Friday, May 22 marked the last day at the Brookings Institute, and we did something a bit different. In addition to learning more about regulatory bodies, we had a flavor of the financial industry from the perspective of the private sector.
We started the day with some pretty exciting stories from Bill Camp, former Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). Drawing on his personal experiences, Mr. Camp introduced the responsibilities as a CFO, especially emphasizing the importance of accessing the capital market.
The second talk was a brief introduction of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) and the municipal market by Lynnette Kelly, MSRB’s Executive Director. We were guided through the unique funding model of municipal projects in the US. Apart from regulating brokers, dealers and advisors, MSRB also reaches out to investors–especially retail investors–by providing information and education on an electronic platform called “EMMA.”
Next, we engaged in a heated discussion with Jonathan Weisman, an economic policy reporter for The New York Times, who provided a unique perspective regarding some major concerns that the US government is currently dealing with. He touched on topics including IMF governance structure, the re-authorization of Export-Import Bank, and the Trans Pacific Partnership. In addition, he shared some interesting stories about covering the Obama campaign.
Frank Keating
The last speaker totally blew our minds. The Honorable Frank Keating, President and CEO of the American Bankers Association and former Governor of Oklahoma, comes from an economic background. He is also a big lover of racing sailboats, which requires strategic and analytical thinking. One day it strikes him that such a unique skill set can also be applied to investments; he then started an investment firm from scratch. Despite the ups and downs of the market, he always has a strong belief in sustainable competitive advantages and disciplined investment strategies.
Thanks to the Brookings Institute, we were able to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interact with all these amazing speakers. After such a wonderful week, we cannot wait to begin our journey in New York.
Guest Bloggers: Haojia Qi, Mengxing Xu, Qi Sun (GMF 2015)
This is the fifth in a series of 10 blogs chronicling the experiences of 31 Global Master of Finance (GMF) dual degree students during their two week long immersion course in Washington, DC and New York. Each blog will be written by a small subset of students during their experience.
