On February 23, finance major Haidar Almahrouq attended the CFA Investor Summit dinner in Dallas, TX. The summit is a two-day event, the first day being the CFA/DFW Forecast Dinner and the second day is CFA Societies Texas Symposium.

The CFA/DFW Forecast Dinner is where leaders of the Investment sector in the southwest Region come together to network. There is also a panel discussing driving factors in the market. Some of the panelist included: Brian Kennedy, Vice President of Portfolio Manager Loomis, Sayles & Company, Elizabeth Lilly, Founder and President Crocus Hill Partners, Steven Romick, Managing Partner FPA Funds, and Brian Wesbury, Chief Economist First Trust Economics.

The CFA Societies Texas Symposium was held at George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University. The symposium consisted of multiple presentations and panels about the financial market.

According to Almahrouq, attending the CFA Investor Summit was a really eye-opening experience.

"The people who spoke at the symposium are very well known in the finance sector," he said. "Everything they talked about was valuable information. They talked about their analysis of the market and the future of finance in Texas. If I was currently investing in the stock market, I could've used the information to invest."

Wesleyan Associate Professor of Finance, Dr. Shengxiong Wu added that the CFA is something all business students should look into.

"It is a real good networking opportunity," Wu said. "It is an interesting event for our students to attend, and it gives them the right kind of exposure."