The Japan Investment Conference (JIC) is a large-scale industry event hosted annually by CFA Society Japan. The latest conference was held virtually, and, for the first time, the event focused on the theme of “Women in Investment Management”.
Sessions at the conference discussed the economic value of better gender balance and provided practical ideas on how to create a more diverse, inclusive, and productive workplace. Top female leaders shared their own experiences of career development and provided career advice to attendees. Speakers included Kathy Matsui, Vice Chair, Goldman Sachs Japan; Junko Nakagawa, President & CEO, Nomura Asset Management; and Hideyuki Kudo, President & CEO, Shinsel Bank.
Shin Okazaki, JIC Working Group chair, commented: “Despite a short period of promotion (less than a month), we were able to attract nearly 400 registrants, of whom 296 attended, either partially or entirely. Thanks to the active involvement of society leaders and volunteers, and collaboration with CFA Institute, we were able to secure high-profile speakers.”
Feedback from conference participants was positive, and the conference received an overall rating of 3.56.
Advantages and Disadvantages of a Virtual Conference
Yasuhiko Nakase, CFA, Executive Director, CFA Society Japan noted some key advantages and disadvantages to holding the JIC virtually (due to COVID-19 restrictions).
Advantages of hosting the JIC as a virtual conference:
- Additional flexibility in securing and making arrangements with speakers, as the local society was not bound to a physical venue.
- Significant cost reduction compared with the in-person format.
- Free-of-charge registration for all participants.
- Reduced sponsorship fees.
Disadvantages of hosting the JIC as a virtual conference:
- It did not provide a real networking experience for participants and speakers.
- It seemed difficult for participants to maintain concentration virtually over a full day conference.
- Sponsors' exposure to the participants was weakened.
Although the conference was virtual, the local society required simultaneous interpretation of entire sessions from English to Japanese. It was, therefore, necessary to have some staff members, the president of the local society, and interpreters at a physical location.
Yasuhiko explained, “Although we had a lot of experience organizing successful webinars, hosting this “hybrid” event provided additional challenges. Initially, we had planned to have a physical location next to our society office. However, due to the interpreters needing an insulated environment, we had to change the venue to set up a booth in a larger room in the next building. We also had to cope with larger system requirements in the lead up to the event. Fortunately, we were able to bring the experience and equipment from another hybrid event that we had hosted several days before (the CFA Institute Research Challenge Japan Final) to the JIC!”
Overall, the local society was delighted to hold the JIC 2020 on the issue of Women in Investment Management, as part of the CFA Institute global initiative. The conference helped to raise its profile locally among key stakeholders and position CFA Society Japan as a thought leader in the industry.
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