Feb 4, 05:30 PM - 08:30 PM (CT)
Our Annual Forecast Dinner (AFD) is scheduled for Wednesday, February 4, 2026 at the majestic River Oaks Country Club. Join us!
Join CFA Houston for Our Annual Forecast Dinner!
Don’t miss CFA Houston’s signature event — the Annual Forecast Dinner ! Each year, more than 350 investment professionals gather for an evening of insights, connections, and celebration.
📅 Date: February 4, 2026 📍 Location: River Oaks Country Club
🍽️ Enjoy dinner and drinks while hearing from an expert panel discussion on what’s ahead for the markets and the economy.
This event sells out every year , so be sure to register early!
Interested in becoming a sponsor ? Reach out to Karina for details.
Past presidents/committee members , please DO NOT register online. Reach out to Karina@amc-texas for your complimentary ticket.
Table sponsorships are available by downloading a packet and returning the final page to
[email protected]. You can find packets HERE
We have SOLD OUT the event for the past two years, so don't delay in purchasing your ticket or your table sponsorships. Registration opened with with early bird pricing on November 14, 2025.
Speakers:
Alejandra Grindal Chief Economist Ned Davis Research
Alejandra Grindal is the Chief Economist for Ned Davis Research Group. She is the primary person in charge of the firm’s global economic outlook, and is responsible for identifying global economic trends and themes, particularly as they relate to developments in equity, fixed income, commodity, and currency markets. In recent years, Alejandra has been particularly focused on global demographics and labor force trends, China’s economic transition, and Japan’s lost decade. She joined Ned Davis Research Group in 2006.
Alejandra is a member of the National Association for Business Economics, where she has been involved in various committees, such as the International Roundtable and the Business Conditions and Policy Surveys. She is a frequent speaker at professional and investment conferences. Her work has been quoted in national media, including Barron’s, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and TIME, and is a guest on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and TD Ameritrade Network.
Prior to joining Ned Davis Research Group, Alejandra taught Microeconomics and Macroeconomics at Florida State University during her graduate studies, and then worked as a full-time professor at Santa Fe College and Edison College. Alejandra also worked in British Parliament as a research assistant, where she participated in policy and constituent research and campaign marketing.
Alejandra received her Masters degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and International Affairs, with summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa distinction, from Florida State University.
Steve Brown CIO Guggenheim
Steve is Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income, Senior Managing Director, and a Portfolio Manager for Guggenheim’s Active Fixed Income, Total Return, and Insurance Mandates. He joined Guggenheim in 2010. Steve works with the Chief Investment Officer, the Sector Teams, Portfolio Management, Macroeconomic Research, and the Portfolio Construction Group to develop and execute investment strategy. Mr. Brown was previously a member of the structured credit sector team at Guggenheim.
Prior to joining Guggenheim, he held roles focused on structured products at Bank of America and ABN AMRO. He received a B.S. in Finance from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and is a member of the CFA Institute.
Alessandro Valentini, CFA Fundamental Portfolio Manager Causeway Capital
Mr. Valentini is a director and fundamental portfolio manager at Causeway and is responsible for investment research in the global healthcare, financials and real estate sectors. He joined the firm in July 2006 and has been a portfolio manager since April 2013.
During the summer of 2005, Mr. Valentini worked as a research analyst at Thornburg Investment Management, where he conducted fundamental research for the International Value Fund and the Value Fund, focusing on the European telecommunication and Canadian oil sectors. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Valentini worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs in the European equities research sales division in New York.
Mr. Valentini earned an MBA from Columbia Business School, with honors, an MA in economics from Georgetown and a BS, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University. Mr. Valentini was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma honors society, is a Phi Beta Kappa member, and is a CFA charterholder.
Moderator:
Mark McMeans, CFA CFA Houston longtime member Brasada Capital
Mark McMeans is CEO of Brasada Capital Management, a Registered Investment Advisor located in Houston, Texas that he co-founded in 2008. At Brasada, Mark is the lead manager on the firm’s Brasada Equity strategy and is an advisor to some amazing and successful families. Prior to founding Brasada, Mark worked for sixteen years at AIM Investments (now Invesco), which was named the top performing mutual fund company of the 1990’s by Barron’s, as Director of Equity Investments and Managing Director, AIM Capital Management, and President and Chief Operating Officer, AIM Private Asset Management, Inc. He also served as a Global Partner of AIM’s parent company, Invesco. Prior to AIM, Mark held positions at JP Morgan Chase and KPMG, LLC.
Mark received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin, where he currently serves on the Advisory Board for the MBA Investment Fund, LLC. He also earned a Master of Business Administration degree, with a concentration in finance, from Rice University in Houston, TX, where he serves on the Oversight Board of the M.A. Wright student-managed fund, Jones Graduate School of Business. A life-long student of the markets, Mark is a CFA charter holder and former board member of the CFA Society of Houston. He is an Investment Advisory Board member of MBR Financial in Houston and Chairs the Endowment Fund Committee of Christ Church in Sugar Land, Texas.
CFA Houston members and guests, click MORE INFORMATION to register!
NOTE : You MUST fill out the page of information (name, company, etc) AFTER you pay to be registered. If you don't fill out that page, you are NOT registered (we won't have your name on our list) and will not be let in the event. Since we sell out, this is IMPERATIVE!!! Thank you.
Houston, TX, United States