THE YEAR 2016 HAS COME AND GONE, but before we look ahead to 2017, we must take time to reflect on the accomplishments we’ve achieved at the Society.

We started 2016 by welcoming 639 new charterholders to the Society at our Annual Charter Recognition event. We celebrated this milestone achievement with their friends and families and recognized the hard work, determination, and sacrifice required to successfully complete all three exams. This year, we brought back old traditions by kicking off the ceremony with a bagpiper marching in all the recent graduates. And, joining us at the event were CFA Institute’s Paul Smith, CFA, President & CEO, and John Bowman, CFA, Managing Director, Americas.

Our University Relations Committee globally elevated the Society as a thought leader in the investment community by facilitating and providing mentors for the student teams at the 2016 CFA Institute Annual Research Challenge. Each year, universities from across Ontario submit teams to compete, and four schools are selected to move on to the local level challenge in Toronto. This year, the University of Waterloo—with the expert guidance of our University Relations Committee volunteers—competed against business schools from across the globe in the Finals in Chicago. The students and their mentors brought home the global championship for the first time since the competition was created in 2006. To put things into perspective, they competed against more than 4,000 students from 70 countries, in 99 local Societies.

Throughout the year, our programming committees dedicated their time outside of work hours to put together high-calibre and relevant events. This included networking with and bringing in the investment community’s most influential practitioners and academics. In June, the Continuing Education Committee recognized a need to educate and inform the investment community on emerging technologies that affect the way we conduct business. The committee organized and hosted our first FinTech Conference at the Toronto Board of Trade. The event was sold out within two weeks of its announcement and then sold out again within three weeks after it was upgraded to a larger event space. Thank you to all our volunteers from both our programming and non-programming committees for making 2016 a success. Your dedication, professionalism, and commitment to bring forth new and thought-provoking content to the broader investment community are greatly appreciated.

In October, we hosted our 59th Annual Investment Dinner. Joining us this year at our annual flagship event was Catherine Murray; Barry Ritholtz; Howard Marks, CFA; Phil Tetlock; and Michael Mauboussin. This year, we changed the event format: we heard where highly acclaimed investors are putting their money and gleaned lessons from their research and successful careers. Understanding that forecasting is still a component of investing, we invited Tetlock to give a presentation on the science of prediction and how we might improve our odds of success. The evening’s entertainment included a live jazz band and an opportunity to meet colleagues from various organizations and practitioners from a broad range of asset classes.

Looking back at our accomplishments this year brings me a great sense of excitement for what’s to come in 2017. On behalf of CFA Society Toronto, I’d like to extend best wishes to you and your family during the holiday season.