MFA’S POOLED FUNDS UNITHOLDER MEETING – A SNEAK PREVIEW

ARE YOU AN INVESTMENT EXPERT WHO KNOWS ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT THE CANADIAN ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE AND FUTURE OUTLOOKS FOR FIXED INCOME AND EQUITY MARKETS? ARE YOU CONFIDENT THAT YOUR ORGANIZATION’S INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO IS FULLY ALIGNED WITH YOUR FINANCIAL PLAN AND WILL PROPERLY SUPPORT YOUR OPERATIONAL AND CAPITAL NEEDS? DO YOU CONFIDENTLY TACKLE THE VALUATION OF YOUR UNITIZED INVESTMENTS WITH GUSTO? IF YES TO ALL THE ABOVE, CONGRATULATIONS AND I AM IN AWE! IF NOT, YOU ARE NOT ALONE, AND MOST OF US ARE RIGHT THERE WITH YOU.

The Municipal Finance Authority of BC (MFA) has been busy over the past several years opening a variety of new, tailor-made funds and investment options for local governments in BC. Considering this, I highly encourage you to register for MFA’s first Pooled Investment Funds Unitholder Meeting on the afternoon of June 21, 2023. This two-hour webinar will benefit all current and future unitholders of MFA’s Pooled Funds. This is your golden opportunity to hear from our Fund Managers directly and ask them all your burning questions.

We have a fantastic lineup of speakers for this session, including some of our highly knowledgeable partners who are keen to share their wisdom with us. From Philips, Hager & North (PH&N), we will hear from Chief Economist Eric Lascelles, who will deliver an economic update with a side order of laughter (if anyone can make a discussion about bond prices and recessionary indicators fun, it’s Eric). Karen Kerr, VP and Portfolio Manager with PH&N, will walk us through the performance of MFA’s pooled funds and provide a general overview of individual funds. Also joining us is Lenora Lee, Partner at KPMG LLP. She will be discussing preparation for the adoption of PS3450 Financial Instruments and related standards, including the impact on investments and transaction costs, and the benefits of using cost versus market valuation when accounting for pooled funds.

MFA’s Credit & Economic Analyst, Kyle Derrick, will review a simplified investment management process. This will include a high-level cyclical investment process, how to think of various pools of investable funds, and the universe of investments suitable for those funds. And last but (hopefully) not least, yours truly will provide guidance on accessing and managing your pooled fund accounts and give you the grand tour of some exciting improvements to the self-service functions available in our Client Portal. Shelley Hahn, our Chief Services Officer, will be moderating the session and generally keeping us all in line. If this all wasn’t incentive enough, those in attendance will have a chance to win some prizes. There truly is no better way I can think of to spend an afternoon.

Regardless of whether you can attend or not, MFA staff are always available to answer any questions you may have about your MFA investments. They are happy to jump on a call with you and your staff or provide presentations to your council if that would be helpful. Please connect with us anytime.

NICOLE GERVAIS is the Manager, Client Services with the Municipal Finance Authority of BC (MFA). She is responsible for managing the Client Service functions of the organization and supports a wide array of activities relating to borrowing, investing, and education. Nicole has an extensive background in the financial services industry, having served over 18 years in various roles in commercial and retail banking, and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Victoria Cool Aid Society.