Author: Andrew T. Gillies

GMM Panelists Share Tips on Strengthening Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity gained prominence as a topic of discussion at ICI’s General Membership Meeting (GMM), held last week in Washington, DC. “Hugely important,” said Mary John Miller, the Treasury Department’s under secretary for domestic finance, in her GMM remarks. Likewise, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Jo White told GMM attendees that addressing online vulnerabilities must be “a constant focus for both the regulators and the broader business community.” 

That focus also was on display May 3 at the Operations and Technology Conference, where a panel of technology experts explored the origins and implications of cyberattacks. Panelists also provided the audience with cybersecurity advice, including the following pointers.

1. Check Every Link in the Chain

“Any of your service providers could be attacked and could leak data,” said Stewart A. Baker, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP. Baker, who helped formulate U.S. cybersecurity policy as assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security and as general counsel of the National Security Agency, urged attendees to get assurances from all service providers about data security arrangements.

Panelist Avivah Litan, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner Research, agreed that understanding the security of service providers was essential. “We’re only as strong as the weakest link,” she said.

Full story at ICI Viewpoints

Operations and Technology Leadership Roundtable

Superstorm Sandy and the April 15 terrorist attack in Boston rattled assumptions and recalibrated thinking about disaster management, agreed panelists at the Leadership Roundtable of ICI’s 2013 Operations and Technology Conference on May 2 in Washington.

“One of the lessons we’ve learned is that no two events are identical,” said Stephen C. Neff, Enterprise Chief Technology Officer at Fidelity Corporate Services. Fidelity, he noted, was forced by Sandy to take unprecedented steps, including sending a fuel tanker to aid employees hit by shortages in the wake of the storm. Neff said firms should prepare themselves by having “a set of building blocks” that can be configured in response to unfolding events.

Full story at ICI Viewpoints

Luncheon with Keynote Speaker: Lloyd C. Blankfein in Conversation with Paul Schott Stevens

If Lloyd Blankfein were in charge of the U.S. economy, what would he be most afraid of? Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of The Goldman Sachs Group, gave his answer in a conversation with ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens at ICI’s General Membership Meeting.

“I’d be most afraid of the economy sliding back into a deflationary period,” said Blankfein, who has held the top job at Goldman Sachs since 2006. “In some ways, we are in a deflationary mindset.”

While saluting the Federal Reserve’s policies, Blankfein questioned whether its extraordinarily accommodative monetary approach in recent years can remain effective. “What’s the value at this point of taking mortgages down another 3 basis points?” he asked. “Is that going to make people do something they weren’t going to do before?”

Full Story at ICI Viewpoints

GMM Policy Forum

Addressing America’s fiscal challenges will require both raising revenue and cutting government spending, said Mary John Miller, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, at the Policy Forum of ICI’s 55th annual General Membership Meeting (GMM).

“I don’t think that we can balance the budget over the long term and meet the obligations that we have without some revenue,” said Miller, who made her remarks as part of a wide-ranging colloquy with ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens. “When people come to talk to me about the Administration’s proposals, I say, ‘Look, everything has to be on the table’,” she added.

Full story at ICI Viewpoints.

Managing Chaos!

Actors dying on set, getting held up at a Chinese border crossings at cost of $500,000 per day, having filming disrupted by floods, sandstorms, snowstorms, and diarrhea outbreaks: George Lucas has seen it all.

“In the movie business,” he told the closing session of ICI’s 54th General Membership Meeting, “every day, something is going to go wrong.” Lucas, founder of Lucasfilm, Ltd., was interviewed by Ariel Investments President Mellody Hobson, ICI Governor and Chairman of ICI’s GMM Planning Committee.

Full story at ICI Viewpoints.

Managing Global Funds in Challenging Times

Immense opportunities lie ahead for global fund managers, agreed panelists at a session at ICI’s 54th General Membership Meeting.

“We are only seeing the tip of the iceberg,” said Vijay C. Advani, Executive Vice President, Global Advisory Services at Franklin Resources, Inc.  Advani, whose firm draws half of its flows from outside the United States, cited a recent survey predicting the population of individuals defined as middle class will increase from 1.5 billion currently to 5 billion by 2030.

Full story at ICI Viewpoints.

Scorecard: 2008 Beltway Stock Bets

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In 2008, this author wrote 20 stories serving up Washington-themed stock picks. The proposition behind them was that companies and their investors often benefit from activity inside the Beltway, be it procurement, favorable legislation and regulation or even just political developments.

This approach worked out well enough in 2006 and 2007. Not this year.

On average, stocks highlighted in our 2008 stories show a total return of -26%, using prices from the date of publication through market close on Dec. 8. Small consolation: That’s three points better, leaving aside transaction costs, than the S&P 500 return of -29% during equivalent time periods.

Full story at Forbes.com

Beltway Bet: iRobot

Since an initial public offering three years ago, iRobot’s stock price has steadily dropped. The Burlington, Mass., company, whose machines can vacuum your floor or help soldiers sniff out roadside bombs, went public at $24. Recent price: $9.

By certain metrics, the stock looks tempting. Its latest 12-month price-to-earnings ratio is a modest 15, while the company’s enterprise value, market capitalization plus net debt, stands at just 0.6 times its 12-month revenue of $316 million. The latter multiple is in line with a big defense contractor like Lockheed Martin and well below that of a comparable niche technology company like AeroVironment, whose enterprise-value-to-sales multiple is 2.5.

Full story at Forbes.com

One Roll of The Dice

For the 12 months ended Oct. 31, the S&P 500 lost 37%. Happily for the five bears in our annual equities contest, their picks did considerably worse. In October 2007 we challenged them each to name one stock that would trail the S&P over a one-year period. On average their stocks fell 61%. All five accepted our customary invitation to the winners to play again another year.

Our panel’s 12 bulls scraped by. Only five of their picks beat the market, and only two of those showed gains. As a group they declined 37%, same as the S&P 500.

Richard Jandrain, head of growth investing at Fort Washington Investment Advisors, leads the bulls. A year ago he liked the look of Pharmion, a developer of cancer treatments. So did Celgene (nasdaq: CELG – news – people ), which acquired Pharmion last March and helped Jandrain to a 50% gain.

Full story at Forbes.com