AFP Annual Conference Nov. 2-5
The Association for Financial Professionals Annual Conference is next week, November 2-5, in Washington, D.C. The country's largest corporate treasury event attracts almost all of the the major providers of institutional money funds and online trading "portals". The description says that the event features "over 6,500 treasury and finance professionals" and says, "Here are the top 6 reasons why you should attend the most important event for treasury and finance: 1. You'll bring back real solutions to the office with over 140+ educational sessions across 8 tracks; 2. Insights into the current global political upheaval with these highly distinguished speakers; 3. Build your professional network at events like the Welcome Reception and the Industry Roundtables Luncheon; 4. Make the most of time away from the office with pre-conference seminars on targeted subjects; 5. Earn continuing education credits in just a few days; 6. Discover innovative products and solutions to streamline operations and cut costs in the Exhibit Hall." Several sessions involve money market funds and/or cash investing. The keynote speakers include former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on November 2. Also, AFP's October 27 issue of its `EconWatch newsletter says, "Companies sharply slowed their accumulation of cash during the 3rd quarter, pointing towards an improved corporate outlook in business conditions. These results suggest building confidence among U.S. businesses during Q3. 34% of companies built out their cash balances during the quarter versus 28% that had shed cash during the 3 months. The difference of +6 was down 6 points from the previous quarter's reading and off 13 points from the Q3 2013 survey results. 27% of organizations' cash balances at the end of Q3 2014 were larger than they were a year earlier, while 31% held smaller cash balances versus Q3 2013 levels. The difference of -4 is 31 points below the previous quarter's reading, 25 points below the Q3 2013 reading and the lowest reading in the history of the data series." Finally, see AFP's article, "How Will Basel III Impact Corporate Deposit Strategies?".
