Student Club Events

Ninth Annual Investment Management & Research Conference Looks Back on the Financial Crisis

“Engaging in a discussion on lessons learned from one of the most severe financial crises in history was a key goal of this year’s Association of Investment Management & Research (AIMR) conference,” said MBA student and event coordinator Kelly Henry. Some 120 students, alumni and investment professionals convened last fall for the Ninth Annual AIMR conference themed, “Reflections on the Crisis: One Year Later.”

Meredith Whitney, CEO of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, LLC, shared some advice with attendees based on her career in the research profession:

  • Choose a mentor whose standards are those to which you aspire
  • Work hard to stay ahead of your competition
  • Collapse business silos to create efficiencies
  • Pay attention to themes in your industry
  • If you can’t explain your research, then you don’t know what you’re talking about
  • Your word is your brand

Panelists representing a number of top firms including Blackrock, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney participated in three panel discussions spanning topics from lessons learned in volatile markets and private wealth management to opportunities in emerging vs. developed markets.

Robert Levin, managing director of EM Capital Management, LLC, addressed the growth of Ponzi schemes, insider trading, hedge fund fraud and bank bailouts in today’s markets. He argued that these trends are not a direct result of the lack of regulation, but rather of poor detection and enforcement. He cited as the root of these troubling issues, the failure of individual ethics in an environment that promotes greed. He advocated the implementation of “Environmental Social Governance” in organizations, through which industry professionals and stakeholders would be educated on how to adopt principles for responsible investment.

Find out more about Stern’s Association of Investment Management & Research