Bahrain CFA Society holds first annual forecast dinner

The event featured presentations on the outlook for international and regional financial markets, and forecasts for select asset classes, by three renowned experts. It was a glittering function that received an outstanding response from the local investment community.

The speakers at the event were Mr. Hans-Guenter Redeker, Prof. Peter Garber, and Mr. Haissam Arabi. Mr. Redeker is the Global Head of FX Strategy at BNP Paribas, and he covered the foreign exchange and commodities markets. Prof. Garber is the Global Strategist at Deutsche Bank, and he focused on global fixed income and equities. Mr. Arabi is the Managing Director of SHUAA Capital PSC, and his presentation covered the Middle East markets. All three speakers are well known in the banking and investment business and they have frequently featured on business television programmes aired by channels such as BBC, CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg. The event was sponsored by BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank.

Besides the presentations by the keynote speakers, there was a forecast quiz where members and guests were given forecast ballots to enter their year-end forecasts for key markets at 31st December 2007. The winners of the quiz will be announced at the Second Annual Forecast Dinner in January 2008.

Mr. Khalil Nooruddin, the Society President, made the welcome speech and Mr. William Khoury, Vice President, was the moderator for the Question & Answer session. The event was organized and chaired by Mr. Austin Sequeira, Board Member.

The Bahrain Investment Professionals Society was officially inaugurated in June 2006, and is affiliated to the CFA Institute in the USA. The CFA Institute is a global professional organisation that awards the CFA designation, and leads the investment industry by setting the highest standards of ethics and professional excellence and vigorously advocating fair and transparent capital markets. The CFA designation has become known as the gold standard of professional credentials within the global investment community. Around the world, employers and investors recognise the CFA designation as the definitive standard for measuring competence and integrity in the fields of portfolio management and investment analysis.

Membership in the Bahrain CFA Society is open to all CFA charter-holders as regular members, and CFA candidates who can be admitted as associate members. The Society has over 65 members who are qualified CFA charter-holders. There are over 550 candidates pursuing the CFA program in Bahrain.

The first elected governing board of the Society includes Mr. Khalil Nooruddin (President), Mr. William Khoury, Mr. Austin Sequeira, Mr. Palani Alagappan, Mrs. Lamees Al-Baharna, and Mr. Paul Dean.

The founding sponsors of the Society include Arab Banking Corporation, Arcapita Bank, Ernst & Young, Gulf International Bank, Investcorp, KPMG, Kuwait Finance House, Merrill Lynch, National Commercial Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, SICO Investment Bank, and United Gulf Bank.