Spring is in the air with some restaurants preparing their sidewalk cafés, although the recent snowstorm that swept the city seems to have missed the memo that we had already entered the month of April. In today’s newsletter, I want to provide an update of what took place during the winter term.

From inception, our benefactor Kenneth Woods had a clear vision for the program that bears his name. The KWPMP had set a standard for providing opportunities to bright and motivated undergraduate students. The new recruits for the class of 2025 are experiencing what is possible. Although the competition for internships is fierce and the tougher economic environment this year made it even more difficult, I am delighted to report that all our nine research associates obtained internships for this summer. I am grateful for our corporate partners who support our program.

In this competitive world of capital markets, there has been a disturbing trend where investment bankers start recruiting for summer interns about 18 months in advance of the internship. And other companies that are not in investment banking feel no alternative but to follow on this timeline in order not to miss out on the candidates. This means students need to apply even before completing their first internship and, in many cases, before they even know where their interests lie. This is not a healthy development, but the program remains cognizant of the situation and ensures our students are presented to the companies in a timely manner.

The winter term has been incredibly busy with exciting news and wonderful events. We had the honour of hosting 16 seminar speakers this term who provided detailed presentations about various aspects of capital markets. This was truly a privilege for our students, giving them an opportunity to interact with established professionals. I would also like to express my deep gratitude for the vital support of all our seminar speakers.

In mid-February, our KWPMP fund managers represented Concordia University in the provincial round of the CFA Institute Research Challenge. The long deliberations of the judges following the presentations gave us the sense the competition was tight and the decision difficult. While we are disappointed with the decision as our team will not be able to represent Quebec in the next round, I am proud of the KW team in their accomplishment. They worked diligently and bonded as a team to produce a research paper and presentation that was top notch.

In March, the class of 2024 attended the Quinnipiac GAME Forum in New York City and were treated to tours at Jefferies and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. I want to thank our alumni Simon Beaudry (2019) and Michael Knight (2011) who hosted our students at their respective firms.

Also in March, organized by one of our mentors, Andrea Bobkowicz, the students were treated to a tour of National Bank’s beautiful trading floor located in the Sun Life Building. Furthermore, National Bank hosted their 22nd annual financial services conference. Michael Kamel, the fund manger responsible for fixed income and financial institutions for the fund, was fortunate enough to attend the two-day conference where Peter Routledge, superintendent of financial institutions and Stéfane Marion, National Bank’s chief economist and strategist, were the keynote speakers. I have included a few snapshots of recent happenings.I also encourage you to follow us on our LinkedIn page where we post our seminar speakers.

I am incredibly excited to see the class of 2023 work towards reaching new milestones as they proceed to new heights following their tenure in the program. They presented their last client committee meeting this past February, receiving large praise from the committee on their hard work, accomplishments and dedication to the program.

In turn, we have an extremely dedicated client committee. In fact, this year’s client committee meeting landed during the Lunar New Year holiday period and client committee member Robert Beauregard was in China at the time visiting family but joined the meeting via Zoom, despite the 12-hour time difference.

We are fortunate indeed to have our high calibre client committee be part of our community. Like the alumni that came before them, the class of 2023 are working diligently toward a successful career and becoming model ambassadors of the program.

I cannot wait to see all of you at this year’s graduation and reconnect with all of you. Michael Boychuk who is the Chair of the Board of the Laurentian Bank is keen to join us as this year’s keynote speaker where he will share many stories of events he participated in that are monumental in Canada’s capital market history. Registration for the May 7 graduation ceremony is still open.

In the meantime, I wish you a warm welcome to spring.

Kind regards,

Sukyong Yang
Director, KWPMP

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.