AS WE MOVE FURTHER INTO 2015, it’s time to focus on progress and momentum in all aspects of our Future of Finance project, which highlights the importance of putting investors first. When we reflect on our accomplishments as charterholders and continue our efforts to make a difference, we can see the meaningful and long-lasting impact we have on the financial industry’s corporate culture.

We began the month of January with our Annual Charter Recognition event celebrating our new charterholders, always an uplifting and inspirational event. Beth Hamilton-Keen, Vice-Chair of the CFA Institute Board of Governors, gave the keynote speech. She stressed the value of the charter and the importance of distinguishing ourselves, going forward, as analysts who pursue excellence within a framework of solid ethics and high standards.

In late January, CFA Society Toronto held a thought-provoking half-day conference, Getting to Alpha: The Competitive Advantage of Gender Strategy. The event explored top research on gender diversity and its correlation to increased financial gain. We hosted a number of keynote speakers and panelists who spoke about the “business case” application of gender diversity within the workplace. We were extremely fortunate to receive strong support for this event from many of our financial community partners, who are also committed to cultivating positive change on behalf of their shareholders, clients, and employees.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day this March, I am pleased that we had an opportunity to present this type of game-changing event to our membership. It was designed from an analytical perspective to investigate the outcome of how some companies with gender-diverse senior managements and boards were outperforming those without. It would appear that the topic of women in leadership is quickly progressing from conversational theory to applied competitive strategy, and I’m proud that CFA Society Toronto was able to participate and be recognized for this effort.

Spring launches our conference season, and I’m pleased to report that we will continue to offer you leading-edge topics and highly sought-after speakers to help educate and engage.

Wishing you all the best as we welcome spring here in Toronto. 

Sincerely,
Sue Lemon, CFA
CEO, CFA Society Toronto