On Wednesday, June 8th, Lee H. Martin, Ph. D., and Sarah E.R. Wilson will be speaking at the County Treasurers’ Association of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s annual convention in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Lee and Sarah’s presentation, “Asset Allocation Trends Among PA County Retirement Funds” will be a discussion of the asset allocation trends among PA County Retirement Funds over the past five years, including a review of the drivers, how Retirement Funds are now positioned amid the current market environment, and the outlook for future returns.

On Wednesday, March 23rd, Kweku Obed will be speaking at the Thirteenth Annual Georgia Association of Public Pension Trustees (GAPPT) Conference.

Kweku will be presenting “Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies,” an educational session covering the technology and growth of cryptocurrency over the past decade and exploring whether (or when) institutional investors may enter the space.

The GAPPT is a nonprofit organization formed to provide education and professional development opportunities to trustees and administrators of Georgia’s public pension plans. Subject areas span fiduciary responsibility and liability, board governance, investment acumen, and plan administration.

For more information, please visit the GAPPT website.

On Friday, February 18th, Lee H. Martin, Ph. D., and Patrick Wing, CFA, CIPM will be speaking at the Pennsylvania State Association of County Controllers’ (PSACC) 2022 New Controller Workshop in Altoona, PA.

Lee and Patrick will be presenting an overview to conference attendees, covering common terms and roles for county investments, plan components, investment approaches, and how investment consultants assist county pension plans. The workshop invites newly elected county controllers and their deputies to meet with members of the controller’s association and receive training focused on their duties. For more information, please visit the PSACC website.

On Friday, January 21st, Mike Piotrowski, CAIA will be speaking at the Northern Illinois Alliance of Fire Protection Districts (NIAFPD) Annual Conference in Oak Brook Hills, Illinois.

Mike will be joining a panel entitled, “FPIF Asset Transfer Process” with several professionals from other third parties working with the Illinois Firefighters’ Pension Investment Fund in consolidating, managing, and investing the assets of the 296 suburban and downstate firefighter pension funds. The session will address:

• Status and finalization of the asset transfer process
• Investments
• Actuarial valuations and funding

The NIAFPD Annual Conference is an educational conference designed for trustees, commissioners, chief officers, and administrative staff. Attendees will have the opportunity to gather and exchange ideas and information pertaining to fire protection districts. For more information, please visit the NIAFPD website.

On Monday, September 20th, Kweku Obed, CFA, CAIA will be teaching a continuing education course at the Twelfth Annual Georgia Association of Public Pension Trustees (GAPPT) Conference.

The course, “Investing in a Post-COVID World: A Consultant’s Perspective,” will identify the impact of last year’s economic shutdown on the markets, describe how certain asset classes were resilient during the pandemic, and recognize the short-term and long-term implications of 2020. This course is a part of a series of continuing education opportunities for trustees in lieu of the annual Trustee School hosted by the GAPPT, which was rescheduled this year.

The GAPPT is a nonprofit organization formed to provide education and professional development opportunities to trustees and administrators of Georgia’s public pension plans. Subject areas span fiduciary responsibility and liability, board governance, investment acumen, and plan administration.

For more information, please visit the GAPPT conference webpage.