The pandemic dip in conference travel was short-lived. Much like the spry 90-year-old Willie Nelson, we are all on the road again.
For the past two years, organizations and conferences that provide educational resources to public and union funds have been as robust and packed as ever. And the Berman Tabacco team has been proud to support these organizations and programs. In-person conferences are an excellent opportunity to see clients face-to-face, but also to learn more about the critical issues impacting them: from macro-economic factors, such as lingering inflation and the war in the Ukraine; to political battles over “ESG” laws and regulations; to trends in the markets for equities, real estate, and alternatives.
So far in 2023, the BT team has logged its share of miles.
On the public fund side, our team of Leslie Stern, Nicole Lavallee, Patrick Egan, Matthew Pearson and Jeffrey Rocha have been traveling across the country attending several events and conferences, including: the National Association of State Retirement Administrator’s winter conference in Washington, D.C.; The Council of Institutional Investors’ February meeting; Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems’ (TEXPERS) annual conference in Austin; and the State Association of County Retirement Systems spring conference in San Diego. Just last week, Nicole Lavallee and Patrick Egan returned from the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems’ (NCPERS) annual conference in New Orleans—a week of great friends, food, and music launched by a conference-opening second-line parade through the streets of the French Quarter.
On the multiemployer side, Leslie Stern has been busy attending the NECA/IBEW conference in January; the North American Iron Workers’ conference in New Orleans; the National Labor & Management Conference in Florida; and the Mass Building Trade Council’s Annual Conference in Springfield, Massachusetts. Most recently, Leslie attended the North America’s Building Trades Union’s Washington, D.C. conference, where the featured speaker was President Biden.
Looking ahead, our summer dance card is just as full.
This week, Leslie Stern and Nathaniel Orenstein are off to Cape Cod for the Massachusetts Association of Contributory Retirement Systems’ summer conference, while Patrick Egan is off to Tahlequah, Oklahoma for an event with the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association. Late June, as always, presents the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys’ annual conference, a yearly highlight on the calendar. This year, Nicole will be a panel member of the Securities Litigation panel titled “Do you have to be in it to Win.” Lastly, Patrick Egan and Jeffrey Rocha will close out the summer at TEXPERS.
“We look forward to seeing our clients and friends on the road,” commented San Francisco Managing Partner Nicole Lavallee. “These conferences provide not only such great insight into the wide-array of issues impacting our clients, but also wonderful face-to-face opportunities to connect and catch up.”
Keep an eye out for us down the road!