Our world is full of surprises so you must expect the unexpected.

A good example is the humidex climbing over 40C during the first week of classes when we usually equate the beginning of September with cooler weather. The university looked more like a beach hangout rather than a center of higher learning.

We are now well into classes and students are getting back into the rhythm: going to classes, making new friends and achieving new goals. If we remind ourselves that nothing is guaranteed or predictable, we can prepare for the surprises that will inevitably come.

Over the summer, research associates and fund managers applied the skills and knowledge they learned in the program in each of their internships Their supervisors lauded the performance of each of our students, demonstrating the value of the program. The responsibility of each fund manager for the portfolio is shown below along with their internship placements. Another piece of good news is that all the research associates have secured their summer internships for 2024.

Fund Managers (Class of 2023)

• Ioannis Bakopanos
  • Fixed income, Energy, Healthcare
  • Pembroke Management Limited
• Zi Hao Wei
  • ESG Strategy, Industrials, Materials
  • Jarislowsky Fraser
• Matthew MacNeil
  • Compliance & Equity, Strategy, Info Tech, Cons. Discretionary
  • PSP
• Oliver Cloutier Faucher
  • Equity Strategy, Financials, REITs
  • CIBC
• Justin Rozon
  • Performance, Comm Services, Cons. Staples & Utilities
  • CDPQ

Research Associates (Class of 2024)

• Eyal Zelinger
  • Axium Infrastructure
• Julian Diodati
  • BDG & partners
• Michael Kamel
  • CDPQ
• Nicolas Cormier
  • BCI
• Roberto Lato
  • BCI

Since the last spring newsletter, we celebrated the five students from the class of 2022 with a graduation ceremony in May.

We were honoured to have Robert Sankey, the CEO of Burgundy Asset Management as our keynote speaker. Mr. Sankey gave a great talk that resonated with guests and students who enjoyed listening to his perspectives and the analogy between investing and forestry. The key investment and life lessons were really insightful, particularly in relation to the importance of taking the long-term view and remembering that people are the most important factor in any decision. The pride of family and friends who supported our class was a joy to see.

“One person can make a difference, and everyone should try." President Kennedy used these words during his 1968 presidential campaign. We should draw inspiration from these words where we can believe that each of us can make a difference – we can make an organization better and be part of changing the world.

While no one does it alone, it does need to start with one person. And Ken Woods has certainly been that one person who has made a positive impact on the 163 alumni of this program and to the John Molson School of Business with his gift of more than two million dollars to the program.

Ken believes that we have a responsibility to use our skills, our talent and our dedication to make a difference. For this, we are forever grateful to Ken and here is a video we made in his honour.

We continue to re-engage with the alumni community, which currently numbers at 163. We recently hosted an alumni lunch in Toronto with the alumni based in the city. Some attendees were graduates from the early years while others went through the program more recently and they were all able to connect with shared stories about the program. Social events with the Toronto-based alumni started a couple of years ago and we shall continue to look for ways to stay connected with our alumni.

In addition to connecting with our alumni in meaningful ways, we also want to encourage more John Molson students to apply to our program. At the beginning of the term, we visit every mandatory class making announcements about the program and encouraging possible candidates to apply. The opportunity is there for each student to grasp – it is my wish they would seize upon it.

The next event in Montreal will be our fall celebration when we want to show our gratitude to our supporters in the KWPMP community. We are very delighted to announce that Philip Joseph "P.J." Stock will be our keynote speaker for this event.

About the Director

In 2019, Sukyong Yang joined Concordia's Kenneth Woods Investment Management program as director and adjunct professor. She has diverse experience in portfolio management and comprehensive knowledge of global equities. She has a BComm (University of Toronto, Trinity College) and MBA (Concordia University) and is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst. Ms. Yang is a member of CFA Toronto and sits on the University Relations Committee of CFA Montréal.

Before joining academia, Ms. Yang was a lead global portfolio manager for an important wealth management company in Toronto and a member of the board. The investment strategy and process she implemented in her team became the investment standard for the firm. She began her investment career as an analyst at one of Canada’s largest pension boards.

In addition to 25 years of experience in the investment management business, she spent a number of years as a consultant and auditor at KPMG in their Amsterdam, Seoul and Toronto offices.