Featuring
Vivian Lin Thurston, CFA
Partner, Portfolio Manager
William Blair Investment Management
Program Description: Join us for an in-depth discussion on the current state and prospects of China’s macro economy and equity markets, with a special focus on the implications of recent policy stimulus, impact from global economy and geopolitical developments, and the attractive bottom-up investment opportunities on the current backdrop. As China is grappling with the ongoing deflationary pressure on its economy, led by low consumer confidence and declined property markets, it is ever more important to understand the policy developments and impact as well as to identify attractive idiosyncratic investment ideas which are less impacted by the overall economic backdrop. We are delighted to invite Vivian Lin Thurston, CFA, Partner and Portfolio Manager of William Blair Investment Management to share her insights and views on these topics. The event will be moderated by David Tang, Director, Head of Quantitative Research at EquiTrust.
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. CDT
Kinzie Hotel
20 West Kinzie Street, Chicago, IL 60654
(This event is not open to members of the press)
Agenda
5:30 – 6:00pm Registration & Reception
6:00 – 7:00pm Speech by Ms. Vivian Lin Thurston and Q&A
7:00 – 7:30pm Q&A and Conclusion
Speaker’s Bio:
Vivian Lin Thurston, CFA, partner, is a portfolio manager for William Blair’s Emerging Markets Growth, China A-Shares Growth, China Growth, and Emerging Markets ex China Growth strategies. Previously, she was a global equity research analyst covering the China A-shares market and large-cap consumer companies. Before joining William Blair, Vivian was vice president and consumer sector head at Calamos Investments. Before that, she was an executive director and senior investment analyst at UBS Global Asset Management/Brinson Partners, where she was responsible for stock selection and research for consumer sectors in the United States and emerging markets. Vivian also held roles at Mesirow Financial, China Agribusiness Development Trust and Investment Corporation, and Vanke. She is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Chicago. She is also the founder and chairman of the board of the Chinese Finance Association of America, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. Vivian received a L.L.B. in sociology from Peking University and an M.A. in sociology and M.S. in finance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Moderator’ Bio:
David Qi Tang, Director, Head of Quantitative Research is in charge of EquiTrust Life Insurance’s Investment data warehouse infrastructure, automation and quantitative research initiatives. David joined EquiTrust in 2021 from Neuberger Berman, where he was the head of its fixed income quantitative research function. David also held various risk and quantitative roles at Fannie Mae, Allstate and ABN AMRO. David received his MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business, M.S. in Economics and Computer Science, B.A. in International Economic from Renmin University of China.
