White House, SEC Officials Headline Inaugural CFANY Global Policymakers Series

Speakers underscore essential role of policy decisions in economic recovery

/EIN News/ -- New York, July 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leaders from the White House and the Securities and Exchange Commission were among 50 financial policy experts and political figures that spoke at the first-ever Global Policymakers Series (GPS), a series of exclusive education sessions developed by CFA Society New York (CFANY) and the Foreign Policy Association (FPA). New content was distributed online daily from June 30 – July 3, and future events will transition to in-person and virtual programming.

“This event has been years in the making, but became critical in recent months. American consumer spending, which reached an all-time high of $13.4 trillion in 2019, has pushed up corporate earnings growth and the market,” said CFA Society New York Board of Directors Vice Chair and GPS creator Thomas Brigandi, CFA. “However, with more than 40 million Americans currently unemployed, markets have relied on monetary and fiscal policy decisions, which according to Cornerstone Macro amounted to just shy of $23 trillion in coronavirus-related liquidity support as of May 31.”

Each day consisted of multiple online panel sessions with deep analysis on the impact of multilateral, fiscal and monetary policies enacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Keynote speakers for the inaugural event were:

• Hester Peirce, Commissioner, Securities and Exchange Commission
• Lawrence Kudlow, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; Director, National Economic Council
• Steven C. Phillips, M.D., M.P.H., Senior Fellow, Chatham House

“The unique circumstances of a global pandemic have created an unprecedented swiftness in governments’ response through fiscal and monetary policy actions,” said Margaret Franklin, CFA, president and CEO of CFA Institute. “This event is critical for practitioners to hear valuable insights on the important role policy decisions will play on the global economy and ultimately investment performance.”

The first day of programming included more than 600 attendees, with that number expected to increase as CFANY members and qualified asset owners access the 17 hours of content from this series on demand.

“Navigating the global economy requires a thorough and nuanced understanding of world events,” said Noel V. Lateef, president of the Foreign Policy Association. “With over a century of experience in illuminating world affairs, the Foreign Policy Association, through its Great Decisions program, provides go-to resources for discerning global trends and anticipating geopolitical events.”

Notable excerpts from the event are available for viewing in video format by clicking on the links below. A full list of topics and speakers can be viewed at www.cfany.org/global-policymakers-series.

Why College Students are an Indication of Where the S in ESG is Headed   “We say don’t give into those students, they have crazy ideas. But maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe the idea is that the students are like a tip sheet. What is it that society is going to be worried about and how do you want to look at that?”   – Amy Myers Jaffe, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations	Why Communication is a Critical First Step to Recovery from COVID-19   “If you look at many countries in the European Union, they had really clear messaging from one voice about exactly what was necessary that was explained in a scientific and careful way to the population, and there was enormous compliance.”   – Dr. Frank Snowden, Yale University
Why the Electorate is the Only Way to Address Underfunding Issues   I rather suspect that there is going to be a squeeze, and it is going to come from the electorate. And the electorate is going to work through Congress and work through this and future administrations saying we’ve got to limit entitlements.   – Gary Shilling, Ph.D., President, A. Gary Shilling & Co., Inc.	Why More Chinese Stimulus Money Will Be Carefully Spent   “It’s easy to raise money, but to spend it well is another question. So, you have to use caution.”   – Hon. Ambassador Huang Ping, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in New York
Closing Keynote Address   “We’re really only in the third inning of a nine inning baseball game, and we may well go into extra innings. Another way of saying this is that we’re at about a 10 – 15 percent level of the needed knowledge ultimately to handle the COVID pandemic. But we know from baseball, even in the third inning, field managers need to make real-time decisions based on limited information. So judgement and experience really come into play.”   – Steven Phillips, MD, MPH, Senior Fellow, Chatham House	Tech’s Impact on Labor and Taxation   “If technology can replace labor to a great extent… what is the role of labor? This has enormous consequences on taxation. If 80% of the revenue to the government comes from labor, and all of a sudden, you have dramatically less labor and dramatically less revenue from land and commercial space, then there is something fundamentally wrong that needs to be adjusted. Nobody seems to be addressing this.”   – Carlos Perrone, Treasurer, United Nations

About CFA Society New York
CFA Society New York is one of the largest of 160 member societies of CFA Institute. Its activity began in 1937, when value investing pioneer Benjamin Graham began organizing regular meetings of local security analysts. Throughout its history, the society has remained a volunteer-led, member-driven forum for the investment community with the broad, basic aims of: establishing and maintaining a high standard of professional ethics, improving analytical techniques, supporting the interchange of ideas and information among analysts, and promoting a proper public understanding of the function of security analysis and the operation of the securities markets.

CFA Society New York works in conjunction with CFA Institute to develop the industry’s future professionals and to raise the standards of professionalism in the investment management industry. For more information, visit www.cfany.org, or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About the Foreign Policy Association
The Foreign Policy Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring the American public to learn more about the world. Founded in 1918, FPA serves as a catalyst for developing awareness, understanding of, and providing informed opinions on global issues. Through its balanced, nonpartisan programs and publications, the FPA encourages citizens to participate in the foreign policy process. For more information, visit www.fpa.org.

Bill Braun
                    Media Liaison, CFA Society New York
                    BBraun@cfany.org