Agenda

10:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. – Check in. 

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

11:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. – Opening Remarks 

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

Dr. Tarek Zaher, Professor of Finance/Co-Founder and Managing Director of SMIFC, Scott College of Business, Indiana State University 

Dr. Terry Daugherty, Dean, College of Business, University of Akron 

Session 1: 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Panel Discussion: The Modern Analyst: Fusing Fundamentals and Technicals to Optimize Investment Outcomes

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

Tom Bruni, CMT, CPA, Director, Community & Content, CMT Association

Buff Dormeier, CMT, Partner and Chief Technical Analyst, Kingsview Partners

Session 2: 12:30 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. – Sifter: A Faculty-Built Platform for Student Investment Funds 

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

Matt Lang, Full Teaching Professor, UC Santa Barbara, Lecturer, Stanford University, Co-Founder, Sifter

Bree Lang, Full Teaching Professor, UC Santa Barbara, Co-Founder, Sifter 

12:45 p.m. – 12:55 p.m. – Break 

Session 3: 12:55 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. – Rate Cuts? Consumer Spending? Inflation? What’s Ahead for The Economy? 

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

Distinguished Speaker: Lauren Henderson, Senior Economist and Director at Stifel 

Session 4: 1:50 p.m. - 2:50 p.m. – The U.S. Economic Outlook  

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

Distinguished Speaker: Daniel Sullivan, Executive Vice President and Executive Director of the Economic Mobility Project 

2:50 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – Break 

Session 5: 3:00 p.m. – 3:50 p.m. – Panel Discussion, The Garrett Companies: The Housing Supply Crisis – Investment Thesis 

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

Rob Martinson, the President of The Garrett Companies 

Chris Hentschel, Senior Director of Investments 

Nathan Branaman, Capital Markets Analyst 

Session 6: 3:50 p.m. - 4:40 p.m. - The Operator's Seat: How Private Equity Really Creates Value 

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

Bob Girton, Managing Partner, August Grace Advisory

Session 7: 4:40 p.m. - 6:20 p.m. –SMIFC Teams Poster Session Competition 

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

4:40 p.m. – 5:10 p.m. – Poster Session Judges Evaluation Visit 

5:10 p.m. - 5:40 p.m. – Poster Session Judges Meeting  

5:10 p.m. - 6:20 p.m. – Poster Session Students Visit 

5:10 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Faculty and Partner Appreciation Reception sponsored by The Garrett Companies

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Lake Shore Drive Boardroom 2nd Floor

Session 8: 6:20 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. – Dinner– Distinguished Speaker-Finding Your Path

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor  

Caleb J. Callahan, CFP, President and Chief Operation Officer, Valmark Financial Group 

Session 9: 8:30 a.m. – 9:20 a.m. – Panel Discussion, CFA Society, Chicago 

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

Blake Shaffer, CFA, Director, JLL Capital Markets 

Josiah Hood, CFA, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, Northern Trust in Chicago 

Grant Podolski, CFA, Manager of Portfolio Construction for Constellation’s Investment Office 

Session 10: 9:20 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. – CFA Program Updates for 2027 and How to Succeed in an AI-Driven World 

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

Rob Langrick, Chief Product Advocate, CFA Institute 

10:10 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. – Break 

Session 11: 10:15 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. – Panel Discussion, Morningstar Research Services LLC,  

AI disruption across the technology sector 

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

Eric Compton, CFA, Director, Director of Technology Equity Research at Morningstar. 

Session 12: 10:50 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Panel discussion: Presentation by Faculty and Students 

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

Moderator and Speaker: Brad Taylor – Finance Faculty & Michigan Finance Scholars Magnusson Director, Central Michigan University

Group 1: 30 Minutes

-Jeanean J. Davis Street, Dean, Ricciardi College of Business, Bridgewater State University (The performance of Bridgewater State University’s Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Portfolio (as compared to our traditional S&P 500 Portfolio) and/or the endowed scholarship fund that we established using portfolio gains.)

- Haley Burton, Associate Professor - Lubbock Christian University (History of LCU’s SMIF)

- Peter R. Crabb, Professor - Northwest Nazarene University (Investment strategies and student involvement) 

Group 2: 30 Minutes

- B. Paul Choi, Professor - Howard University

- Darin Weatherhead, Howard University Student 

- Roderick Batiste, Adjunct Professor - Morehouse College

- Kael Cotton, Senior Investment Analyst, Project ACCLAIM, Morehouse College Student

Session 13: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. – Lunch, Keynote Speaker: Eric Garrett, Founder and CEO of The Garrett Companies and Announcement of Competition’s Awards Sponsored by The Garrett Companies. 

Hyatt Regency McCormick, Regency Ballroom Foyer 2nd Floor 

1:30 p.m. Closing Remarks   

Dr. Tarek Zaher, Professor of Finance/Co-Founder and Managing Director of SMIFC, Scott College of Business, Indiana State University 

Session 13: 1:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. – Visit to FRB Chicago and CBOE  

1:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Check out and Travel to FRB 

1:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Check out and Travel to CBOE