As we make final preparations for our virtual European Money Fund Symposium, which will take place this Thursday (10/21) from 9:30am-12:00pm EDT, Crane Data is also making plans for our next live event, Money Fund University. The 12th annual MFU, our "basic training" conference, will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Boston, Mass., January 20-21, 2022. 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 Boston show will include an extended free training session (and lunch) for Crane Data clients. We review the MFU agenda, and also the upcoming AFP conference in Washington, below. (We hope to see many of you at AFP in November -- come visit us at booth #1136!)
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. Registrations are now being taken, and the latest agenda is available here. (E-mail us to request the latest brochure.)
The morning of Day One (1/20/21) of the 2022 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 BofA Securities; Ratings, Monitoring & Performance with Greg Fayvilevich of Fitch Ratings and Guyna Johnson of S&P Global; and, Instruments of the Money Markets Intro with Teresa Ho of J.P. Morgan Securities.
Day One's afternoon agenda includes: Repurchase Agreements with Jake Kruk of J.P. Morgan Securities; Treasuries & Govt Agencies with Sue Hill of Federated hermes and Matt Lachance of TD Securities; Tax-Exempt Securities & VDRNs with John Vetter of Fidelity Investments; Commercial Paper & ABCP with Rob Crowe and Ryan Kesapyan of Citi Global Markets and CDs, TDs & Bank Debt with Vanessa McMichael of Wells Fargo Securities; and, Credit Analysis & Portfolio Management with Sean Lussier and Peter Hajjar of SSGA.
Day Two's (10/21/21) agenda includes: Money Fund Regulations: 2a-7 Basics & History with Brenden Carroll of Dechert LLP and Jamie Gershkow of Stradley Ronon; European MMF Reforms & Offshore Money Funds with Peter Crane of Crane Data, John Hunt of Sullivan & Worcester LLP and Barry Harbison of HSBC Global AM; Ultra-Short Bond Funds & SMAs with `James McNerny of J.P. Morgan A.M.; and, Money Fund Data & Wisdom Demo/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 Boston Hyatt Regency.
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 Boston 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 our next Bond Fund Symposium, which will be held March 28-29, 2022, at the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach, Calif. 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 next "big show," Money Fund Symposium, which will be held June 20-22, 2022, at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis. (Let us know if you'd like details on speaking or sponsoring.) Also, mark your calendars for next year's European Money Fund Symposium, which will be held Sept. 27-28, 2022, 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 Washington, DC for AFP 2021, the Association for Financial Professionals' big annual gathering of corporate treasurers, which takes place November 7-9. AFP is the largest gathering of corporate investors in the country, (normally) attracting over 5,000 treasury management professionals, as well as a host of large banks and institutional money fund managers. (It should be about half as big this year.)
At AFP, sessions involving money funds and/or cash investing include: "Inclusion In The Capital Markets Is Spelled MWVBE," with Southern Company's Meredith Bromley and MFR Securities' James Gilligan; "Are Zero Interest Rates Really Different This Time?" with State Street Global Advisors' William Goldthwait, Snowflake Computing's Vaibhav Natu, Fastly's Michael Scott and Creative Artists Agency's Garima Thakur; "The Blockchain Revolution: How A Decentralized Ledger May Disrupt The $5 Trillion Money Market Fund Industry" with Western Asset Management's Jason Straker and Franklin Templeton's Chris Franta; "Deeply Connected: Integrating Cash & Investments For Optimal Efficiency," with ICD Portal's Sebastian Ramos, Summit Utilities' Andrea Guntren and The Coca-Cola Company's Aidan Monahan; "Seeking Yield For A Euro Portfolio In A Negative Rate Environment," with Salesforce.com's Cameron Bowen, Neuberger Berman's Patrick Barbe, Bridgebay Financial's Nicholas Zaiko and Celonis' Ivan Troufanov; and, finally, "Why Corporate Treasurers May Consider Bitcoin," with Fidelity Investments' Tom Jessop.
Finally, thank you once again to those who supported last month's Money Fund Symposium, which took place Sept. 21-23 in Philadelphia! The recordings and materials are available to Crane Data subscribers at the bottom of our "Content" page. Let us know if you'd like more details on any of our (or other "cash") events, and we hope to see you in Boston in January, Newport Beach in March, Minneapolis in June or Paris in September in 2022!
