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California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission

2012 Debt Issuance and Public Investment Webinars, Seminars and Conferences

Achieving the Grade: School District Continuing Disclosure Practices in Today’s Market
November 14, 2012
10:00am-11:45am (Pacific Time)

Efforts to improve transparency related to municipal securities have stimulated debate about the content and timing of disclosures. Several recent reports have recognized the need to increase transparency and disclosure in the municipal market, including the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) overt request to be provided the authority to define proper municipal disclosure. Greater attention to secondary disclosure by both market participants and regulators applies to all issuers, including school districts. This seminar provides school district issuers with information on how to fulfill their continuing reporting requirements to the municipal market by providing timely, accurate, and compliant disclosures.

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A Double-Edged Sword: The Economics of Pension Obligation Bond Financing for Local Governments
October 24, 2012
10:00am-11:45am (Pacific Time)

Pension Obligation Bonds (POBs) can be an appealing strategy for managing a public agency’s unfunded pension liability. As attractive as this approach may appear from a budgetary standpoint, the use of POBs can be a “double-edged sword”– providing budget relief and interest rate savings offset by investment return risks and the substitution of more rigid long-term financing terms. This webinar is designed to provide an examination of the benefits and risks of utilizing POBs and provides a discussion of the policy considerations, financing options, and disclosure requirements for financing pension liabilities.

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CDIAC’s Pre-Conference at The Bond Buyer's 22nd Annual California Public Finance Conference
Exploring the Dimensions of Municipal Credits
October 17, 2012
Merchant’s Exchange - Julia Morgan Ballroom
San Francisco, CA

This seminar will consider the fiscal impact of the Great Recession of 2008-2009, on public-sector credits, including the analysis and presentation of information related to credit quality, collateral, and capacity to repay debt issued by a municipality. Beginning with a discussion of state and local government capacity to issue debt, the program focuses on the tension between the public’s demand for projects and its willingness to finance them over long periods of time.

New Frontiers in Public Finance: A Return to Direct Lending
October 3, 2012
10:00am-11:15am (Pacific Time)

Direct lending, including private placements and direct loans, has returned as a popular municipal financing strategy. By definition, these transactions involve a bank negotiating directly with an issuer to privately purchase its municipal obligations or make a direct loan. While direct loans have increased access to credit for public agencies, concerns have been raised that these financings are not subject to disclosure requirements. This webinar will explain why direct lending may present the most cost effective and risk appropriate form of financing for local agencies today.

Moderator: Alex Wallace, Managing Director and Head of Public Finance, U.S. Bancorp

Presenters:

  • Glenn Casterline and Jim Manire, Managing Directors, BLX Group
  • Brian Forbath, Partner, Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, P.C.

Materials:

The New Rules and Tools in Municipal Finance
July 24, 2012
The Palace Hotel, San Francisco, CA

This seminar will provide market participants and, in particular, public agencies, with information about how regulation of the municipal securities market is changing and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's (MSRB) long-range plan for greater market disclosure and transparency. Representatives from the MSRB and California public finance professionals will discuss regulatory changes affecting municipal securities issuers, the duties of municipal advisors and dealers in the municipal market and the current and future capabilities of the MSRB’s Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) website. The keynote luncheon speakers will be MSRB Chair Alan D. Polsky and California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer.

Municipal Market Disclosure: Application to Pension Disclosure
May 3, 2012 – Ziggurat Building
West Sacramento, CA

Efforts to improve transparency related to municipal securities have stimulated debate concerning the content and timing of disclosures. This seminar, focusing on public pension disclosure, seeks to further that discussion by considering the primary and secondary disclosure practices maintained by state and local agencies. As reporting standards change, public officials need to understand the difference between what is required and what might be interpreted as best practices. The seminar seeks to assist local government officials and other market professionals to improve their understanding of the policy and regulatory environment surrounding municipal disclosure and how that environment may change in the future. The day includes discussion of:

  • Current concerns in municipal disclosure
  • Overview of Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC’s) regulations and the disclosure process
  • Pension mechanics and math
  • Pension disclosure practices and issues
  • Disclosure reporting standards for pension obligations
  • Good pension disclosure roundtable-what does it look like?

Seminar Materials

Investment Structures and Risk Management of Public Investment Portfolios
March 28, 2012
10:00am-11:30am (Pacific Time)

The fundamental considerations for evaluating and structuring a public investment portfolio are safety, liquidity and yield. Investments are exposed to varying levels of risk in the form of credit risk, event risk, liquidity risk, call risk, and diversification risk. This webinar will focus on the management of risk in a public investment portfolio. It is designed for local agency investment officers who seek to apply the concepts of risk management to structuring and managing their investment portfolios and includes:

  • Principles of portfolio risk management
  • Discussion of risk tolerance and duration analysis
  • Examination of investment structures to mitigate portfolio risk
  • Management of different callable securities
  • Bloomberg analytics

Facilitator: Debbie Higgins, President, Higgins Capital Management

Presenters:

Municipal Debt Essentials: Debt Administration Day Three
March 15, 2012 – Kellogg West Conference Center
Pomona, CA

This seminar offering is a curriculum divided into three course parts, Debt 3: Debt Administration, day three will provide municipal industry participants with the elements of debt administration, including the following:

  • Roles and responsibilities of the issuer and trustee
  • Important documents and managing debt service
  • Understanding arbitrage calculations and rebates
  • Investment of bond proceeds
  • Refunding and reorganizing your agency’s debt obligations
  • Continuing disclosure responsibilities

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Municipal Debt Essentials: Accessing the Market Day Two
March 14, 2012 – Kellogg West Conference Center
Pomona, CA

This seminar offering is a curriculum divided into three course parts, Debt 2: Accessing the Markets, day two will provide municipal industry participants with the elements of accessing the market, including the following:

  • Debt capacity and affordability
  • Debt policies
  • Plan of finance
  • Debt structuring
  • Credit quality and the new dynamics of credit ratings
  • Marketing and pricing
  • Market efficiency

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Municipal Debt Essentials: Debt Basics Day One
March 13, 2012 – Kellogg West Conference Center
Pomona, CA

This seminar offering is a curriculum divided into three course parts, Debt 1: Debt Basics, day one will provide municipal industry participants with the elements of debt basics, including the following:

  • Introduction to the bond market
  • Bond financing Concepts
  • Short and long-term financings options
  • Changing roles and responsibilities of debt Issuers and finance team members
  • Cost of issuance
  • Initial disclosure

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California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO) 2012 Annual Conference
CDIAC Pre-Conference Program
February 29, 2012 - Disneyland Hotel
Anaheim, California

As if public finance wasn't already challenging enough, the last several years have combined worldwide recession, financial market collapse, and major individual issuer headline events in a way that inevitably affects how public agencies, their outside finance professionals, and their lenders interact and do business.

In this constantly changing world of public finance, the public official can become a change agent in an effort to Take Leadership of their financial affairs. This pre-conference program addresses what industry professionals have learned during these past few years and serves as a reminder of how public agencies can better serve their constituencies

Investment Analysis: Duration Calculation
February 15, 2012

Duration analysis is a critical tool in structuring and managing a public investment portfolio. This webinar will examine the concept of duration and the factors that are considered when applying it to a portfolio of investments, including securities’ coupon rates, maturities, yields, and option features. This webinar is designed for local agency investment officers who seek to apply the concepts of duration to structuring and maintaining their portfolios. The webinar includes:

  • Duration principles and concepts of convexity
  • Different types of duration and math
  • Portfolio duration, risk and strategies
  • Application of Bloomberg analysis

Presenters:

Municipal Market Outlook 2012
January 11, 2012
10:00am-11:15am (Pacific Time)

2011 was marked by two major economic events that eroded investor confidence and affected the municipal markets in different ways. Both the Congressional debates over raising the federal debt ceiling and the downgrade by S&P of the government’s credit rating sent ripples through municipal markets and forced some restructuring by fund managers and issuers alike. Historically low rates, headline events, and distressed local economies prompted investors to withdraw billions of dollars from bond funds. Throughout the year public agencies reacted to mounting fiscal stress by focusing on operational priorities and less on capital projects. The state as well as many local agencies relied on the short-term market to manage inconsistent or below-projected revenue flows.

For 2012, the municipal market continues to strive for consistency—a new normal. The replacement of the Build America Bond program, the debate over the tax‐exempt status, and the disinclination of voters to support additional debt will change how issuers plan and finance projects in the future. This webinar will provide state and local government agencies with an anticipatory look at market conditions for issuing debt and will include:

  • Analysis of the bond market (supply & demand, volume and trends for munis, treasuries, corporates, etc.)
  • Status of tax-exempt munis and push for direct subsidies
  • Analysis of credit conditions in the 1st quarter of 2012
  • Outlook for the land-secured market

Presentation Materials: