2009 AAII Silicon Valley Main Events
All the Past Main Event Topics and Speakers
With presentations you can download, where available....
2009 Presentations
November 7, 2009 COMPUTERIZED INVESTING SEMINAR: HOW TO INVEST SAFELY IN TODAY'S MARKET Panel DiscussionThe members of the panel are all experienced investors. Their styles of investing vary substantially, but all have been active investors during the downturn and have (mostly) been able to sleep at night. Whatever your style of investing—buy-and-hold, quant investing, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.—you will find ideas you can use. We believe that the most important trait to have is realistic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your investment technique. If you have this, you will know when not to worry, when to worry (and what to do about it) and when to get out because you don’t understand what’s going on.
Using Spreadsheets for Risk Assessment and ControlDr. Bob Smithson, Member/Manager, Anava Capital Management LLC, Chapter Board, Independent Investment AdvisorAlthough a mathematical calculation of the risk of particular investment is not absolutely required, it can not only provide good performance but also help your understanding of the risk by forcing you to think about it numerically. It helps to enforce a systematic approach to buying and selling, and provides an indication of when to worry. Bob will show how to use spreadsheets to assess the probable performance of specific buy and sell criteria, as well as the uncertainty in that estimate. Spreadsheets will be available for download after the presentation.
How I Use Quantitative Investment Techniques to Reduce RiskAl Zmyslowski, VP of Engineering, Fujitsu America; Chapter Member, Individual InvestorToday’s investors are faced with some of the most confusing and frightening economic and financial conditions in many decades. How can anyone “invest safely” in these conditions? Part of the answer lies in the psychological barriers you have to deal with when investing. Another part—where most of the time and effort is usually spent—lies in having a system for profitable investing in one or more asset classes.
Northwest Economy: Investing Opportunites in Washington, Oregon, and IdahoBarbara A. Johnston, D.V.M., DipACLAM, CFA, Individual InvestorIs there intelligent business life outside California? Biotech, medical, telecom, software and IT beyond Silicon Valley? Real estate markets that have survived the mortgage meltdown? You bet there are! Attend this informative, entertaining summary of the business climate and investing opportunities in and around Pugetopolis.Attend This Meeting and Learn:
October 10, 2009 2009 TAX LAW CHANGES AND PLANNING OPPORTUNITIES This presentation will discuss the tax issues that concern individual investors both in the present year and looking long term, into 2010 and beyond. With the expiration of some tax cuts, it is important to understand what decisions need to be made this year and next year to properly minimize your taxes and preserve your wealth. Claudia will discuss how to plan for 2009 tax changes and how to anticipate changes for coming years. She will also discuss those tax issues where it is necessary to “ask an expert.”Attend This Meeting and Learn:
September 26, 2009 THE RECOVERY YOU THOUGHT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN This presentation will discuss the causes and long-term damage of 2008’s market turmoil. What is ahead for us in the economic and financial outlook for fourth quarter 2009 and early 2010? How do the longer-term structural changes in global economic and financial markets affect the individual investor? Jeanette will provide a forecast for interest rates, earnings, consumer spending, capital spending, the trade deficit and the dollar. She will also discuss the information needed for financial planning and provide economic analyses for various investment sectors.Attend This Meeting and Learn:
April 25, 2009 THE CURRENT STATUS AND OUTLOOK FOR THE NATION’S HOUSING AND MORTGAGE MARKETS Dr. LaVaughn M. Henry is responsible for developing PMl’s economic, housing and mortgage market forecasts. An accomplished public speaker, Dr. Henry regularly presents to various industry, government, and other professional organizations. Dr. Henry will present an in-depth review for the Nation’s Housing and Mortgage Markets and answer many of your questions on this vital subject. Dr. Henry has led in the development of PMI’s next generation of econometric models that forecast the likelihood of home price declines, the quarterly forecast of home price appreciation in each of the nation’s 381 MSAs, and various other predictive tools used in the forecasting and assessment of the housing and mortgage markets.Attend This Meeting and Learn:- What is the outlook for the nation’s real estate market?- What changes are coming in the housing market in 2009?- What are the current economic, housing and, mortgage market forecasts?Speaker LaVaughn M. Henry, Ph.D. Director, Economic Analysis, The PMI Group
March 28, 2009 CHANGE: THIS YEAR, THIS MARKET AND THIS ADMINISTRATION Massive changes in tax law, the market environment and a new administration's priorities threaten to overwhelm your financial plans. You need to understand these changes in order to give yourself the best chance of meeting your goals. This may require adjustments in every area of comprehensive wealth management.Attend This Meeting and Learn:- How to take advantage of changes that have already been put into effect for 2009 - How to profit in the changed market environment going forward - How to position yourself for probable changes from the new administrationSpeaker David John Marotta, AAMS, AIF, President, Marotta Wealth Management
February 21, 2009 ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHOP— HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY’S WEALTH FROM CATASTROPHIC NURSING HOME COSTS, PROBATE COSTS AND DEATH TAXES If you own a home...or you have assets worth at least $100,000...you owe it to yourself — and your family — to get the facts on proper estate planning. If you think you’re protected with a simple will...think again.... A will goes through probate, which means your family may not be able to take possession of your estate for many months, or even years!Proper estate planning avoids the pitfalls of probate and insures that your estate actually gets to those individuals or charities you wish. Plus, without proper planning your estate may owe substantial estate taxes if your estate exceeds $2,000,000 (2008).A living trust can eliminate the costs and time involved in a probate and will protect your estate if you become incapacitated by avoiding a conservatorship. This means your estate will be managed as you see fit, not as a court-appointed conservator sees fit. Roy has spoken to our chapter before and shared a wealth of knowledge on up-to-date estate planning.Attend This Meeting and Learn:- The advantages and disadvantages of wills & living trusts- How probate works and how you may be able to avoid itSpeaker Roy W. Litherland Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Roy W. Litherland
January 24, 2009 DIVIDEND INVESTING WORKSHOP Unlike most stock investing strategies where you buy in the hope that you will be able to unload stocks later at a higher price, dividend stocks actually pay you to own them. That doesn't mean that you won't also enjoy price appreciation, but you could also enjoy a good return even if the stock never goes up. At this interactive workshop style presentation, you'll learn how to find, research, and analyze dividend-paying common stocks, energy trusts, closed-end funds, master-limited partnerships, and preferred stocks. Find out where to get the data you need and what to do with it.Attend This Meeting and Learn:- How to screen for high dividend stocks - How to pick the best candidates - How to evaluate dividend-cut risk Speaker Harry Domash Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle; Teacher; and Publisher, Dividend Detective Newsletter
January 6, 2009: Stock Investor Pro Users Group Meeting Discussion on further plans for a backtesting program based on Stock Investor Pro and the "R" language.At this meeting we will discuss how we should proceed in setting up the database files. Some members have suggested that each member store the files on their own computing platforms and then proceed with development. At the same time we must make sure members who wish to proceed in this manner, must be subscribers to the SI-Pro, to avoid any intellectual property issues.In either case we need to come up with a workable solution and layout tasks for the 2009.Chairman Andy Prophet, Stock Investor Pro Users' Group Leader for the Silicon Valley Chapter of AAII
- - The right attitude for successful investing
- - How people with various investing philosophies have coped with uncertain markets
October 10, 2009 2009 TAX LAW CHANGES AND PLANNING OPPORTUNITIES This presentation will discuss the tax issues that concern individual investors both in the present year and looking long term, into 2010 and beyond. With the expiration of some tax cuts, it is important to understand what decisions need to be made this year and next year to properly minimize your taxes and preserve your wealth. Claudia will discuss how to plan for 2009 tax changes and how to anticipate changes for coming years. She will also discuss those tax issues where it is necessary to “ask an expert.”Attend This Meeting and Learn:
- - What’s new or changed for your 2009 taxes
- - What’s on the horizon for 2010
- - Hints for staying out of IRS crosshairs
- Speaker Claudia Hill, EA, MBA President, Tax Mam, Inc.
September 26, 2009 THE RECOVERY YOU THOUGHT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN This presentation will discuss the causes and long-term damage of 2008’s market turmoil. What is ahead for us in the economic and financial outlook for fourth quarter 2009 and early 2010? How do the longer-term structural changes in global economic and financial markets affect the individual investor? Jeanette will provide a forecast for interest rates, earnings, consumer spending, capital spending, the trade deficit and the dollar. She will also discuss the information needed for financial planning and provide economic analyses for various investment sectors.Attend This Meeting and Learn:
- - The causes and long-term damage of 2008’s market turmoil
- - The economic and financial outlook for fourth quarter 2009 and early 2010
- - The longer-term structural changes in global economic and financial markets
- Speaker Jeanette Garretty, Senior Wealth Manager, Senior Vice President, The Private Bank Wells Fargo
April 25, 2009 THE CURRENT STATUS AND OUTLOOK FOR THE NATION’S HOUSING AND MORTGAGE MARKETS Dr. LaVaughn M. Henry is responsible for developing PMl’s economic, housing and mortgage market forecasts. An accomplished public speaker, Dr. Henry regularly presents to various industry, government, and other professional organizations. Dr. Henry will present an in-depth review for the Nation’s Housing and Mortgage Markets and answer many of your questions on this vital subject. Dr. Henry has led in the development of PMI’s next generation of econometric models that forecast the likelihood of home price declines, the quarterly forecast of home price appreciation in each of the nation’s 381 MSAs, and various other predictive tools used in the forecasting and assessment of the housing and mortgage markets.Attend This Meeting and Learn:- What is the outlook for the nation’s real estate market?- What changes are coming in the housing market in 2009?- What are the current economic, housing and, mortgage market forecasts?Speaker LaVaughn M. Henry, Ph.D. Director, Economic Analysis, The PMI Group
March 28, 2009 CHANGE: THIS YEAR, THIS MARKET AND THIS ADMINISTRATION Massive changes in tax law, the market environment and a new administration's priorities threaten to overwhelm your financial plans. You need to understand these changes in order to give yourself the best chance of meeting your goals. This may require adjustments in every area of comprehensive wealth management.Attend This Meeting and Learn:- How to take advantage of changes that have already been put into effect for 2009 - How to profit in the changed market environment going forward - How to position yourself for probable changes from the new administrationSpeaker David John Marotta, AAMS, AIF, President, Marotta Wealth Management
February 21, 2009 ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHOP— HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY’S WEALTH FROM CATASTROPHIC NURSING HOME COSTS, PROBATE COSTS AND DEATH TAXES If you own a home...or you have assets worth at least $100,000...you owe it to yourself — and your family — to get the facts on proper estate planning. If you think you’re protected with a simple will...think again.... A will goes through probate, which means your family may not be able to take possession of your estate for many months, or even years!Proper estate planning avoids the pitfalls of probate and insures that your estate actually gets to those individuals or charities you wish. Plus, without proper planning your estate may owe substantial estate taxes if your estate exceeds $2,000,000 (2008).A living trust can eliminate the costs and time involved in a probate and will protect your estate if you become incapacitated by avoiding a conservatorship. This means your estate will be managed as you see fit, not as a court-appointed conservator sees fit. Roy has spoken to our chapter before and shared a wealth of knowledge on up-to-date estate planning.Attend This Meeting and Learn:- The advantages and disadvantages of wills & living trusts- How probate works and how you may be able to avoid itSpeaker Roy W. Litherland Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Roy W. Litherland
January 24, 2009 DIVIDEND INVESTING WORKSHOP Unlike most stock investing strategies where you buy in the hope that you will be able to unload stocks later at a higher price, dividend stocks actually pay you to own them. That doesn't mean that you won't also enjoy price appreciation, but you could also enjoy a good return even if the stock never goes up. At this interactive workshop style presentation, you'll learn how to find, research, and analyze dividend-paying common stocks, energy trusts, closed-end funds, master-limited partnerships, and preferred stocks. Find out where to get the data you need and what to do with it.Attend This Meeting and Learn:- How to screen for high dividend stocks - How to pick the best candidates - How to evaluate dividend-cut risk Speaker Harry Domash Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle; Teacher; and Publisher, Dividend Detective Newsletter
January 6, 2009: Stock Investor Pro Users Group Meeting Discussion on further plans for a backtesting program based on Stock Investor Pro and the "R" language.At this meeting we will discuss how we should proceed in setting up the database files. Some members have suggested that each member store the files on their own computing platforms and then proceed with development. At the same time we must make sure members who wish to proceed in this manner, must be subscribers to the SI-Pro, to avoid any intellectual property issues.In either case we need to come up with a workable solution and layout tasks for the 2009.Chairman Andy Prophet, Stock Investor Pro Users' Group Leader for the Silicon Valley Chapter of AAII