Stock Lending Today - An Industry Under Siege!

Events galore!

The Event season is well and truly charging ahead. 

GSL Nordic Securities Lending Summit

Last week GSL hosted the Nordic Securities Lending Summit in Stockholm.  A great event and the videos of the event are being added to the GSL website even as we speak.  You can click here to see the videos.  Well over a hundred attendees including a substantial number of Beneficial Owners and Hedge Funds!

Securities Lending Yearbook Launch

I am looking forward to the Securities Lending Yearbook Exclusive Launch Thursday night.  Deloitte has partnered with Data Explorers to produce the book and it should be an good evening.  I don't know if there are places left, but f you are interested in attending I suggest you contact Ali Kazimi or Janice Pritchard.  Thanks for the invitation Ali!

IMN Beneficial Owners Summit

I am heading to San Diego this weekend for the 16th Annual IMN conference.  Maybe I won't go, after all I'd rather be here in the rain anyway.

FinTuition Courses

February is always a heavy month for our courses and this year we have several courses scheduled.  On Feb  16th we host Understanding Basel II - a practical course designed from an operational point of view and providing an overview of the risk calculations.  The 18th and 19th sees our trainers tackle the challenging subject  of Understanding Hedge Funds in the Post Madoff Era.  Wednesday 24th I am teaching our newest course - International Securities Lending - a one day seminar that looks at the fundamentals of the securities lending business.  It is geared towards those institutions and people that want to learn more about securities lending in a friendly and impartial environment.  The 25th and 26th moves to the more complex Equity Finance and Structured Products course where we include an examination of alternative structures.  Whew!  What a month!

GSL London Summit - All Aboard!

On Thursday 25th we run the second GSL Summit of the year in London.  I'm expecting great things from this and I am putting together some exciting panels even as we speak.  Stay tuned for more.

Other than that, things are quiet.  How are you?

Training and Education - HELP!

I wrote my first training course in 1983.  I was working for the Canadian Depository for Securities in Toronto.  CDS had just launched a new clearing process and I was asked to write a course that would qualify towards the achievement of an "Operations Specialist" certificate.  I wrote the course, and unbeknownst to the Certificate sponsor, I enrolled as the first student.  I didn't get 100% when I did the exam, so they were rather embarrassed when I told them they marked my results incorrectly.  Turns out they made an error in coding and I did indeed get 100%.

A lot has happened in the past 26 years!  Who would have thought that I would end up owning FinTuition, a specialist Securities Finance and Hedge Fund training company?

I need your help and input to make certain that FinTuition reflects the needs and objectives of the potential delegates.  Please take a few minutes to complete the following survey.  Anyone taking some of their valuable time to give me their views will receive a 25% discount on any FinTuition courses they book from Monday until the end of October. Click on the link below to take the survey.

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P.S. If you give us a suggestion that we turn into a new course, you and a colleague or friend will be eligible to attend free!

Education, Education, Education

The three "E's" seem to be pretty much in demand these days.  There are two upcoming events that you should consider attending.

GSL Summit -  Lending for Liquidity

The securities lending industry is slowly emerging from a sea of turmoil.  Having spent most of the past two years, the size of the business is somewhat smaller, but profitable and largely intact. 

Conference attendees will get a unique insight into a wide spectrum of issues informed by the perspective of many of the industry leading firms.  Commencing with a review of where we are today, speakers and panellists will focus on three key areas:  Short Selling, Beneficial Owner Issues and the Potential Changes Ahead.

Some consider that the pandemonium recently faced by the securities finance industry to be indicative of a business that is broken. Others counter that the industry has coped well with matters largely beyond the control of market participants. 

This is a half day event that is FREE OF CHARGE to registered attendees.

Listen to the speakers, challenge their views and use what you learn to apply in your own business decisions. You can get more information here.

P.S.  I forgot to mention that I am chairing the event and moderating the panel sessions.

Securities Lending and Borrowing Course

Many of the readers of Stock Lending Today are new to the industry and looking for more information.  Indeed, I often get asked about core securities lending training sessions.  I just thought I would let readers know that there is a Securities Lending and Borrowing Course coming up on Tuesday 19th May in London.  The course is provided by Investment Education plc, a leading provider of courses in securities and investments. You can read the course brochure here:

Download Securities Lending & Borrowing courses + Corporate Actions course.

Of course, such events are really dependent on the quality of the instructor.  Course participants will be happy to know the person leading the training session has many years of experience in the business, a wealth of knowledge to share, is kind, good looking, sincere and humble ... and if he can't make it, I guess I will step in.