Four organizations that help you attend continuing education on a budget

With conference and T&E budgets down considerably in the industry this year, many may not have the opportunities that they did in previous years to attend presentations by leaders in the field, and to network and share ideas with colleagues at different firms from across the globe. Attendance at the traditional multi-day industry conferences is certainly down this year.

FactSet, along with many of the finance and risk associations, has responded by bringing more content right into your office. Webcasts have become much more popular this year and present a great way to “attend” a conference at no cost. In addition, several organizations are now offering low cost half day live events. As conference sessions are viewed by so many as an extremely important part of their continuing education, I have listed below some of the organizations offering sessions on current topics regarding the economy, quantitative finance, and risk that won’t break the bank.

1. FactSet’s weekly live webcast series “Seeing Clearly in Turbulent Times,” will provide you insight on such issues as the global economic outlook, secular bear markets, the U.S. business cycle, and the future of the bond market. This five part webcast series runs each Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Sign up here.
   
   
2. PRIMIA (Professional Risk Managers’ International Association) offers low cost conferences and webcasts. For example, they are holding a half day Credit Risk Forum in New York on April 2 that costs only $10 for members and $40 for non-members. Check out their website for information on their upcoming events.
   
   
3. GARP (Global Association of Risk Professionals) also offers low or no cost webcasts and conferences throughout the world in locations such as Tokyo, London, New York, Chicago, and Zurich. Most are free for GARP members. Click here for a full list of their upcoming events.
   
   
4. QWAFAFEW is an organization that holds regular monthly meetings in several cities across the US including New York, Boston, and Chicago. There are also less frequent meetings held in other cities throughout the world. The meetings are generally held at pubs, are very informal, and consist of one or two presentations from a quant professional along with food and drink. You can sign up on their website to receive emails about upcoming events in your city.

Of course, many organizations such as the CFA Institute are running their usual multi-day annual conferences this year. FactSet is a sponsor, exhibitor, and speaker this year so please come see us at our booth next month in Orlando.

Please share with any other organizations you know of that offer similar low or no cost events in the comments section.

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