As summer approaches, so does our 2017 fiscal year and the end of my tenure as chair of the board for CFA Society Toronto. It was a great privilege to work with the Society’s board members and volunteers. With the support of our dedicated staff, we were able to further promote the CFA designation in the investment community and to set new milestones.

Over the past fiscal year, we’ve seen a significant increase in our membership. We welcomed our newest CFA charterholders in February at our largest CFA Charter Recognition event thus far. Paul Smith, CFA, CEO of CFA Institute, announced in his speech that CFA Society Toronto is now officially the largest society of CFA charterholders globally.

We’ve also seen great progress in our efforts in shaping the Future of Finance project. With the guidance of our mentoring volunteers, a student team from the University of Waterloo brought home the global championship from this year’s CFA Institute Research Challenge. This is the second time a Canadian team has won the Regionals and the first time a Canadian team has won the global competition. It brings me great joy to see our membership actively involved with students and sharing their knowledge with the leaders of tomorrow’s investment community.

We’ve also increased our efforts in building our visibility and further developing our reputation within the investment community. Over the course of the fiscal year, we’ve promoted the Society through radio, the PATH (Toronto’s underground walkway), various traditional and digital publications, and social media. Our efforts have seen great returns through the increase in our job postings, new Affinity Program partners, and a stronger digital footprint, to name but a few.

It was a great honour to serve as your board chair, and I look forward to further serving the membership in my role on the board.