Passing the Level III exam is a big deal; in fact most of us probably remember where we were when we got the news. And so this issue we celebrate the achievement of our newest charterholders, starting with photos from Toronto CFA Society’s CFA charter recognition reception. We’ve also profiled three highly accomplished Toronto CFA Society members who recently received their designations –Khalid Elhaj, CFA, who is Manager, Financial Analysis and Treasury at Northgate Minerals Corporation; Nora Jones, CFA, a private banker with RBC Wealth Management, and Taj Sidhu, CFA, who is Associate, Quantitative Equities at OMERS Capital Markets.

New in this issue – more and more the role of advocacy is taking centre stage, so we’re introducing Advocacy Corner as a new section that will explore different issues as they arise. To kick things off we have updates from two individuals who are spearheading formal initiatives on behalf of members: Peter Rusheleau, CFA who is chair of the External Relations and Advocacy Committee of Toronto CFA Society, and Ross Hallett, CFA, who is chair of the Canadian Advocacy Council for Canadian CFA Institute Societies.

As for investment themes, we’re focused on interest rates this issue. Justin Taheri, CFA has written a summary of the presentations by Peter Hall and Avery Shenfeld at Toronto CFA Society’s annual interest rate forecast lunch. Both speakers agreed that interest rates are likely to rise, so we’ve included an article by Sadhana Valia, CFA and Lori Marchildon, CFA of HIM Monegy that shows why high yield is gaining popularity as a strategic part of a balanced asset mix.

With the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) officially shaking up financial reporting in Canada in January 2011, Karine Benzacar has provided an overview on how the basic look and feel of financial statements will change substantially.

Finally, Toronto’s Books for Business has compiled a list of ten of the more interesting investment books published recently.