The Institutional Asset Management Committee provides a forum for discussion on current issues of interest to investment professionals engaged in or contributing to asset management. Our rapidly changing investment climate offers an abundance of topical issues worthy of C-level, portfolio manager, and analyst attention as both specialists and management in the asset management field, in addition to those professionals who are not currently involved but who wish to be.
 
Our mission is straightforward: to identify and illuminate timely and relevant issues, and to bring key industry executives and informed leaders in their field to our membership. The Institutional Asset Management Committee is one of the largest committees at NYSSA. We encourage members to bring their investing topic to the committee chair so that it can be brought to fruition. We sponsor conferences, panel discussions, and half-day and full-day events and conferences.

The Committee has had a great year so far; we’ve sponsored four events with more on the way! But it doesn’t stop there. We need your input to identify those issues in asset management that are of concern to you right now. Whether it’s proposed regulation, asset allocation, what’s up in Washington, the direction of interest rates, or the influence of fiscal policy on exchange rates—we want to know. Best of all, we encourage members to take the lead, organize and design the event, and draw upon the resources at NYSSA to bring your event to a successful conclusion. There’s nothing more satisfying than being the chair of an event and meeting new industry professionals that may or may not be in your field of expertise!

Recent events include a panel discussion on the future of independent research titled “Independent Research Uncovered”, a global panel speaking to the emerging issues in global financial regulation titled “Best Practices in Hedge Fund Management”, and a practical discussion of asset valuation under FASB 157. Additional panels have covered the NRSRO’s, or securities rating agencies, and future panels will discuss the outlook for the municipal bond industry in 2010, and asset allocation strategies for LDI portfolios.
 
Looking ahead, we think additional topics around asset valuation, credit quality, company valuation, allocation strategies, and asset class will be of interest to the membership. In addition, the tools of the trade may become more important as staffing remains thin. As you can see, IAM Committee members and non-members are encouraged to suggest programming ideas. If you are not an IAM Committee member, and wish to be, or just want more information about the committee, contact committee chair Rick Grubbs, CFA at rgrubbs@theacaciagrp.com. Once again, the Institutional Asset Management Committee welcomes all members that have an interest in enriching the asset management profession.