Smith's High Yield Municipal Bond Conference

Agenda

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Tuesday, October 18, 2022

6:00 - 9:00 pm

WELCOME RECEPTION

Speakers, sponsors and attendees will gather together prior to the conference sessions begin on October 19.

Sponsored by: Locke Lord LLP

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

8:00 am

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION

Breakfast

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8:30 am

WELCOME REMARKS

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8:45 am

HARNESSING THE POWER OF DYNAMIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEADERS

The Charter School tax-exempt bond sector continues to grow, demonstrated by the 2020 record high year of almost $4.3 billion in bond issuances involving nearly 200 distinct transactions.  As bondholders active in the charter school industry often reflect, a key factor in a charter school’s success (regardless if a stand-alone, CMO or EMO) is the presence of dynamic school leaders.  This panel brings together proven school leaders that are both passionate educators and highly effective school operators that have, as a group, developed, launched, managed, achieved successful turnarounds, and have been positive collaborators with all their stakeholders, including bondholders.  We will engage in a candid discussion with a diverse panel of school leaders on the skills required to effectively manage both thriving and challenged schools.
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Jonathan Chirunga - Moderator

Director of High Yield - Municipals

Amundi U.S.

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‍Adrienne Walker

Partner

Locke Lord LLP

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Lisa Hendricks

Director of Finance/Founding Director

Partnership Academy

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Janie Seivers

Director of Business Affairs

United Schools of Indianapolis

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‍Mark Jiles

President

Desert Heights Charter School District

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Tozar Gandhi, CFA, CA

Senior Credit Analyst

Amundi U.S.

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9:45 am

LIQUIDITY, DEMAND AND BUILDING BETTER PERFORMANCE FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO

What's really driving the demand for tax-exempt high-yield municipal bonds?  Is inflation here to stay? Will rates go lower for longer?  Panel members will discuss if a liquidity bubble exists in the high-yield municipal bond market and if so, how can we measure it? It's not just about higher yields, but also how to build better performance for your portfolio — one high-yield bond at a time.

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Blake Anderson

Senior Managing Director, Head of Strategy & Research

Mesirow

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Daniel Toboja

Managing Director, Institutional Sales and Trading

Mesirow

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James Colby

Senior Municipal Strategist/Portfolio Manager

VanEck

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10:30 am

COFFEE NETWORKING BREAK

Sponsored by: Fitch Ratings

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10:45 am

LAND SECURED FINANCINGS AND COLORADO DIRT DEALS UPDATE

The land secured financing boom continues. New master-plan residential developments require access to low-cost financing for housing units, roads, water, and other infrastructure. Panelists will discuss the ins and outs of this tricky sector and how investors can make the most of these deals.

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Shelby Noble

Managing Director, Special District Group

Piper Sandler & Co.

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Amy Murphy

Executive Director

JP Morgan Asset Management

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Jeff Wilson

Co-Portfolio Manager, Co-Managing Partner

Saybrook Fund Advisors

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11:30 am

HIGHER EDUCATION UNDER STRESS

Universities and higher education institutions are in distress. While pandemic relief funds have helped shore up the sector, demographic and social pressures are causing unprecedented challenges. Panelists will discuss warning signs of distress as well as distinguishing features of schools successfully navigating the challenges. 

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Miyoko Sato — Moderator

Member

Chair, Public Finance Real Estate, Bankruptcy, and Environmental Division

Mintz

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Akiko Mitsui, CFA

Director

Fitch Ratings

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Chad Shandler

Senior Managing Director

FTI Consulting

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Mark Gannon

Executive Director

JPMorgan Asset Management

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12:15 pm

LUNCHEON‍

The Phoenix Award Presentation

— Recognizing Contributions and Achievements in the High Yield Sector

2022 Recipient: Jeff Wilson, Saybrook Fund Advisors

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Sponsored by: Mintz

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1:30 pm

LOCAL TRENDS IN THE NATIONAL HIGH YIELD MARKET CREATE OPPORTUNITIES TO BUILD BETTER BOND DEALS

During 2022, the National High Yield Market saw significant changes to the technical factors driving the creation and origination of non-rated/non-investment grade bonds offerings. Starting in January, fund flows into municipal high-yield did a 180 degree turn, which whipsawed the volume of deals in entire sectors — like California’s red-hot workforce housing sector which saw the bottom drop out. The panel will discuss how Hilltop Securities worked with River Islands, a California Facilities District (CFD), to access the high yield market for $300mln. (par) and structured the transaction so $200 mln. qualified for Assured Guaranty’s gilt-edged bond insurance. What’s more, project finance deals have a tendency of performing differently than underwriting expectations; the sponsor can be critical to success. Given Hilltop’s footprint in the sector, let’s talk about what we have learned.

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Yaffa Rattner — Moderator

Senior Managing Director

Head of Municipal Credit

HilltopSecurities

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‍Kimberly Magrini

Partner

Ballard Spahr LLP

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Tamara Lowin

Senior Credit Analyst

VanEck

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Rich Simon

Vice President

Assured Guaranty

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2:15 pm

STRUCTURED CREDITS IN HIGH YIELD — MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, TOBACCO AND POOL DEALS

Workforce Housing bonds rocked the muni investment world and are being issued to provide income and rent-restricted units to serve the "missing middle." Panelists will discuss the evolving structures for these non-traditional housing deals, the impact of pending legislation, and how the current market environment may change the sector.  

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Ian Parker

Managing Director

RBC Capital Markets

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Timothy Milway, CFA

Director, Senior Analyst

BlackRock

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John Stoecker

Financial Advisor

California Municipal Finance Authority

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Kristin Going

Partner

McDermott Will & Emery

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Karl Hummel

Managing Director, Co-Head of Structured Credit/High Yield Municipal Finance

RBC Capital Markets

3:15 pm

COFFEE NETWORKING BREAK

Sponsored by: Fitch Ratings

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3:30 pm

SENIOR LIVING'S ROAD TO RECOVERY...THE NEED FOR SPEED OR A CHANGE IN DIRECTION?

This panel will take an in depth look at Life Plan Communities. Things have changed drastically since the mini recovery last fall and there may be a change in approach to effectuate a recovery.  Panelists will discuss the new approach to selling a CCRC; demographic trends, affordability, real estate trends; and new regulations and their effect on SNFs.

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Mary Jane Minier, CPA,

Senior Analyst

Head of Opportunistic Credit Strategy

Invesco Ltd.

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Charlie Trefzger

Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer

ALG Senior

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Mike Brindley

Senior Vice President of Consulting Services

Solutions Advisors Group

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4:15 pm

HOW TO EXERCISE RIGHTS AND REMEDIES TO BUILD BETTER RETURNS

Panelists take a look at today’s high yield municipal bond documents and reads between the lines to see what is missing.  The session focuses on how to exercise rights and remedies and sue for fraud. We will also look at energy's impact on supply chains and funding shortfalls.

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John Hallacy

President

John Hallacy Consulting LLC

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Valeri Pappas

Managing Partner

Davis & Ceriani PC

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Jay Kapp

Partner

McDermott Will & Emery

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Dan Aschenbach

President

AGVP LLC

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5:00 pm

MUNICIPAL BONDS ON THE ROCKS COCKTAIL HOUR

Featuring: Race to the Bottom

Kristin Going

Partner

McDermott Will & Emery

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Jon Schotz

Co-Managing Partner

Co-Portfolio Manager

Saybrook Fund Advisors, LLC

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James Schwartz, CFA

Managing Director

Head of Municipal Credit Research

BlackRock

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Mikhail Foux

Managing Director

Barclays Investment Bank

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Sponsored by: McDermott Will & Emery

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6:30 pm

SMITH'S HIGH YIELD CONFERENCE DINNER

Sponsored By:

Mintz

McDermott Will & Emery

Locke Lord LLP

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‍Day 2

Thursday, October 20, 2022

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7:30 am

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION

Breakfast

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8:15 am

WELCOME REMARKS

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8:30 am

A HIGH YIELD MUNI ANALYST'S AMERICAN DREAM

All aboard a train (that runs on bio fuel) to a mall to buy clothes made of hemp, packed in boxes made from wheat or rice fiber. Panelists will discuss high yield muni deal structures and workouts including:

• Purchaser's Counsel — Who is the Client?
• Deal Structure Process
• Workout Dynamics
• Professionals and Alignment of Incentives

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‍Prakash Vadlamani

Associate Portfolio Manager and Senior Research Analyst

Amundi US

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Andrew Cooper

Senior High Yield Municipal Credit Analyst

Vanguard

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Keith Rochelli, CFA

Managing Director

ORIX

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9:15 am

MUNICIPAL BANKRUPTCY: LESSONS LEARNED FROM PUERTO RICO

Panelists will focus on potential new challenges post-Covid. What happens when the federal money runs out?

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Ian Rogow - Moderator

Director

Co-Head Municipal Bond Research

BofA Securities

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The Honorable Rafael "Tatito" Hernández Montañez

Speaker

Puerto Rico House of Representatives

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Bill Kannel

Member

Mintz

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Hector Negroni

Founder and CEO

Foundation Credit

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Scott MacDonald, Ph.D.

Chief Economist

Smith's Research & Gradings

10:15 am

COFFEE NETWORKING BREAK

Sponsored by: Fitch Ratings

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10:30 am

Hospital Stress – Transitory or the New Normal?

The U.S. hospital sector is facing its most severe financial crisis since the beginning of the pandemic.  Analysts project billions of dollars in losses for 2022, and more than half of U.S. hospitals are projected to have negative margins this year.  At a time when revenues and reimbursement rates are challenged, hospitals face ever-increasing labor and material costs, and are continuing to manage supply chain disruptions and other challenges.  In addition to these financial and operational difficulties, health care providers also face a growing risk of cybersecurity attacks which have become more prevalent, sophisticated and pernicious.  We will address the current state of the sector and how it has affected both credit analysis and investment decisions.

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Nathan Coco

Member

Mintz

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Sandy Pae Goldstein

Managing Director, Head of Credit and Structuring

Foundation Credit

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Anne Cosgrove

Director

S&P Global Ratings

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Omid Rahmani

Associate Director

Fitch Ratings

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Andrew Turnbull

Managing Director

Houlihan Lokey

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11:15 am

INVESTORS ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION

The $540 bln. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is a once in a generation investment by the Federal Government in America’s critical infrastructure assets.  Based on the report card by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCA), the IIJA is much needed and long overdue.  Smith’s Infrastructure Panel has a team of experts that work on financing the rebuilding of America’s infrastructure – everyday.  They will look at the infrastructure sector and discuss how the airports, surface transportation, water & sewer systems, are all connected  through today’s municipal bond market.  What’s more, the panel will highlight how ratings play a pivotal role in the investment process.

Rising interest rates and outflows mean credit matters most in the investment process. Investors know they cannot be wrong long or get credit wrong. Panelists will discuss how their work adds value to the investment process, sectors they like, and what sectors they avoid.

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Jon Barasch - Moderator

Director, Municipal Evaluations

ICE Data Services

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Mark Paris

Chief Investment Officer

Head of Municipals

Invesco

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Bill Black, CFA

Managing Director

Senior Portfolio Manager

City National Rochdale

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12:00 pm

CONFERENCE ADJOURNS

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