The CFA Society of Minnesota's annual conference for investors and analysts, now in its fifth year, has gotten big enough to need a second day.
The number of companies that will present at this year's conference, scheduled for Aug. 23 and 24 at the University of St. Thomas business school campus in downtown Minneapolis, is closing in on 100. Target Corp., Delta Air Lines Inc. and AstraZeneca PLC will participate for the first time. Since 2012, the conference had been confined to a single day of meetings and presentations.
Previously, the event was held in early August, during the quiet period ahead of an earnings release by Target and other retailers. By moving the conference to later in the month, the CFA Society was able to attract Minnesota's third-biggest company by revenue as well as some others.
Nearly every publicly-listed company in Minnesota will appear at the conference, as will dozens of others from around the Midwest or those, like Delta, that have a significant presence in the state or region.
The society, which has several hundred members from Minnesota investment banks and other financial companies, each year expanded the scope of the conference with new topics, such as fixed-rate investments. This year, there's a new track of presentations from companies and investment firms on socially responsible investing.
More details can be found on the conference web site. The CFA Society of Minnesota is the 10th largest group of certified financial analysts in the country.
