My son Steve and I recently spent a week in Chicago meeting and interviewing investment managers at The Sincere & Co. Annual Education Symposium and the annual Morningstar Conference for Investment Advisors.
This trip gave us the opportunity to have lengthy meetings and several dinners with managers of funds we currently hold in our portfolios. Most of these managers handle significant percentages of our portfolio investments. Among them are:
- Charles de Vaulx, Manager of the IVA Fund
- Steve Romick, Manager of the FPA Crescent Fund
- David Marcus, Manager of the Evermore Fund
- Robert Arnott, Manager of the PIMCO All Asset All Authority Fund
- Mark Travis, Manager of the Intrepid Capital Fund
All of these managers are concerned about the continued deleveraging of the global economy. They have the same outlook that we do, a slow recovery marked by periods of extreme volatility, as the global economy works towards deleveraging its debt burden. They are all managing risk first and return second, which fits nicely with our investment philosophy and current strategy.
We also met with other managers whom we are currently looking at as potential additions to our portfolios. Among them are:
- Michael Aronstein, Manager of the Marketfield Fund
- David Rappa, Manager of the Beck, Mack, Oliver Fund
- John Calamos, Manager of the Calamos Convertible Fund
- And many others.
We also had the chance to attend many educational sessions on the economy, business valuations and improving your advisory practice, with the use of the latest technologies.
While we were in Chicago, my wife Rosanne was in Minneapolis attending a weeklong conference on aging, sponsored by the Certified Senior Advisor organization. As many of you know, Roe is a pioneer in the area of financial geriatrics. She is not only a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®); she is also a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and a Registered Financial Gerontologist (RFG). Because of her pioneering work in this area, Roe has been selected byInvestment Advisor Magazine, as one of the most influential women in the financial services industry. This list included Mary Shapiro, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sheila Bair Chair of the FDIC and many other outstanding women.
Roe came back from this conference full of ideas and resources that will benefit all of our clients and their families in the future.
As our clients’ needs grow, we are actively educating ourselves so that we can provide our clients with the latest resources, the best advice and the risk controls they have come to expect from our organization. Continuous learning and industry leadership are built into our organizations DNA. It allows us to deliver continuous improvement to all of our clients.
