Investment Conference Schedule | Conference Sponsors | Conference Program (pdf) | Back

download the SWS Conference Program (pdf)

Smart Woman Securities Investment Conference: Diversifying Our Talents, Maximizing Our Return

schedule of events

The Conference consisted of two panels and workshops that catered to women who want to learn more about investing, both on a personal and a professional level.  While the panels allowed students to interact with professionals in various roles within investment careers, the workshops sought to teach students tangible skills that will allow them to gain more knowledge about investment topics.  Following the panels and workshops, there was a networking reception for students interested in professional opportunities and internships.

Panel/Workshop Breakout #1 (4:15 - 5:00 pm)

Personal Finance Panel: Not only those women intent on pursuing careers in finance should be interested in the benefits of investing, as financial security is easier to obtain the younger you start. Even using an instrument as simple as an IRA can allow you to start saving early and let your investment compound over the years. On the personal investment panel, we will hear from women who understand the importance of investing. Whether you wish to become a lawyer, professor, artist, doctor, or something else, investing is important, so come learn about how these women managed to balance their careers as well as their money.

Gayle Buff

Founder and CEO
Buff Capital Management
 
Ms. Buff is founder and CEO of Buff Capital Management, an investment advisory firm. She is also director of 111 Hyde Street, a CFA Institute approved provider of professional education for money managers. Over the past 15 years, Ms. Buff has taught undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students in finance programs at colleges and universities. She is currently adjunct professor of finance at Northeastern University and has taught the CFA review course for the Boston Security Analysts Society since 1997.

 

Ms. Buff has been selected by Medical Economics magazine as one of its “Top 150 Advisors for Doctors” for the past 10 years, and she has been widely quoted by a broad range of media sources, including Kiplinger’s, ABCNews.com, and the Wall Street Journal. She also chairs the CFA Institute Private Wealth Advisory Committee and is a director and former president of the Boston Security Analysts Society.

 

Ms. Buff also holds an MBA. In her former career, she was a clinical specialist with an MS in psychiatric nursing.

 

 

Meg Greer

Second VP – Wealth Management, Financial Advisor

Portfolio Manager, Smith Barney Div., Citigroup Global Markets

 

Margaret (Meg) Greer is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and holds the degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School. She joined Smith Barney as a Financial Consultant in 1997, and has thirty years of individual investing, corporate and small business experience. Meg is a frequent public speaker and has appeared on “Good Morning America,” “Good Day New York,” The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes Magazine and Money Magazine. In addition to her business success, Meg is committed to community service and education. She has served as Vice Chairman of the Wellesley MA School Committee and an elected member of the Wellesley MA Town Meeting. She has been a Board Member and Troop Leader for Patriots’ Trail Girl Scout Council, with whom she created the Smith Barney Financial Camp for Girls. Meg lives in Wellesley, with her husband, Gordon, has two grown children, and works in the Waltham, MA, Smith Barney office.

 

 

Jean Hammond

Tech Entrepreneur and Angel Investor

 

Jean Hammond is an angel investor usually focusing on early stage high tech start-ups.  An active investor, she adds marketing staffing when needed to fully assess or exploit the opportunity.  Jean is a co-coordinator of Golden Seeds - Boston (focused on investing in women-managed businesses) and a member of Launchpad and Hub Angels.  Jean also serves on the boards of The Technology Capital Network and Thompson Island Outward Bound. Jean is serial entrepreneur with over 20 years experience in the high-tech industry. Her entrepreneurial activities include managing, JAM Technologies, as interim CEO. She founded Quarry Technologies with a core team from the BBN Technologies SuperRouter project, serving as Quarry’s start-up CEO.  Jean also co-founded AXON Networks, a developer of network management applications.  Following 3Com’s acquisition of AXON, Jean was responsible for 3Com's WAN strategy.  She earned an M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management, and a B.S. from Boston University.

 

Jean plays or played an active board level role with a number of her Boston area investments including: Network Subscriptions, International Strategies, JAM Technologies, Home Portfolio, Mobile Secure, iTeam, and EdTech Networks, Intouch Systems, and ZipCar. 

 

 

Preston McSwain
Senior Vice President, Director of Neuberger Berman Asset Management
Neuberger Berman

 

Preston McSwain founded the Private Wealth management office for Neuberger Berman in Boston in 1998. He acts as an advisor to clients coordinating an integrated wealth plan across both liquid and illiquid assets, and is responsible for fiduciary management and client service for Neuberger's high-net-worth investment management and trust clients in New England. Mr. McSwain has been a frequent speaker on investment management, asset allocation and trust issues. He has made presentations and given seminars on various investment management and trust planning topics for organizations such as the CCC Alliance, Institute for Private Investors, and regional estate planning councils.

 

Mr. McSwain has over 17 years experience in the private asset management and institutional investment management field. He earned a B.S. in Finance with a concentration in investment management from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and was recently honored as the business school's top graduate under 40.

 

Mr. McSwain is an active member in community and charitable organizations. His particular area of focus is education. He has served on the board of City on a Hill public charter school and most recently founded a new public charter school in Mattapan, Boston Preparatory Academy. Mr. McSwain is currently the President of the Boston Preparatory Foundation. In addition to his educational activities, Mr. McSwain has served on various boards and fundraising committees for the Wang Center for the Performing Arts, Community Servings, Aids Action Committee, USO of New England and the Children's Hospital of Boston. He also is a member of the Business Associates Club, has served on the Executive Leadership Committee for the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and worked on membership development for the Boston Chamber of Commerce.

 

Mr. McSwain lives with his wife Susan and son Jack in Chestnut Hill, MA. They are active in outdoor activities and enjoy sailing, running, tennis, and cycling.

Professional Finance Workshop: You think that you are interested in a career in investing, but what really does a research analyst or a portfolio manager do? How do you look at a stock? Analyze the company?Diagnose problem areas? Scout out areas for growth and opportunity? During this workshop, we’ll walk you through a case study of a company so you’ll get a sense of exactly what an investment professional does on a daily basis.By the end of the workshop, we’re sure you’ll be excited to start researching companies immediately!

Workshop Leader: Karen Howland, Lehman Brothers will go through a case study, talk participants through researching a stock and what professionals do

 

Karen Howland, CFA, is a senior equity analyst following a variety of small-cap sectors, including healthy lifestyle, food retailing and convenience stores.  Karen joined Lehman Brothers in 2004 as an associate on the Institutional Investor-ranked food and drug retailing team and assumed coverage of her own sector in 2006.  Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Karen worked as an Associate Director in UBS Healthcare Investment Banking team.  Karen earned a B.S.M. in Finance from Tulane University. 

back to top

Panel/Workshop Breakout #2 (5:15 - 6:00 pm)

Professional Finance Panel: So, you know that you are interested in finance and want to go into a career in investing, but what’s next? What opportunities are out there? What exactly is a hedge fund, long/short investing, private equity, or other investment-related careers? We’ve invited seasoned investors to share their career experiences in the world of investing and finance, and they’ll be able to enlighten you with their experiences so that you can make more informed decisions about yours.

Mary Austin

Vice President and Portfolio Manager

Pax World High Yield Fund

 

Mary Austin, CFA, is Vice President and Portfolio Manager of the Pax World High Yield Fund. Mary has been at Pax since the inception of the high yield fund in 1999, starting as an analyst. Prior to joining Pax World, Mary worked for Salomon Smith Barney as a sell-side equity analyst covering small to mid-cap specialty pharmaceutical and medical technology companies. Mary has been active in the investment industry since 1990. She earned a Bachelors of Science in Public Accounting from Pace University. She is a member of both the New York Society and the Boston Society of Security Analysts.

 

 

Jane Nelson

Executive Vice President

Sankaty Advisors

 

Ms. Nelson joined Sankaty Advisors in 2007. Previously, Ms. Nelson worked at Cambridge Associates LLC for two years as an investment consultant. Prior to Cambridge Associates, Ms. Nelson was a Managing Director at ING Capital Advisors, LLC, responsible for a wide range of industries and bank loan workouts as well as a member of the U.S. and European Credit Committees. Ms. Nelson was also a Vice President at Eaton Vance Management in the loan group, covering a wide range of industries. In addition, Ms. Nelson was a Vice President at 3i Capital Advisors, LLC, a U.K. later-stage venture capital firm, investing in media, consumer and retail. Ms. Nelson received an M.B.A. from Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a B.A. from Smith College.

 

 

 

Joel Tillinghast

Portfolio Manager

Fidelity Investments

 

Joel Tillinghast is a vice president and portfolio manager for Fidelity Investments, the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans and a leading online brokerage firm.  He manages Fidelity Low-Priced Stock Fund and co-manages another fund available exclusively to Canadian investors. Mr. Tillinghast joined Fidelity in 1986 as an analyst covering the tobacco, coal, natural gas, personal care products and appliance industries.  He later served as portfolio assistant on Fidelity OTC Portfolio.  Mr. Tillinghast began managing Fidelity Low-Priced Stock Fund in 1989. 

 

Before joining Fidelity, Mr. Tillinghast spent four years as a financial futures research analyst at Drexel Burnham Lambert in Chicago.  He began his investment career in 1980 as an equity analyst with Value Line Investment Survey.   Mr. Tillinghast received a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Wesleyan University, in Connecticut, in 1980 and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 1983. Mr. Tillinghast is a Chartered Financial Analyst.  Mr. Tilinghast was recently named "Stock Picker of the Decade" by Market Watch.

 

Elizabeth Vale

Managing Director

Morgan Stanley

 

Elizabeth Vale is a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley where she has worked since 1992 in Asset Management. She speaks to clients whose assets total $80 billion invested in US stock funds, about the stock market, the economy and asset allocation. Previous to that, she was a Portfolio Manager and Analyst at The Philadelphia National Bank which became part of Wachovia Bank. She was also a radio reporter and newspaper columnist.

 

She was educated at Harvard and the London School of Economics, and has the Chartered Financial Analyst(CFA) designation, as well as the Series 3, 6, 7, 63 and 65 exams.

 

Elizabeth was also a Legislative Assistant for Senator John Heinz on the Senate Banking and Finance Committees. She is on the Harvard Alumni and City Year Philadelphia boards, and is married with two children.

 

Personal Finance Workshop: Do you understand that investing is important, but don’t know where to start? Does investing, the vocabulary, or the technical knowledge seem daunting?In this workshop, we’ll break down investing into a step-by-step process, where we’ll provide concrete examples on how YOU as a college student can save and invest your money for the future.We’ll discuss what opportunities you have now, and what you can do to manage your money as you start to earn it in the real world.

Workshop Leader: Belina Fuchs, President and Founder, Own Your Money LLC

Belinda Fuchs is the President and Founder of Own Your Money LLC, a financial coaching firm offering educational courses, one-on-one coaching, and corporate training programs. She has a mission: To inspire ownership and action for financial success to open doors and create a truly "rich" life. Previous to Own Your Money, Ms. Fuchs worked for 15 years in the corporate finance field, as a consultant for Passio Consulting, Divisional Controller for L3 Communications, and Business Advisory Practice Manager at Arthur Andersen LLP. She is certified as a Public Accountant (CPA), Coach, Trainer, and Neuro-linguistic Programming Practitioner. Ms. Fuchs graduated summa cum laude with a BS in accounting from Boston College, and currently serves as Treasurer of Nishmat Hayyim Jewish Meditation Collaborative and on the Young Leadership Division Board of Directors for Combined Jewish Philanthropies.

back to top

networking reception (6:00 - 6:45 pm)

The Networking Reception allowed students to interact with panelists, workshop leaders, and companies recruiting on campus to learn about more opportunities within the investment and finance industries. The Reception featured companies that sponsored the Conference.

Companies in attendance:

• Sankaty Advisors
• Lehman Brothers
• Morgan Stanley
• Fidelity Investments

conference sponsors

We would like to thank our Platinum Sponsor for the SWS Investment Conference, Sankaty Advisors, a member of the Bain Capital group.

Sankaty Advisors, the debt investment group of Bain Capital, is one of the nation’s leading buy-side private investment management firms.  With over $25 billion of committed capital, Sankaty Advisors acts as a debt hedge fund, investing in a wide variety of securities, including high-yield bonds, distressed debt, mezzanine debt, levered loans, convertible bonds, structured products, and select equity investments.  Through our numerous funds, we have the ability to invest in every level of a company’s capital structure from secured debt to equity, and can also provide capital to growing companies with unique financing needs.

Our investment process is characterized by detailed business and financial analysis and a culture of vigorous debate.  We combine a consulting-based approach to industry, competitor and business analysis with an in-depth examination of a target company’s financial performance and capital structure.  Our goal is to select the best industries, the best companies, and the best relative value among the many securities each company offers.

Sankaty has a world-class team of over 65 professionals with extensive experience analyzing and managing high yield investments.  Our headquarters is in Boston, with additional locations in Chicago and London.

also thank you to:

• Harvard Corporate Founding Partner: The Lehman Brothers WILL Network
• Harvard 2007-08 Silver Corporate Partner: Morgan Stanley
• Friends: Fidelity Investments, Merrill Lynch CFO Program

back to top