| Sunday, December 7, 2008 |
| 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. |
Registration |
| 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
Pre-conference NAUPA Compliance & Education Course |
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| Monday, December 8, 2008 |
| 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. |
Registration |
| 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
Pre-conference NAUPA Compliance & Education Course |
| 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. |
Pre-Conference Welcome Lunch
Speaker: Richard W. Fisher, President & Chief Executive Officer,
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas |
| 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. |
CSPN Corporate Affiliate Meeting |
| 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. |
NAST Business Meeting |
| 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. |
CSPN Legal & Regulatory Affairs Committee |
| 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. |
NAUPA Annual Business Meeting |
| 5:00 - 9:30 p.m. |
Early-Bird Activities at the Galleria
Get a head start on holiday shopping or sample one of the many
restaurants at Dallas’ famous shopping mall. Shuttles will
depart from the hotel every half hour until 7:00 p.m. Discount
coupons will be provided. |
| 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. |
A Salute to Treasurers Dinner (separate registration
required)
Welcome the newly elected officials to NAST before they are
sworn into office. This exclusive dinner is open to state
treasurers, their guests, and one representative from each
Corporate Affiliate firm. |
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| Tuesday, December 9, 2008 |
| 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. |
Conference Opening Breakfast with Exposition |
| 9:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
Concurrent Workshops
Sessions focusing on Banking, College Savings,
Unclaimed
Property, Debt Management and Financial
Literacy will be held simultaneously.
Participants can pick and chose to attend the sessions that fit
their specific interests. Keep watching this page for more
details. |
| 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. |
Conference Lunch with Exposition |
| 1:45 - 5:30 p.m. |
Concurrent Workshops (continued) |
| 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. |
CSPN Annual Business Meeting |
| Evening |
Conference Event with Exposition |
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|
| Wednesday, December 10, 2008 |
| 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. |
Conference Breakfast with Exposition |
| 9:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
Concurrent Workshops (continued) |
| 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. |
Conference Lunch with Exposition |
| 1:45 - 5:30 p.m. |
Concurrent Workshops (continued) |
| 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. |
SDMN Annual Business Meeting |
| Evening |
NAST Rock 'n Bowl Conference Event |
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|
| Thursday, December 11, 2008 |
| 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. |
Conference Breakfast |
| 8:45 - 11:30 a.m. |
Concurrent Workshops |
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| Session Topics |
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College Savings and Prepaid
Tuition Programs |
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State of the States
This session will
focus on what states are doing that is new and innovative with
an emphasis on strategies to reach low/moderate income families.
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Unraveling the Mystery of Section 529 Plan Administrative
Costs
This session will explain the administrative expenses that are
unique to Section 529 plans and where there are economies of
scale. Learn what can be done to lower those unique expenses,
and evaluate the impact of variations in those costs among
different plans on the success of the plans.
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When Does a 529 Plan Account Become Unclaimed Property
and What Happens Then?
This joint session with NAUPA and CSPN members will present the
work of the joint NAUPA/CSPN task force which is exploring how
the unclaimed property laws of each state apply to section 529
accounts, what issues that application creates and how those
issues could be addressed.
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Implementing the CSPN Strategic Plan
This session will examine the goals identified in the strategic
plan and provide an overview of the planning process to develop
the Federal Initiatives Strategy, the National Communications
Strategy and the Membership Plan for the network.
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How to Approach and Educate Elected Officials on 529
Federal and State Issues
A review of the impacts of recent election results and an
in-depth discussion of the Federal Initiatives Strategy of CSPN
and an examination of the role each member of CSPN will have in
the successful implementation of the plan.
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Targeting Low and Moderate Income Populations
This session will examine what 529 plans are currently doing to
increase participation in this important section of the
population and will explore new opportunities. Topics will
include marketing and outreach efforts, scholarship and matching
grant programs, ways to build awareness among lower income
demographics and how plans are structured to encourage
participation.
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The Student Loan Crisis - What’s the Impact?
What is the crisis in student loans and how has that created
opportunities for the 529 savings industry? This panel will look
at how the college savings industry can incorporate planning and
education about the entire higher education finance picture into
529s. It will review the changes in student loan availability
(defining the “crisis”) and then, ideally, discuss education and
marketing tools to assist the direct investor with sorting
through available options.
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Innovative Marketing
Examine the current marketing initiatives for 529 plans and
learn about new approaches, such as outside marketing,
Geo-targeting, search and banner optimization, and e-mail
effectiveness.
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Emerging Managers
How are minority managers adding products and value to 529 plans
(especially prepaid) and will this be a growing trend? Can this
trend help plan sponsors broaden participation in 529 plans by
diverse constituents?
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Operational Issues: Developing Industry Standards
Studies suggest that one of the impediments to expanding the 529
industry has been the complexity of the operational processes
and procedures. The federal government has suggested that they
would like the 529 business to look more like mutual funds. So
why are operations so complex and why can't 529s use the mutual
fund model? Does the complexity result in extra costs? How can
we, as an industry, take steps to simplify 529 operations? What
are the benefits of doing so? The panel will discuss the results
of a survey that will be sent to Corporate Affiliates and other
non-State conference participants that seeks to identify reasons
for the complexity and provides suggestions to streamline
servicing across all programs. The panel participants will
explain the differences, highlight the roles that each of the
private and public sector parties play, and look at ways to work
together to achieve uniformity. |
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Unclaimed Property
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Pre-conference NAUPA Compliance
& Education Course
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High Performance Outreach and Claims
According to the most recent data, unclaimed property programs
returned $1.8 billion with 1,335 staff positions doing the work.
What innovations will deliver even more money back into the
hands of rightful owners? Is “fast-tracking” of claims the
answer to processing claims more efficiently? Discover how
colleagues are finding the answers to these questions through a
variety of resources and techniques. Learn how proven solutions
can be implemented through roundtable discussions and
interactive exercises.
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Researching Lost Owners – The Real Impact to Your Public
Outreach
Realize the potential of your state’s program to return money by
empowering staff with the right research skills and tools to
accomplish the job. Hear from experienced front-line
professionals trained to track the tough cases down.
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Safe Deposit Box Innovations
Financial institutions send the contents of thousands of safe
deposit boxes each year to state unclaimed property programs. As
custodians, states work hard to preserve the original items as
the chances of finding the owners grow dimmer every day and the
amount of valuables increase. A facilitator will help
participants to thoroughly explore the issues surrounding this
vital component of reporting and outreach.
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Optimizing Your Unclaimed Property Program with
Technology
What will the unclaimed property office look like in ten years,
maybe even next year? A panel of experts will answer this
question by presenting tools that are available now that can
dramatically improve the efficiency of your program.
Accomplishing more through software, skip-tracing, paperless
claims, electronic fund transmissions and database matching will
be thoroughly explored. Leave the session with information that
can streamline your state’s operation.
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Legislative and Legal Watch
Informed colleagues will present a comprehensive overview of
legislative activity and important legal decisions of the last
year. Discover how your state might be affected through dialogue
and audience participation.
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Reciprocity Today
After years of agreements and past study, what is the status of
reciprocity between the state programs, does it work and what
improvements would states like to see? State moderators will
sort out the details and make viewpoints known for all
participants to consider and comment.
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Administering the State’s Unclaimed Stock & Mutual Funds
Experienced state administrators will examine the increasingly
difficult management of a stock portfolio. Topics may include
what to look for in a custodian, integrating stock into your
unclaimed property software, balancing corporate actions,
retirement fund stock and dividend payments.
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Mastering the Stock Portfolio Reconciliation Process
States will present their experience reconciling stock and
mutual fund portfolios and the best practices to keep them in
balance.
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Defining NAUPA’s Modern Role
Within a few years, NAUPA will be 50 years old. This forum will
allow members to share their vision for moving the association
forward while continuing to fulfill its mission. Suggested
topics include but are not limited to training, coordinated
positive media exposure, compliance communication,
law-enforcement interaction and international participation. A
tutorial of NAUPA’s new Web site features will also be
presented.
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Maintaining Security in the Current Internet Environment
A panel of administrators will explain their efforts to stamp
out the activities of fraudulent asset locators. An open forum
will be held to examine the issues surrounding unrepeatable
unclaimed property Web sites.
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Unclaimed Property Systems Security: Preventing and
Detecting Fraud
Colleagues will share the common components of preventing,
detecting and eliminating fraud in the unclaimed property claims
process. Model procedures and methodologies will be discussed.
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Evolving Unclaimed Property Statutes and Regulations
Participants will hear how unclaimed property statutes might be
modified to exceed constituents’ expectations of the original
consumer protection program. A special focus on the Canadian
provinces will be included and a representative from the Uniform
Law Commissioners will discuss the 1995 Uniform unclaimed
Property Act. |
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| Banking, Cash Management &
Investments |
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Future of the Banking Industry
Major changes are rolling across the banking landscape -
including consolidation, recapitalization, globalization,
refocusing and re-pricing. How will these changes impact the
availability of credit, the level of customer service and the
cost of treasury services?
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – The government receivership
and how it may affect the states
Hear how the fed window and government takeover of these giants
of the financial world will affect the economy and what the
implications are for the future investment opportunities of
states.
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Improved Treasury Optimization
Learn to re-design treasury operations to significantly shorten
cycles, reduce costs, ensure compliance and provide better
visibility to critical information.
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Ethnographic Study of Treasury Operations
Document and improve the daily operation of your treasury!
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Custodial Services
As financial markets fluctuate, state treasuries are required to
more aggressively monitor the market value of collateral within
their custodial banks. This session will examine the services
that custodial banks offer and strategies to implement those
services while assuring that the market value of the collateral
is always there.
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Short Term Investment – Where do we put our money in this
environment?
States are dealing with even greater challenges in managing the
liquidity of their funds. How can financial providers help you
achieve your cash concentration goals? How do you pick the right
thing to do? |
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| Debt Management |
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Who is Buying our Bonds, Part 1: Retail Sales
As rates rise and institutional investors curtail purchases
in light of the unwinding of some Tender Option Bond programs
and liquidity concerns – especially among insurance companies –
retail sales will be increasingly important to issuers. In an
effort to better understand our customers, this session (first
of two) will focus on the retail buyer and ways to maximize
demand among this class of investors. This session will also
consider whether retail sales achieve better rates than
institutional sales and review innovative ways states market to
the retail investor.
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Who is Buying our Bonds, Part 2: Institutional Sales
Part Two of “Who is Buying our Bonds” focuses on the
institutional investor. Given market liquidity concerns, will
such investors continue to be substantial purchasers of state
debt? Additionally, this session will explore ways to maximize
institutional sales, and when to issue competitively or by
negotiation.
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Debt Managers Roundtable
Debt issuers and managers will have an opportunity to
participate in a roundtable to discuss debt issues and learn
from each other on a variety of topics, including: credit
ratings; bond insurance; benchmarks; debt affordability; debt
management technology; investment accounting and debt tracking
software; web applications; and other topics.
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Innovative Finance
Get a big picture look at non-traditional financing techniques
available to issuers to address their capital needs, including:
Pension/OPEB obligation bonds; GARVEE bonds; securitization; tax
increment financing; energy bonds; and public private
partnerships.
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Public Private Partnerships: Privatizing Roads Case Study
With revenues shrinking and budgets under stress, states are
increasingly turning to alternative financing techniques to
address infrastructure needs. This session will present a case
study to examine the pitfalls and potential benefits of P3s.
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Coping with Disruptions to the Auction Rate and Variable
Rate Markets
The short-term debt markets have experienced considerable
disruption in recent months and present issuers and managers a
host of concerns regarding pricing, put features, credit
enhancement, liquidity, or lack thereof, and disclosure
obligations related to events in the short-term market.
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The Future of Bond Insurance
The downgrades of many of the monoline insurers have affected
the credit quality of wrapped bonds and the future viability of
this industry. This session will consider the future for credit
enhanced bonds and what alternatives may be available as well as
disclosure when enhanced bonds are downgraded.
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Regulatory and Compliance Update
Review developments related to municipal market disclosure
and recent IRS enforcement actions including post issue
compliance and issuer obligations, dealing with audits, and
engaging and educating the Service regarding financing programs.
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Managing Bond Proceeds
The federal bailout of AIG and other market participants and the
withdrawal or failure of a number of investment banks has
dramatically impacted the ability of issuers to structure
Guaranteed Investment Contracts for the reinvestment of bond
proceeds and reserve funds. This session will focus on
alternatives for the investment or reinvestment of these funds.
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Credit Ratings: Evolving Scales and Keys to Upgrades
This session will examine recent moves among credit rating
agencies to refine their credit analysis to reflect the
creditworthiness of municipal debt relative to corporate debt.
Panelists from each rating agency will discuss the criteria they
use when evaluating credits and the keys to a credit rating
upgrade.
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