data clients. We review the MFU agenda, and also next week's AFP conference, below. (We hope to see many of you at AFP -- come visit us at booth #2627!)
Money Fund University offers a 2-day crash course on money market mutual funds, educating attendees on the history of money funds, the Fed, interest rates, ratings, rankings, and money market instruments such as commercial paper, Treasury bills, CDs and repo. We also cover portfolio construction and credit analysis. (See the latest agenda here or e-mail us to request the latest brochure.)
The morning of Day One of the 2020 MFU agenda includes: History & Current State of Money Market Mutual Funds with Peter Crane of Crane Data; The Federal Reserve & Money Markets with Mark Cabana of Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Credit Analysis & Portfolio Management with Robert Motroni of JP Morgan AM; and, Instruments of the Money Markets Intro with Teresa Ho of J.P. Morgan Securities.
Day One's afternoon agenda includes: Repurchase Agreements with Ho and Jake Kruk of J.P. Morgan Securities; Treasuries & Govt Agencies with Sue Hill of Federated Investors and Matt Lachance of TD Securities; Tax-Exempt Securities & VDRNs with John Vetter of Fidelity Investments; Commercial Paper & ABCP with Jean-Luc Sinniger of Citi Global Markets and CDs, TDs & Bank Debt with Vanessa McMichael of Wells Fargo Securities and Marian Trano of Bank Hapoalim.
Day Two's agenda includes: Money Fund Regulations: 2a-7 Basics with Brenden Carroll of Dechert LLP and Jamie Gershkow of Stradley Ronon; Offshore Money Funds & Ultra-Shorts with Crane of Crane Data, John Hunt of Sullivan & Worcester LLP and Kerry Pope of Fidelity; Ratings, Monitoring & Performance with `Greg Fayvilevich of Fitch Ratings and Joseph Giarratano of S&P Global; and, Money Fund Data & Wisdom Training with Peter Crane. The conference ends with its annual MFU "Graduation" ceremony (where diplomas are given to attendees).
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 $500, 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 Providence Renaissance.
We'd like to thank our past and pending MFU sponsors -- Dreyfus/BNY Mellon CIS, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Fitch Ratings, TD Securities, S&P Global Ratings, Dechert LLP, Fidelity Investments and Federated Investors -- for their support, and we look forward to seeing you in Providence in January. E-mail Pete Crane (pete@cranedata.com) for the latest brochure or visit www.moneyfunduniversity.com to register or for more details.
Crane Data is also preparing the preliminary agenda for its next Bond Fund Symposium, which will be held March 23-24, 2020, at the Hyatt Regency Boston. Our Bond Fund Symposium offers a concentrated and affordable educational experience, as well as an excellent and informal networking venue. Registration for Bond Fund Symposium is $750; exhibit space is $2,000 (includes 2 tickets); and sponsorship opportunities are $3K, $4K, $5K, and $6K. Our mission is to deliver the best possible conference content at a reasonable price to bond fund professionals and investors.
We'll also soon be making plans for our "big show," Money Fund Symposium, which will be held June 24-26, 2020, at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis. Finally, mark your calendars for next year's European Money Fund Symposium, which will be held Sept. 17-18, 2020, in Paris, France. Watch for details on these shows in coming weeks and months.
In other news, money market mutual fund distributors and cash managers will be travelling to Boston this weekend for AFP 2019, the Association for Financial Professionals' huge annual gathering of corporate treasurers, which takes place Oct. 20-23. AFP is the largest gathering of corporate investors in the country, attracting over 5,000 treasury management professionals, as well as a host of large banks and institutional money fund managers.
This year, sessions involving money funds and/or cash investing include: "Beyond Trading: Exploring Portal Capabilities," featuring Thomas Knight of Institutional Cash Distributors (ICD), Matthew Post of Qualcomm and Mark Sahler of Jeffries; "Cash Investment Management: Forget the Fads & Focus on the Fundamentals," with Ellen Bockius of BlackRock, Susan Colross of T-Mobile, Mike Dambach of Biogen <b:>`_and `Chris Nasson of Twilio; and, "Drowning in Liquidity But Still Thirsty: How Much is Too Much?," with Laura Fox Barnes of Allegis Group, James Gilligan of Evergy, Bethany Glassbrenner of American Eagle Outfitters and Garret Sloan of Wells Fargo Securities.
AFP also includes the segments: "Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) Factors and Credit Ratings: Making the Connection," featuring Jeff Kotkin of Eversource Energy, Shalini Mahajan of Fitch Ratings and Andrew Steel of Fitch Ratings; "How to Measure Success, Performance and Risk in a Cash Portfolio," with Kimberly Kelly-Lippert of American Honda Motor Company, Raymond Facinelli of Capital Advisors Group, Leonard Brooks of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Nicholas Ro of Toyota Financial Services. See you at the show!
