We are delighted to announce our upcoming program in Nassau, Bahamas. Our program will begin with a Speakers Dinner on February 14, our full day public conference with the University of the Bahamas on February 15, followed by a Roundtable Breakfast on February 16 and optional add-on tourism activities over the weekend.

Throughout our itinerary, we will cover important themes such as enhancements and impediments to economic growth, the banking ecosystem of the Caribbean including the U.S. governance impact on the region, payment systems, and de-risking. We will examine currency issues surrounding the Bahamian Dollar, US Dollar and Central Bank Digital Currencies such as the Sand Dollar. Finally, our program will explore the impacts of climate change, hurricanes, and sea level rise through the lens of risk management. Christopher Waller, Ph.D., Governor of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors is confirmed as Keynote speaker.

Attendees of this conference can receive continuing education credit from the Certified Financial Planner Board for credit hours. Please email Sandra Levant at [email protected] for more details.

GIC Confirmed Speakers Include:

• Christopher Waller, Ph.D., Governor, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
• Dave Altig, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
• Danielle DiMartino Booth, Chief Strategist, QI Research
• Michael Drury, Chief Economist, McVean Trading & Investments
• William Kennedy, CEO, RiskBridge Advisors and GIC Board Chair
• David Kotok, CIO, Cumberland Advisors
• Leland Miller, CEO, China Beige Book
• Don Rissmiller, Partner, Strategas Research Partners

Accommodations 

A room block will be available at Margaritaville Beach Resort – Nassau to book until January 5, 2024 at a nightly rate of $299++.

To reserve your room online, please click here or call: 1-855-410-2331.

Guests making such reservations must identify themselves as members of the GIC Group, with reservation number 240214GIC.

++ Rate does not include applicable VAT taxes, Service Charges and Resort Fee. The resort fee includes:

• Wireless internet access throughout the resort
• 24-hour Access to Fitness center
• Unlimited access to the Fins Up Waterpark
• Non-Motorized Watersports
• Two Beach chairs and One umbrella
• Access to entertainment center
• Daily Bottled Water in guestroom
• In room coffee
• Locals Calls

All reservations must be accompanied by a first night room deposit or guaranteed with a major credit card. If a guest does not cancel a reservation within forty-eight (48) hours before the guest’s check-in date, then the Hotel may charge the credit card one night’s room fee plus any applicable taxes.

If you have any questions regarding room reservations, please contact GIC’s Executive Director, Jill Fornito, at [email protected]. 

Pricing

Registration for this program will be as follows: 

• $800 for GIC members 
• $1,000 for non-members 

Agenda 

Conference Agenda

8:00 a.m. | Registration and Coffee

9:00 a.m. | Welcoming Remarks

• Janyne Hodder, Acting President of the University of Bahamas
• William Kennedy, CIO, RiskBridge Advisors and GIC Board Member

9:10 a.m. | Opening Remarks

• Prime Minster or Deputy Prime Minister (Invited)

9:15 a.m. | Morning Keynote – Sand Dollar

• John Rolle, Governor of the Central Bank of The Bahamas
• Q&A Moderated by: Zhivargo Laing, Executive Director of the Government and Public Policy Institute and Senior Policy Fellow at the University of the Bahamas

10:00 a.m. | Coffee Break

10:15 a.m. | Session 1: Global Economic Outlook

• Therese Turner Jones, General Manager of Caribbean Group of the Inter-American Development Bank
• Michael Drury, Chief Economist, McVean Trading & Investments – US
• Leland Miller, CEO, China Beige Book – China
• Moderator: Don Rissmiller, Partner, Strategas Research Partners and GIC Board Member

11:00 a.m. | Session 2: The Banking Ecosystem of the Caribbean

• Wendy Warren, former Executive Director of the Bahamas Financial Services Board
• Julian Francis, Former Governor of Central Bank of The Bahamas
• Moderator: Don Rissmiller, Partner, Strategas Research Partners and GIC Board Member

11:45 a.m. | Special Feature: The Fed and the Flu

• David Kotok, Author, and CIO, Cumberland Advisors and GIC Board Member

12:00 p.m. | Lunch

1:00 p.m. | Afternoon Keynote

• Christopher Waller, Governor, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
• Q&A Moderated by: William Kennedy, CIO, RiskBridge Advisors and GIC Board Member

1:45 p.m. | Break

2:00 p.m. | Session 3: Currency issues: Bahamian Dollar, Digital Currencies, and the Future of the U.S. Dollar

• Gabriella Fraser, Chair of Bahamas National Statistical Institute
• Danielle DiMartino Booth, Chief Strategist, QI Research
• Tarron Khemraj, William & Marie Selby Chair – Economics, New College of Florida (invited)
• Moderator: Zhivargo Laing, Executive Director of the Government and Public Policy Institute and Senior Policy Fellow at the University of the Bahamas

2:45 p.m. | Break

3:00 p.m. | Session 4: Proactive Risk Management in the Era of Climate Change

• Carlos E. Palacious, M.Sc., P.Eng, P.E., PMP, Managing Principal, BRON
• Moderator: William Kennedy, CIO, RiskBridge Advisors and GIC Board Member

3:45 p.m. | Closing Remarks

• Representative from University