CFA Society Houston

John P. Calamos, Sr. is Chairman and Global CIO of Calamos Investments, a firm he founded in 1977. With origins as an institutional convertible bond manager, the firm has grown into a global asset management firm with major institutional and individual clients around the world. The firm is headquartered in the Chicago metropolitan area with additional offices in London, New York and  San Francisco.

Mr. Calamos has established research and investment processes centered around a team-based approach designed to deliver superior risk-adjusted performance over full market cycles through a range of U.S. and global investment strategies including equity, fixed income, convertible and alternative investments.

With 48 years of industry experience, he is often quoted as an authority on risk-managed investment strategies, markets and the economy. He is a frequent speaker at investment seminars and conferences around the world and appears regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg TV and Fox Business Channel.

Mr. Calamos has written two books: Investing in Convertible Securities: Your Complete Guide to the Risks and Rewards and Convertible Securities: the Latest Instruments, Portfolio Strategies, and Valuation Analysis.

He received his B.A. in Economics and an M.B.A. in Finance from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He joined the United States Air Force after graduation where he served as a combat pilot during the Vietnam War and ultimately earned the rank of Major.​

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Mark Finn is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. He is the portfolio manager of the Value Fund and chairman of its Investment Advisory Committee and co-portfolio manager of the Institutional Large-Cap Value Fund. Mark is also a vice president and Investment Advisory Committee member of the Equity Income, New Era, Capital Opportunity, and Mid-Cap Value Funds and is a vice president of the Balanced Fund. From 2005 to 2009, Mark was an equity research analyst specializing in electric power generation, utilities, and coal. Prior to this, he was an analyst in T. Rowe Price's Fixed Income Division, where he also covered utilities and power generation. From 1998 to 2001, Mark worked with the T. Rowe Price recovery strategy team, where he evaluated financially distressed companies. Mark began his career with T. Rowe Price in 1990 in the Finance Division, where he served as controller of T. Rowe Price Investment Services and as the principal accounting officer for the T. Rowe Price realty income strategies. Prior to joining the firm, he had five years of auditing experience with Price Waterhouse LLP, where he worked on engagements for both public and private companies. Mark earned a B.S. from the University of Delaware and has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He is also a certified public accountant.​

Jim is Chief Investment Strategist of The Leuthold Group, LLC. He is a member of the investment committee, authors market and economic commentary, and works with the Leuthold investment team in serving institutional, financial advisor, and investment-professional clients. His long-running newsletter, now titled Paulsen's Perspective, is published and distributed alongside our premier monthly research product, Perception for the Professional.

Paulsen has been an investment industry professional since 1983, most recently as Chief Investment Strategist at Wells Capital Management where he worked for 20 years. Prior to that, Jim was the senior managing director and Chief Investment Strategist for Investors Management Group in Des Moines, Iowa. He also served as president of SCI Capital Management in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For more than 30 years, Jim has published commentary examining economic and market trends. He is nationally recognized for his views on the economy, frequently appears on CNBC and Bloomberg TV, and is invited to speaking engagements across the country. He was named a top economic forecaster by Business Week, and Money Magazine called his newsletter one of "101 Things Every Investor Should Know." Jim earned a bachelor's degree and Doctoral Degree in Economics from Iowa State University.​​​​​

Laura Lutton is North American practice leader, manager research, for Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. She directs the firm's manager research analyst teams in the United States and Canada.

Before assuming her current role in 2016, Lutton was director of manager research for equity strategies, North America. She has been a leader in the Manager Research group for more than a decade, previously heading the firm's Parent research and ratings on mutual fund firms. Lutton helped develop Morningstar's Analyst Rating^TM methodologies for mutual funds, target-date series, and 529 college savings plans. She is also a founding member of Morningstar's Women's Initiative and chairs the group's Women and Investing committee.

Lutton joined Morningstar in 1999 as an equity analyst and moved to the fund research team in 2001. Before joining Morningstar, Lutton was the Chicago bureau chief for American Banker.

Lutton holds a bachelor's degree in government and international studies from Colby College and a master's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.​​