CFA SOCIETY LOS ANGELES VIRTUAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT EXPO AND JOB FAIR 2024

Michael J. Collins, CFA, is a managing director and senior portfolio manager for Core, Core Plus, Absolute Return, and other Multi-Sector Fixed Income strategies.

Previously, Mr. Collins was a high yield portfolio manager and fixed income investment strategist. Earlier he was a credit research analyst, covering investment-grade and high yield corporate credits. Additionally, he developed proprietary quantitative international interest rate and currency valuation models for our global bond unit. Collins began his career at the firm in 1986 as a software applications designer.

Mr. Collins received a BS in mathematics and computer science from Binghamton University and an MBA in finance from New York University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (FLMI). He is currently the chairman of the board for the Center for Educational Advancement, a nonprofit that provides education and employment for people with disabilities. He is the host of PGIM Fixed Income’s “All the Credit” podcast.

Arielle Bittoni is the founder and wealth manager of Good Balance Financial Planning, a fee-only registered investment advisory firm specializing in comprehensive financial planning and investment management services for professional women and couples. She serves as co-chair of the CFA Institute Gender Diversity Sub-Committee and is the co-founder of Collaborative Women in Investment Management (WIM), a global alliance of CFA Societies and industry groups advocating for greater inclusion and diversity in the investment community.

With over 20 years of experience in the investment industry, Arielle has held a variety of roles including litigation consultant, RMBS structurer, municipal bond institutional sales professional, and financial advisor. She earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Applied Mathematics and Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) designations. Arielle is an entrepreneur, a wife, and mother to two boys residing in Los Angeles, CA.

Devin Banerjee is Sr. Managing Editor and Head of News Growth at LinkedIn, leading teams of business journalists delivering news to LinkedIn members and shaping the future of news on the world's largest professional network. Prior to joining LinkedIn in 2018, Mr. Banerjee was an editor and reporter at Bloomberg, where he covered a range of finance and investment topics. He previously reported for The Wall Street Journal in New Delhi, Korea JoongAng Daily in Seoul and other media organizations. Mr. Banerjee is an honors graduate of Stanford University and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Victoria Prescott is the Manager of Investor Relations at Travere Therapeutics (NASDAQ: TVTX), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to identifying, developing and delivering life-changing therapies to people living with rare disease. In this capacity, Ms. Prescott plays a pivotal role in shaping and executing the company’s investor relations strategy, fostering key relationships within the investment and analyst community to enhance shareholder engagement.

Prior to joining Travere, Ms. Prescott amassed nearly eight years of experience in corporate finance, capital markets, and investor relations at Realty Income Corporation (NYSE: O), a global real estate investment trust. During her tenure, she led multiple initiatives that contributed to optimizing investor communication and capital execution strategies.

Ms. Prescott began her career in the Transaction Advisory Services practice at PwC, where she advised clients across diverse industries, including retail, oil & gas, mining, and transportation, guiding them through complex M&A processes.

Ms. Prescott holds an MBA from San Diego State University and earned her CFA charter in 2018. She has been an active board member of the CFA Society San Diego since 2019, further demonstrating her commitment to advancing the financial industry.

Melissa McGrane is Partner and Portfolio Manager at GlobeFlex Capital where she is responsible for US and International institutional equity strategies with more than $4 billion in AUM. Prior to joining GlobeFlex in 2020, Melissa spent 15 years at William Blair where her career spanned fixed income, fundamental equity, and systematic equity research and portfolio management. She spent four years as a strategist in the division’s London office, providing thought leadership supporting institutional global equity strategies with $60 billion in AUM. In 2016, Melissa was recruited by her former boss to lead a team of William Blair alumni launching a family office and hedge with $150 million in AUM.

Melissa earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in Finance, Economics, and Econometrics & Statistics and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Coe College with a BA in Economics and Business Administration. She is a CFA Charterholder and is the Immediate Past President of the CFA Society of San Diego, having served as President for three years. She was also a three-term Board Member for the CFA Society of Miami. She serves on the board of Chicago Quantitative Alliance (CQA), on the Investment Committee for La Jolla Institute for Immunology, and on the Administration Committee for Q Group. She is a member of 100 Women in Finance and Women in Institutional Investments Network (WIIIN).

Kate has worked in private wealth management for 17 years. She is a CFA charterholder and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional (CFP®), making her one of only a very few financial advisors to hold both designations.

Before joining UBS, Kate worked for a trust company, Fiduciary Trust International, where she guided clients through the complex estate administration process that begins upon the death of a family member (and often ends two years later with assets placed in various kinds of trusts).

Prior to that, Kate worked for 10 years at BT Financial Group, one of Australia’s leading private wealth management firms. For Kate, everything is about the client and harnessing the full resources of a firm like UBS to find solutions for their specific needs. To do that, Kate gets to know her clients very well—to the point where she might know you better than you know yourself.

Ms. Entina currently serves as President on the Board of Governors’ Executive Committee, Chair for the Women’s Advisory Council, and executive sponsor for the DEI Roundtable series for CFA Society Los Angeles. She is passionate about ESG investing, improving financial literacy in our local community, and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the investment management industry. She is passionate about responsible investing, improving financial literacy in our local community, and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the investment management industry.

Ms. Entina is a Portfolio Management at DoubleLine focusing on investment grade corporate bonds. She is also a sector specialist on DoubleLine’s Responsible Investment Team, overseeing and monitoring the Responsible Investment integration for the corporate credit team. Prior to DoubleLine, Ms. Entina was an Investment Research Analyst at Pacific Life where she covered transportation, aerospace & defense, automotive OEMs, captive finance, auto parts suppliers, diversified manufacturing, and infrastructure credit. Previous to Pacific Life, she was a Portfolio Analyst at Capital Group. Prior to that, Ms. Entina was an Associate at KPMG, LLP. She holds a B.A. in Economics and Accounting from the University of California, Los Angeles. Ms. Entina is also a licensed CPA, CFA® Charterholder, SASB FSA Credential Holder, and has earned the CFA Institute Certificate in ESG Investing.