Wherever you are in the world, I hope you have the opportunity to rest and rejuvenate in the coming months before the start of the new fiscal year. Thank you all for your hard work and successes over the course of FY19.

We extend a heartfelt welcome to our incoming society board members and volunteers, and many thanks to those of you soon ending your terms as presidents.  We also wish to congratulate and welcome our incoming Presidents Council Representatives elected for the FY19-20 term.  

The Americas and APAC advocacy workshops took place in Charlottesville and Singapore last week.  Advocacy chairs and other society volunteers and staff across both regions came together to explore opportunities to promote trust and market integrity in local markets. Learnings from discussions at those workshops will help inform our Societies 2.0 advocacy framework. 

Looking ahead:

• Please be reminded that FY20 society business plans and the 2019 Society Satisfaction Survey are due by 30 June. If you need assistance or have questions regarding these items, please contact your society relationship manager.  Society incremental funding is dependent in-part on meeting agreed timelines so please note that we will not be extending the deadlines.     
• Just a few weeks after the Global Society Leadership Conference, we have begun planning for the 2019 Regional Society Leadership Conferences,  which will be themed “Partnership in Action.”  Look for details regarding the agendas and registration in the coming weeks.  
• We are also developing the FY20 roadmap for Societies 2.0. The Regional SLCs will provide us with the opportunity to plan how to execute our strategic goals together.
• Check out the new social media playbook that has been produced in collaboration with the Society Marketing and Communications Council to help CFA Societies build an engaging social media presence and effectively engage with audiences.
•  On 30 June, CFA Institute will release the 2020 edition of the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS^®), set to take effect 1 January 2020. This marks an important milestone in the evolution of the GIPS standards to ensure their relevance for all asset managers and to foster a culture that puts investors and beneficiaries first.
• Read about the latest Society Technology initiatives in this quarterly update. 
• Finally, if you’d like to see the photos from the Global SLC, these are available on Society Center.

Please also be aware that the US and EU Society Advocacy Engagement Councils and the Society Marketing and Communications Council will be calling for volunteers with relevant experience to apply to open roles on the councils shortly.  Look for those notices – we welcome fresh faces and diverse perspectives!