Lee Explores Financial Markets at G.A.M.E. Forum in New York City
Lisa Lee (B.S.B.A. ‘16) reflects on attending the 5th Annual Global Asset Management Education (G.A.M.E) Forum in NYC.
There’s no better place to learn about the financial markets than the leading financial capital of the world—New York City. Quinnipiac University held its 5th Annual Global Asset Management Education (G.A.M.E) Forum from March 19-21 at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel in Manhattan. The event attracted 1,200 students from over 140 colleges and 39 states, eager to build their careers in finance, improve portfolio management skills, and, for some, break into Wall Street.
On the opening day, I was struck by the intensity and financial buzz of the event. College students had the unique opportunity to interact with industry leaders and learn best practices in investment management during keynote panel sessions. The sessions focused on four main themes: Global Markets, Corporate Governance, the Global Economy, and Investment Strategy.
Abby Joseph Cohen, Senior Investment Strategist and President of the Global Markets Institute at Goldman Sachs and a prominent speaker at the G.A.M.E. Forum, talked about the recent rise in the U.S. stock markets and strong prospects in the job markets. In contrast to European countries, the U.S. is strongly positioned and recognized as a leader in recovery and expansion. Cohen also discussed the implications of allowing interest rates to be negative in Europe and what that means for the rest of the world. Put, depositors would have to pay banks to hold money for them for the first time. As a result, there is a surging demand for USD, and the dollar has appreciated 20% against the Euro.
Corporate Governance has become a hot topic ever since 2008’s financial crisis. With the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Reform, banks and many other investment firms have been subjected to scrutiny and charged with hefty legal fees. Robert H. McCooey, Senior Vice President of NASDAQ, explained how the exchange helps technology companies comply with government regulations before their IPO and, more importantly, how NASDAQ improves transparency between companies and investors to prevent another Enron situation.
The conference room’s atmosphere peaked by the afternoon as Tom Keene walked into the room. Keene is the Editor-at-Large for Bloomberg News and hosts Bloomberg Surveillance on Bloomberg Radio and Bloomberg Television. Since my high school days, my father and I have consistently followed Keene’s economic and investment perspectives. However, meeting and seeing him in person was a phenomenal experience that is hard for me to describe. During the panel session, Keene gave career advice to college students eager to advance: “Don’t underestimate what it means to be a voracious reader,” he said. At that moment, I made a personal commitment to pick up reading his recommended books once I arrived back home to Chicago. Keene was joined by two other speakers, Emanuella Enenajor, Senior Canada & U.S. Economist of BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research, and Robert Johnson, Director of Economic Analysis of Morningstar, Inc. Enenajor and Johnson, who shared the same views on the implications of low population growth rates on labor scarcity. At the end of the panel session, Enenajor discussed her research findings that efficiency in technology suppresses the oil demand and displaces workers.
“The Investment Strategies panel session is the panel that teaches you how to make money,” said moderator Bob Froehlich. He was joined by JJ Kinahan, Chief Strategist at TD Ameritrade, Jon Najarian, Co-Founder of optionMONSTER.COM and tradeMONSTER.com, and Richard Bernstein, CEO of Richard Bernstein Advisors, LLC. The stage was immediately divided into two camps when Mr Bernstein described his investment approach as “slow money. Berstein focused on long-term investment strategies and analyzed top-down market fundamentals. He cautioned not to be too quick to jump on popular investments, as returns will be low. Instead, investors should take risks by making unconventional investments. Najarian provided insight into the fact that trading opportunities are now different. Due to technological advances, algorithmic trading allows trading decisions to be made in microseconds.
The following day’s workshop on building multi-asset portfolios sparked my interest. I was determined to determine this year's predicted winning asset classes. Despite being the only sophomore in a room full of juniors and seniors, I raised my hand to pose my question. Ned Rosenman, Vice President of Client Solutions at Black Rock, pointed out that emerging markets are worth looking at now because they are younger nations with little debt and, thus, have a higher growth potential.
To sum up, my experience at Quinnipiac’s G.A.M.E Forum was eye-opening and fueled my passion for the financial markets. More importantly, I’ve learned not to be afraid to speak up and share my opinions, even though I may be the only woman in the room.
