CFA Society Cleveland to Host Midwest Investment Conference 2016 - Applied Industrial Techs (NYSE:AIT)

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

CFA Society Cleveland leaders announced today the non-profit investment professionals' organization will be the host society for Midwest Investment Conference 2016. The conference takes place June 22, 2016 at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, located within downtown Cleveland's newly renovated public square.

During the event senior management teams from publicly traded companies will make presentations in general sessions, and lead one-on-one, and small group breakout meetings, with qualified institutional analysts and portfolio managers. The general sessions will be organized into specific industry tracks and conducted concurrently in three auditoriums. Pre-arranged breakout meetings will be held in private rooms throughout the venue.

Midwest Investment Conference 2016 is an opportunity for leaders from public companies to save time, and enhance the quality of their non-deal roadshow meetings. It provides a way for them to update shareholders, and introduce their investment merits to prospective portfolio managers and buy-side analysts representing leading national investment managers in a proximate setting.

"The mission of our Society is to provide professional development opportunities for investment experts consistent with the ideals of excellence, integrity and education, as set forth by CFA Institute," said Donald Ross, CFA, Midwest Investment Conference 2016 Committee Chairman. "This event, which is open to all professional investors, offers a great opportunity to conduct investment due diligence and allows direct corporate access with senior management at public companies."

The conference model was developed based on input solicited from both public issuers and institutional investors over several years, according to Matthew J. Dennis, CFA, past Society President and current Conference Committee member.

"Our objective was to address specific concerns being expressed on both sides of the table and to genuinely advance the capital markets and free-enterprise system," Dennis said.

Institutional investors and analysts heavily influence the flow and allocation of capital in society. Direct access to senior management teams is routinely cited as the most critical element of properly conducting company and industry-specific due diligence, according to Ross.

"Public companies are able to meet with money managers, independent research analysts and multiple sell-side analysts − some with buy-side clients in-tow − at the same venue," he said.

Luncheon Keynote

CNBC and MSNBC contributor Ron Insana, who was named one of the "Top 100 Business News Journalists of the 20th Century," will make a keynote address at the conference luncheon. Insana is a highly respected business journalist and money manager of nearly three decades. His career began at the Financial News Network in 1984 and he later joined CNBC when FNN and CNBC merged in 1991. He plans to discuss the imminent 2016 GOP convention taking place in Cleveland in July, and the potential economic ramifications of the November election.

Call for Sponsors

Financial backing for Midwest Investment Conference 2016 comes from industry sponsors and a supplemental fee paid by the presenting companies. This year's supporting sponsors include Platinum Sponsors, Business Wire, a global market leader in commercial press release distribution, and FactSet Research Systems, a company which aids the world's investment community in performing sophisticated financial analysis through data and analytics; and Gold Sponsor, RR Donnelley, a global provider of integrated communications. Contributing sponsors are Clear Perspective Group, LLC, an employee-owned investor relations consulting firm helping public companies enhance investor awareness; and the Cleveland/Northern Ohio Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), a non-profit organization promoting common interests of individuals engaged in the investor relations profession.

Conference sponsorship offers a valuable touchpoint with decision-makers at public companies as well as with investment and asset-management firms. Sponsorships help defray costs associated with hosting the event, and showcase a commitment to corporate transparency and the capital markets.

Latest Roster of Attending Companies (this list is updated as companies register):

AmTrust Financial (Nasdaq: AFSI)
Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE: AIT)
EQT Corp. (NYSE: EQT)
Evans Bancorp (Nasdaq: EVBN)
Financial Institutions (Nasdaq: FISI)
National Interstate Corporation (Nasdaq: NATL)
Olympic Steel (Nasdaq: ZEUS)
OMNOVA Solutions (NYSE: OMN)
PolyOne Corporation (NYSE: POL)
Sovran Self Storage (NYSE: SSS)
Stepan Co. (NYSE: SCL)

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities or how a publicly traded company can register to present, please visit www.midwestinvestmentconference.org or contact conference administration at 216-255-6290.

About Midwest Investment Conference

The Midwest Investment Conference model was created in 2011 to conduct institutional investment conferences addressing the needs of both publicly held companies and professional investors. The unique model provides a conflict-free and cost effective means of enhancing corporate transparency and investor relations initiatives for companies, while providing direct corporate access for institutional investors and analysts. For more information on this year's conference, visit the event online at www.midwestinvestmentconference.org, and follow conference updates on Twitter @MWInvConference.

About CFA Society Cleveland

CFA Society Cleveland was founded in 1950 and provides investment-related programs and services to its Northeast Ohio-based membership. The CFA Society Cleveland has 479 members, and is a member society of CFA Institute, which represents 109,000 members including 100,000 CFA Charterholders in more than 130 countries worldwide.