Welcome to the CFALA e-newsletter, a periodic publication with stories about noteworthy events and programs sponsored or hosted by the society, guest articles by members, book reviews, and other items of interest to CFALA members. Click on the headlines below to read the full stories. And if you’d like to contribute a story suggestion or, even better, write an article, we’d love to hear from you. Please email Executive Director Laura Carney at laura@cfala.org.

*Please note that the content of this e-newsletter should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of  CFA Society Los Angeles.

In this issue ...

• CFA Los Angeles Member Receives Charter on Same Day as Son

• Liam Halligan Discusses Brexit and Implications

• Active Duty and Disabled Veterans Enjoy Access to CFA Exam Review

• Keep Calm And Carry On

• How the Education Gap is Tearing Politics Apart

• Brain Training – Why It’s No Walk in the Park

• Women Are in the New Sweet Spot of the U.S. Economy, Study Finds

• Bogle Forecasts Low Stock and Bond Market Returns

• Everyone Wants This Tiny Cube That Lets You Fidget at Work 

CFA Los Angeles Member Receives Charter on Same Day as Son

Gordie Howe was a Hall-of-Fame hockey player who won the Stanley Cup four times and was named the NHL’s most valuable player six times. An ice hockey iron man, Howe played his final professional hockey game at the age of 52 after competing in the NHL over five different decades spanning from 1949 to 1980. Known as “Mr. Hockey,” Howe continually found ways to make himself better despite his age relative to other professionals. Interestingly, despite all the individual accomplishments Howe recorded, he said the most excitement he ever experienced was playing in the NHL with his sons. CFA Society Los Angeles member Sanjay Dighe, CFA has channeled his inner Gordie Howe by accomplishing something to be admired by all members: On August 28, 2016 he became a CFA charterholder the same day as his son, Rohan.
Sanjay Dighe came from an engineering and business background and worked over a decade in India before coming to the U.S. in 2001 to work in broader operations and IT fields. Dighe explains his transition to a more analytical role. “Over the years, I got more involved in financial analysis, and as a result, in 2009 I got an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with an emphasis in Finance and International Business. Also, I added the title of a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) in 2010 after working in the finance/accounting department of GE. Post-MBA and CMA, my interest within finance developed for investments and it was then that I was introduced to the CFA program by a charterholder. After reviewing the program curriculum, I was determined to pursue the CFA charter.”
While there are plenty of candidates over the age of 40 (Dighe likes to say he is “in his early 50’s”), pursuing the charter at the same time as one’s son or daughter is truly unique. In Dighe’s case, who started first? Dad says, “I entered the program first (in 2010), when my son Rohan was still pursuing his undergraduate studies in Business with Finance major from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. We talked over his interests and he was keen to focus on the field of investments, making it an easy call to join me in the CFA program.”
When the term “parental support” is used, it is unlikely to consider the support as a study partner. Many candidates had some sort of group or person to help them stay on track. Were the senior Dighe and his son study partners in any way? “Not quite,” said Dighe senior. “Our study patterns were different. Rohan started early and spread out his studying well over the months, while I was usually in the catch-up mode. Also, we were physically apart, Rohan in Milwaukee and me in Los Angeles.”
Still, like a lot of parents, Dad takes some of the credit for his son’s success. “I can possibly take a little credit for pushing Rohan more, as I had become a candidate first, understood the gravity and had got to Level 3 when he entered the program.”
Going through the program later in life has its challenges. Family responsibilities tend to be more acute in your 40’s compared to when you are in your 20’s. And not just with your children. Dighe said, “I felt family constraints bring in more challenges at my age, like for couple of years my parents’ health needed emergency attention in India.”
Dighe and his son notified each other via text message when they passed and then shared their results on email. Dighe said, “While I wish I would have known of the CFA program much earlier, I am happy to have pursued it to its fruitful end. It certainly gives me more pleasure as my son, Rohan finished it timely and we both now have the distinction of being charterholders.”
Not many people can say it, but now Sanjay Dighe knows how Gordie Howe feels.
By Tom Derse, CFA Back To Top ^^

Liam Halligan Discusses Brexit and Implications

On September 27th, 2016, the CFA Society Los Angeles Santa Barbara Group was honored to host Mr. Liam Halligan, a very special guest from London. He was also able to join CFALA in Los Angeles at the Intercontinental Hotel in Century City on the following day. Liam is a well-respected economist, writer and broadcaster who is best known for his weekly “Economics Agenda” column in The Sunday Telegraph. Over the years, Halligan has acquired a breadth of knowledge and a broad network of economic contacts as correspondent at the Financial Times and Channel 4 News.
A local CFALA Santa Barbara member, James Fenkner, asked his old friend Liam to travel to Santa Barbara and discuss one of the hottest topics in Europe since the foundation of the European Union: Why did the Brits Brexit, and what does it mean? Given the broad ramifications of the historic vote for the European Union’s future, it came as little surprise that the event sold out and online registration was closed one week prior to the event.
During the dinner presentation, Halligan described why he, and many of his countrymen, long supported Brexit. His core thesis is based on the desire for independence and gaining back control of the immigration situation. He sees a great opportunity for the U.K - once decoupled from the EU - to find its own trading partners and negotiate trade contracts customized to the U.K. Lastly, he believes Brexit will give the U.K. the incentive to move away from London’s financial service dependency and more towards their own industry and technology hub and inspire additional innovation. Halligan’s hour-long presentation was followed by a lively Q&A discussion.
While not everyone may have agreed on Brexit, all guests enjoyed the highly insightful presentation. Halligan concluded his presentation by explaining why the United Kingdom should perform a “Hard Brexit” (short act of Parliament followed by on-shoring of laws and finally falling back on WTO rules). That advice proved prescient as days after his CFALA Santa Barbara presentation, the new British Prime Minister Theresa May announced a strategy of “Hard Brexit”, precisely as Halligan suggested she should.
The Santa Barbara Group continues to have speakers and events that may be of interest to all CFA Society Los Angeles members.
By Falko Hörnicke, CFA Back To Top ^^

Active Duty and Disabled Veterans Enjoy Access to CFA Exam Review

Veterans Day is November 11 and now is a good time to recognize the attributes Veterans bring to our industry, appreciate sacrifices they have made and explore opportunities available to all who have served.
Locally, CFA Society Los Angeles offers a program that is unique and available well beyond Southern California. The USC/CFALA CFA® Review Program is offering a full scholarship for internet access to the streaming media recordings of the CFA review courses to members of the United States armed forces who are serving on active duty in the United States, abroad or at sea, and to Disabled Veterans of the United States armed forces. While live instruction is the cornerstone of the program, candidates are provided with supplemental study tools including access to recorded classroom lectures. It is these recorded classroom lectures, including presentation materials, that are being made available free of charge to qualified service members. Students are also given instructors’ email addresses so that they may contact them directly if they have questions.
CFA Society Los Angeles has been offering the program for years and veterans now have an additional resource to help improve their studying capabilities and increase their chances of passing the CFA exam. This year’s total enrollment is 28 and last year the program had 33 students.
Professor Larry Harris, co-director of the USC/CFALA CFA® Review Program, shared how the program got started. “Years ago, news about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars made us more aware of the lives that servicemen live, and the challenges that they sometimes face reintegrating into civilian society or following career paths in the services. We thought that we could modestly assist those interested in careers in financial analysis—whether within or without the services—by making our streaming media review program available free to all active duty servicemen.”
The program does not go unnoticed by members of the Veterans community. Captain T. S. Hogan, U.S. Marine Corps said, “I really appreciate the service you are providing to disabled Veterans. I am extremely grateful for the generosity. Thank you again for helping veterans. You're doing a great thing.” A U.S. Air Force veteran said, “I am very excited to start using the streaming tools and think that it is great that you provide veterans with access.”
Since streaming media is already set up for the USC/CFALA CFA® Review Program, there is no out-of-pocket contribution from CFA Society Los Angeles. Expenses are primarily administrative costs for processing application forms and giving them access.
Technology allows the benefit to reach active duty and disabled veterans all over the world. Users of the program include active duty service members stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, Lindau, Germany, Kuwait, Washington D.C and Virginia. Candidates who are disabled veterans are Marine Corps sergeants, Air Force and Navy lieutenants from Virginia, California, Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama.
Nalini Sabapathy, Education & Operations Administrator for CFA Society Los Angeles said, “The veterans who receive access to streaming media are always so grateful and tell me how much it has helped them! It feels great to know CFA Society Los Angeles is helping them.”
By Tom Derse, CFA Back To Top ^^

Keep Calm And Carry On

In our August issue, we regretfully announced the passing of CFA Society Los Angeles member Bonnie Baha, CFA, CIC. In addition to serving as senior portfolio manager of DoubleLine Capital LP's Global Developed Credit Group, Baha also shared her insights on global fixed income investing on Forbes' Intelligent Investing contributor page. In her final post, Baha offers her thoughts on steering a portfolio through the post-Brexit vote investment landscape. Read more... And more...  Back To Top ^^

How the Education Gap is Tearing Politics Apart

In this Guardian The Long Read article, Cambridge professor of politics and author David Runciman thoughtfully examines the college education gap separating opposing sides regarding Brexit in the UK and Donald Trump's campaign in the US. Read more...  Back To Top ^^

Brain Training – Why It’s No Walk in the Park

Do you use brain training exercises? Are you convinced they help keep you mentally agile? The Conversation's Tom Stafford, lecturer in psychology and cognitive science at the University of Sheffield, discusses the review findings of a University of Illinois meta-study examining the quality of research that supports the efficacy of such exercises. Read on for the U of I's revealing findings and Stafford's recommendation of a low-cost, low-tech alternative. Read more... And more...  Back To Top ^^

Women Are in the New Sweet Spot of the U.S. Economy, Study Finds

The Pew Research Center recently released the results of a survey assessing the state of American jobs along several dimensions. In this article, Bloomberg editor and senior writer Peter Coy summarizes the survey's key findings, with an emphasis on the observation that women have narrowed the gender pay gap by working in increasingly prized social and analytical skill-leveraging jobs. Read more...  And more... Back To Top ^^

Bogle Forecasts Low Stock and Bond Market Returns

In this video interview with Morningstar director of personal finance and senior columnist Christine Benz, Vanguard founder Jack Bogle updates his simple, intuitive, yet empirically compelling ten-year forecast for stock, bond, and balanced portfolio returns. Read more... And more...  Back To Top ^^

Everyone Wants This Tiny Cube That Lets You Fidget at Work

Speaking of "the majesty of simplicity," check out this simple, vinyl desk toy that’s designed to help you focus... if you fidget. Creators Matthew and Mark McLachlan, brothers and cofounders of Antsy Labs, have already raised over $6 million on Kickstarter for the Fidget Cube. Shipments are planned to start in December and the Fidget Cube will retail for around $25 each. Read more...  And more... Back To Top ^^