INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 27, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Indianapolis finance author, business commentator and educator Dr. Matthew Will and retired Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard have been announced as featured speakers at the third INVESTIndiana Equity Conference, to be held September 13 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
INVESTIndiana is a biennial event at which CEOs and CFOs from 15 leading Indiana public companies discuss corporate performance and growth opportunities through formal sessions and individual meetings with professional investors and analysts.
Dr. Matthew Will, the veteran economic commentator and educator from the University of Indianapolis, will provide the keynote address: "Indiana Investors at the Economic Crossroads."
"Investment managers in Indiana and elsewhere have had great difficulty earning returns that meet investor expectations," said Dr. Will, who is Associate Professor of Finance and Director of External Relations at the University of Indianapolis. Dr. Will plans to explore the shift away from traditional investments such as equities, discuss possible consequences of the upcoming presidential election on investors and provide thoughts about the role of Indiana public companies in future investment portfolios.
In the opening address, retired Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard will welcome conference attendees and provide his perspective on how Indiana laws and policies have shaped Indiana's business climate.
The Chief Justice – who retired this year after leading Indiana's high court for 25 years –serves as Executive in Residence at Indiana University's Public Policy Institute and on the board of directors at Old National Bancorp. The Chief Justice will also discuss what he sees as the state's most significant policy issues affecting business.
"These distinguished figures will provide valuable insight to investment professionals who attend INVESTIndiana and who are looking for understanding into the factors affecting Indiana public companies and business," said Terry McWilliams, conference chairman, and president of Mozaic Investor Relations, Inc.
Each of the 15 public companies will be making formal presentations to the investment community. The participating INVESTIndiana companies represent a wide range of sizes and industries, including the banking, utilities, auto, health/life sciences, high-tech, retail, insurance, and manufacturing sectors.
Conference attendance is on an invitation-only, first-come, first-served basis, with admission, continental breakfast, lunch and programming underwritten by the conference and its sponsors. Registration for investment professionals is available through www.invest-ind.com. Call INVESTIndiana or the CFA Society of Indianapolis to discuss qualifications to attend.
The http://www.membersocieties.org/indianapolis/default.aspx">CFA Society of Indianapolis, representing the Indianapolis analyst community, and the http://www.financialexecutives.org/eweb/startpage.aspx?site=ch_ind">Financial Executives International chapter of Indianapolis, whose members include chief financial officers, treasurers and other financial executives, are organizing sponsors of the event. The title sponsors of INVESTIndiana are Crowe Horwath LLP, one of the largest public accounting and consulting firms in the U.S., and Ice Miller LLP, an Am Law 200 Firm with many nationally recognized practice areas.
Both Dr. Will and Chief Justice Shepard have extensive qualifications in their professional fields.
Dr. Matthew Will is a financial economist, with an emphasis on asset valuation, investments, derivative securities, and public policy. His work experience includes Fortune 500 companies, privately owned businesses, not-for-profit organizations, government and academic institutions.
In addition to being a university professor, Dr. Will serves on various boards, is an author in the field of finance, an advisor on public policy to state and national government, provides expert consultancy in the area of finance, and is a regular media commentator on topics related to business and economics. Dr. Will holds a Doctorate of Business Administration, a B.S. in Actuarial Sciences, and an M.B.A. in Finance.
Chief Justice Shepard's career is distinguished. In addition to serving as advisor to the U.S. Under Secretary of Transportation and to the Mayor of Evansville, he was president of the Conference of Chief Justices; chaired an accreditation group for 180 law schools; led the ABA's Appellate Judges Conference, representing 700 federal and state judges; wrote 65 law review articles; and authored more than 900 majority opinions for his court. He holds degrees from Princeton University, Yale Law School and the University of Virginia.
More information about INVESTIndiana's speakers can be found online at www.invest-ind.com/keynotespeaker
Support for the conference also comes from Platinum Sponsors Hilliard Lyons, which provides comprehensive financial services and advice to clients through more than 70 offices in 13 states, and Creative Financial Staffing, one of the world's largest, privately owned accounting and financial placement companies. Gold Sponsors are NASDAQ OMX, Hays Companies of Indiana and Wall Street Transcript, and Indiana University – Kelley School of Business is the Educational Sponsor.
Contributing Gold Sponsors are InGrid Design, Optimum Print Solutions, O'Neil Arnold Photography, CivicScience, Inc., and Mozaic Investor Relations, Inc.
Previous INVESTIndiana conferences were held in 2008 and 2010 at Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. More details about the event can be found at INVESTIndiana's Web site: www.invest-ind.com.
For more information:
Financial media and general inquiries: Terry McWilliams, Chairman, INVESTIndiana, 317-644-0464, terrym@mozaicir.com
Investment and financial community: Institutional investors, analysts and fund managers, Ryan Fuhrmann, CFA Society of Indianapolis, 317-818-6724, ryan_fuhrmann@yahoo.com. Financial executives: Jonathan Peisner, President, Financial Executives International chapter of Indianapolis, 317-249-4390, jonathan.peisner@karauctionservices.com
Sponsor contacts:
Jim Powers, Office Managing Partner, Crowe Horwath LLP, 317-706-2616, jim.powers@crowehorwath.com
Patricia Batesole, Marketing and Business Development Director, Ice Miller LLP, 317-236-5911, patricia.batesole@icemiller.com
EDITOR NOTE:
Photo of Dr. Will: http://meetmax.s3.amazonaws.com/upload/event_11149/Matt%20Will%20headshot.jpg
Photo of Chief Justice Shepard:
http://meetmax.s3.amazonaws.com/upload/event_11149/SC%20Shepard_9-17-08%20_019%20%283%29.jpg
INVESTIndiana logo:
http://meetmax.s3.amazonaws.com/upload/images/event_11149/INVESTIndiana%20%28TM%29%20logo%20sm%202.jpg
Email meganm@mozaicir.com or call 317-644-0464 for more information regarding photos.