June 21, 2023 | 7:00 AM - 1:00 PM  |  100 High Street, 9th Floor, Boston, MA

CFA Society Boston is pleased to announce a new thematic Spring Half-Day Conference to complement our Annual Full-Day Sustainable Investing Fall Conference. Join us on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, for the inaugural Half-Day conference which focuses on ESG considerations and integrations in the Fixed Income space. The content will provide both experienced and novice ESG practitioners with an opportunity to hear about the emergent methodologies, regulations and dynamics shaping the integration of ESG into Fixed Income, securities, markets, products and services. 

AGENDA

07:00 AM - 07:50 AM		Registration and Networking Continental Breakfast
07:50 AM - 08:00 AM		Welcome and Introductions
08:00 AM - 8:45 AM		Keynote: Chaos to Calm: Discerning the signals from noise in Fixed Income ESG Investing
		Colleen Denzler, CFA, Vice President, Loomis, Sayles & Company, Head of ESG
		For ESG fixed income investors the environment has become a sea of chaos, caused by changing regulations, political division, greenwashing fear and changing client demands. Finding the signal in all this noise is critical to managing through these times.  This session will focus on helping you consider where your firm and you are on this journey, how that influences your approach to the major ESG fixed income issues and offers insights into what we can prepare for in the future.
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM		State of Regulatory and Labeling Environments
		This panel aims to unpack how ESG issuance and product labelling regimes as well as how regulation and politics are influencing the promulgation of ESG integration in the fixed income space.
		Panelists:
		Thomas Englerth, Associate Director, Sustainable Finance
		Sunny Qu, ESG Product Manager, Bloomberg
		Patrick J. Schena, PhD., Tufts University, BLR Professor of Practice
		Brian Colantropo, Head of Research Solutions Product, ISS ESG
10:00 AM - 10:15 AM		Break
10:15 AM - 11:15 AM		Issuer and Institutional Investor Discussion
		Given the political and regulatory backdrop and evolving client demand, we’ll discuss the current practice and challenges for institutional asset managers as they integrate ESG within their fixed income strategies based on proprietary research and third-party data, delinquencies specific to the fixed income space, and the role labeled bonds can play. We’ll also hear from a corporate bond issuer regarding their experience with a recent ESG-labeled bond issuance and reactions from market participants.
		Panelists:
		Katja Dunlap, ESG Fixed Income Research Analyst, Brown Advisory
		Elizabeth Melville, CFA, Portfolio and Treasury Strategy, Office of the CIO, State Street
		Seamus Ryan, CFA, Principal and Director, Taxable Bond Research, GW&K Investment Management
		Inga Smolyar, VP-Senior Credit Officer, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.
11:20 AM - 12:00 PM		Private Client, Endowment, and Foundation Discussion
		We will discuss the challenges of ESG fixed income investment for “end investors” across the private client, endowment and foundation landscape.  This session is focused on manager research and asset allocation to achieve values alignment for different client types.  It should complete the chain of sustainable fixed income considerations starting with regulators, issuers and institutional investors in earlier panels.
		Panelists:
		Eileen Durey, CFP, Senior Investment Officer and Head of Sustainable Investing, Hemenway Trust Company LLC
		Rob Fernandez, CFA, Director of ESG Research, Breckinridge Capital Advisors
		Scott Perry, CAIA, Head of OCIO Investment Strategy, NEPC
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM		Networking and Lunch

Registration Open

Registration Fees

Member	$125
Candidate Member	$100
Student Member	$75
Non-Member	$150

 

Register Now

Deadline to register is Friday, June 16, 2023.

Sponsorship Opportunities

We are excited to announce new opportunities for firms to engage and support our Sustainable Investing initiative. Sponsorship opportunities for the 2023 Sustainable Investing Full-Day Fall Conference are available now so you can plan and ensure participation in what has become a sell-out event. NEW Sponsor+ Packages are available and include sponsorship of the 2023 Sustainable Investing Full-Day Conference as well as the new CFA Society Boston Half-Day Spring Conference.

Sponsorship Information

The deadline to purchase Sponsor+ Packages is June 14, 2023.

Keynote Speaker

Colleen Denzler, CFA, Vice President, Head of ESG, Loomis, Sayles & Company

Colleen Denzler, CFAI is a vice president of Loomis, Sayles & Company and head of ESG. She is responsible for advancing the firm’s ESG initiatives, supporting sustainability efforts as part of Loomis Sayles’ own governance, ensuring investment teams have access to ESG data and research, and helping to provide solutions for our clients’ increasing ESG needs. Colleen joined Loomis Sayles in 2022 from Smith Capital Investors, where she led ESG integration efforts. Prior to this, she provided strategic consulting services to asset managers, including educational content on ESG and sustainable investment for the advisor and institutional marketplace. Previously, Colleen was chief investment officer of First Affirmative Financial Network and president of its industry-leading 
SRI Conference. Before that, she was a senior portfolio manager and head of money markets at American Century Investments and later the global head of fixed income strategy and a macro analyst at Janus Henderson. Colleen began her career as an ESG-focused portfolio manager and analyst at Calvert Asset Management. She earned a BS in finance from Radford University. Colleen holds FINRA licenses 7 and 66 as well as certifications from the Task Force on ClimateRelated Financial Disclosures

State of Regulatory and Labeling Environments Panelists

Brian Colantropo, Head of Research Solutions Product, ISS ESG

Brian Colantropo is Head of Research Solutions Product at ISS ESG, the sustainable investment arm of Institutional Shareholder Services.  He is responsible for building environmental and social data solutions which facilitate understanding of, and investment in, ESG themes.  Based in Boston, Brian manages ISS ESG’s Ratings & Ranking, Climate, Biodiversity, Screening & Controversies, and Fixed Income product suites.

Prior to joining ISS ESG, Brian spent sixteen years at Bloomberg LP in a variety of capacities most recently managing Index & Classifications and ESG product.  He is a graduate of Union College in Schenectady, New York.  

Thomas Englerth, Associate Director, Sustainable Finance

Thomas Englerth is an Associate Director in S&P Global Rating’s Sustainable Finance practice focused on ESG analysis, sustainable finance market engagament, and supporting the integration of ESG considerations into credit analysis.

Thomas holds a B.A. in International Business from Goucher College.  

Sunny Qu, ESG Product Manager, Bloomberg

Sunny Qu is responsible for Sustainable Finance Enterprise Data product servicing customers with systematic data needs across buy side & sell side markets. This includes oversight of the flagship Sustainable Fixed Income product plus reported ESG data, proprietary ESG scores and third-party sustainability datasets. Sunny has deep data expertise across 15-years in various quantitative and research data roles both at Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters. Sunny holds dual MSc in Environmental and Development Economics from University of Oslo and World Economy from Fudan University. She also holds CFA and FRM certificates.

 

Patrick J. Schena, PhD., BLR Professor of Practice, Tufts University

Patrick J. Schena PhD is BLR Professor of Practice and Director of the Finance Minor Program in the Department of Economic, Tufts, University and Adjunct Professor of International Business at The Fletcher School at Tufts, where he teaches finance and investments.   Since 2009, he has served as Co-Head of SovereigNet, The Fletcher Network for Sovereign Wealth and Global Capital.  In addition, he is an Associate-in-Research at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University.  In parallel to his academic work in finance, which has included teaching in several Boston-area MBA programs, Dr. Schena has 30 years of industry experience in finance, investments, operations, and technology management with a disciplinary focus in asset management. His professional work has included finance and consultancy positions at Fortune 500 companies, as well as co-founding and serving in executive roles –CFO, COO, and CEO - in several start-up businesses servicing the global asset management industry.  Dr Schena holds a PhD from the Fletcher School with a disciplinary concentration in international finance and capital markets, a MA in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, and MA and BA degrees from Boston College.

Issuer and Institutional Investor Discussion Panelists

Seamus Ryan, CFA, Principal and Director, Taxable Bond Research, GW&K Investment Management

Seamus manages the credit research function within GW&K’s taxable bond team. He is responsible for analyzing credits and ensuring that ESG factors are integrated into the firm's portfolio management decisions and trading strategies. He also provides credit research coverage on the Basic Industry and Capital Goods sectors for both the investment grade and high yield market segments. Seamus is a member of the firm's Investment and ESG Committees. Prior to joining the firm, Seamus was a director at Standard & Poor's leading a team of analysts responsible for covering investment grade and speculative grade rated issuers in the Chemicals, Oils and Gas sector. He also covered a range of issuers in the Packaging and Capital Goods industries. Previously, he served as an analyst for Financial Engines, Inc., Detwiler Fenton & Co., and The United States Department of Energy. Seamus received an AB from Harvard College, and an MBA with Distinction from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. He is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Boston.

Katja Dunlap, Brown Advisory, Fixed Income ESG Research Analyst

Katja is a Fixed Income ESG Research Analyst at Brown Advisory. She is responsible for ESG integration across Brown Advisory’s global fixed income platform, inclusive of both taxable and tax-exempt strategies. More specifically, she covers industrials and housing across corporates, securitized, and municipals. Prior to her role at Brown Advisory, Katja worked as a research analyst at Capital Advisors Group where she was responsible for monitoring and making investment recommendations. Katja graduated from Hamilton College in 2018 with a bachelor of arts in Economics. Katja received her Certificate in Advanced Management from Babson College.

 

 

Inga Smolyar, VP-Senior Credit Officer, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.

Inga is a member of the ABS team at Moody’s, covering a number of sectors, including aircraft ABS, UCRC ABS, and tobacco settlement ABS, among others.  She is also the global ESG co-ordinator for the Structured finance group at Moody’s.  She is involved in methodology development and is a committee chairperson for the ABS commercial and esoteric team.  Inga holds a BA from New York University, an MBA from Said Business School at Oxford University, and a JD from Brooklyn Law School. 

 

 

Elizabeth Melville, CFA, Portfolio and Treasury Strategy, Office of the CIO, State Street

Liz Melville, CFA covers key pieces of Global Treasury strategy, including capital markets issuance and Investment Portfolio asset allocation, at State Street.  In addition to her expertise in capital markets and banking strategy, her background includes portfolio management and credit research across various securitized products sectors, including  agency and non-agency MBS and CMBS and consumer ABS.  Liz is a CFA and graduated with a finance concentration from the Questrom School of Management at Boston University. 

Private Client, Endowment, and Foundation Discussion Panelists

Eileen Durey, CFP, Senior Investment Officer and Head of Sustainable Investing, Hemenway Trust Company LLC

Eileen Durey develops tailored investment strategies for high net worth individuals, families, foundations and endowments. Eileen has more than 20 years of experience performing research and due diligence across multi-asset classes, including traditional equities, socially responsible/impact investing, and private equity/early stage and venture capital allocation.

Working closely with the Investment and Trust committees and Hemenway Trust Company's chief investment officer, Eileen assists with the oversight of investment portfolios, recommends portfolio changes and monitors existing holdings. She develops and integrates financial plans that are aligned with the client’s current and future goals and risk tolerance. Eileen also heads the firm's environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and counsels clients on ESG and impact Investing.

Before joining Hemenway Trust Company, Eileen was a portfolio manager and research analyst at Boston-based investment management firms. Eileen is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™.

Rob Fernandez, CFA, Director of ESG Research, Breckinridge Capital Advisors

Rob is director, environmental, social and governance (ESG) research at Breckinridge Capital Advisors, an investment advisor based in Boston. He is also a member of the firm’s Sustainability Committee and Stewardship Committee. In his role, Rob leads Breckinridge’s ongoing ESG integration and engagement efforts, regularly contributes thought leadership and performs corporate credit analysis. Rob is a member of the Board of Directors for the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley and a member of the CFA Institute's ESG Technical Committee. He holds a B.S. from Boston College, an MBA from the Boston University School of Management, and a graduate-level certificate in sustainability from the Harvard University Extension School. He is a CFA® charterholder and is an FSA Credential holder.

 

Scott Perry, CAIA, Head of OCIO Investment Strategy, NEPC

Scott joined NEPC in 2006, with investment experience dating back to 2001. Scott is a member of NEPC’s Endowment and Foundation consulting practice and has expertise in modeling and implementation of spending based asset allocation studies, portfolio construction and the evaluation and selection of alternative investment managers. He chairs the firm’s Discovery Committee which is focused on identifying niche investment ideas, is a senior member of the Alternative Assets Committee and is a senior member of the Impact Investing Committee. He is a significant contributor to the firm’s Impact investing efforts, which include strategy development and manager research. He has helped clients in assessing SRI, ESG, and thematic strategies that best align with their respective missions. Scott is also a member of NEPC’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Scott has authored white papers on Impact investing and the Endowment Model. In 2016, Scott was recognized by CIO magazine in their edition titled “The Knowledge Brokers” as one of the world’s most influential investment consultants. Scott is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, where he generally is asked to speak about the Endowment Model, Alternative Investments and Impact Investing. He is frequently featured and quoted in industry publications including Bloomberg, Institutional Investor & Pensions & Investments.

Prior to joining NEPC, Scott served as an analyst at Ashton Partners and Putnam Investments. Scott received his M.B.A. from Babson College and his B.S.B.A. in Management from Bucknell University. Scott became a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designee in 2008. Scott is on the Leadership Council of Year Up Boston and is a board member of “e” Inc. an environmental science learning and action center.