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Speakers Network
Money Talks. We Translate.
FTN Financial has a wide array of experts available through our Speakers Network. It's our way of sharing the latest financial insight with others. Whether it is innovative strategies for managing interest-rate change or new ways to approach balance-sheet management, our speakers have the knowledge, experience and savvy to share at events around the globe. Below is a listing of our most requested speakers.
Christopher Low
Chief Economist
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FTN Financial
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Chris forecasts the U.S. economy. He follows political and market events to develop long-term rate forecasts. In addition to twenty years' experience tracking U.S. and global economies and central banks, he also has six years' experience with a global bank as a money manager. This gives him a unique ability to distill economic news into insight for investors.
Chris writes daily economic and market updates, weekly economic commentaries and regular economic forecasts. He is a frequent and popular speaker at national conferences and forums. Chris has been named to the American Bankers Association's Economic Advisory Council and to SIFMA's Economic Committee. His work is widely cited in various financial publications around the globe, and Chris is a frequent commentator on economic policy issues. A regular on Bloomberg TV, Reuters and CNBC, Chris also serves as a weekly commentator for Marketplace on national public radio stations.
Chris is a graduate of New York University.
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Lindsey M. Piegza
Economist
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FTN Financial
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Lindsey is an economist for FTN Financial, specializing in the consumer, labor markets and macro economic trends. Before joining the economic division of FTN Financial in early 2005, Lindsey spent two years as a research analyst in the mortgage strategy group in Chicago.
Lindsey has published several academic papers in journals such as Harvard Business Review and in textbooks published by the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Often quoted in the business press, Lindsey has been a guest on Bloomberg TV and Radio, National Public Radio’s Marketplace and a frequent guest on the FOX Business Network, as well as, BBC and BNN.
Lindsey is a member of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) and American Economic Association (AEA). She is a graduate of Northwestern University, having earned a B.A. in political science and a B.A. in economics with honors and distinction. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Economics from City University of New York. A native of Chicago, she now resides in New York City.
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Jim Vogel, CFA
Executive Vice President
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FTN Financial Capital Markets
As an executive vice presidet, Jim Vogel manages interest rate, credit, and municipal market strategies for FTN Financial Capital Markets. He works with investors on total return portfolio management and also closely follows GSE developments. A 32-year FTN Financial employee with more than 25 years of capital market experience, Jim did several tours on the trading desk. In 1992, he began writing about the agency market, and today has expanded the work into a comprehensive look at the fixed income markets. He has written extensively on the GSE controversy since it began in 2000, and continues to report its impact on investors. His views are widely quoted in the financial press.
Jim holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
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Walter “Walt” Schmidt, CFA
Senior Vice President & Manager
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Structured Product Strategies
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Walt is a 20-year, fixed-income veteran and is based in the Chicago office. He focuses on total rate of return structured product portfolio strategies for money managers, insurance companies, central banks, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, hedge funds, municipalities, and large depositories on a global scale. Walt is responsible for the management of the Structured Product Strategies group and the coordination of the Structured Product business within the firm. He is a frequent public speaker and discussion facilitator in both industry association and client-sponsored settings. He has also been widely quoted in the print media and has appeared in the television media to discuss market trends.
Walt holds an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago with concentrations in finance and accounting, an M.A. from the University of Chicago in social science/international relations and a B.A. (with Honor) from Michigan State University in social science/international relations.
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Steve Twersky, CPA
Senior Vice President
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Portfolio Strategies Group
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Steve is responsible for managing the portfolio strategies effort in the Capital Markets division of FTN Financial with respect to the depository customer base. His efforts center around assisting customers with managing their investment portfolio and understanding the implications of portfolio decisions on the institution's overall performance and risk profile. Steve also helps customers understand the impact of current and proposed regulatory, accounting and tax issues, as these often play an important role in the management of the portfolio.
Steve is a frequent public speaker at banking conferences across the county and regularly authors reports on specific investment structures and strategies. He joined FTN Financial in 1984 after working at a national public accounting firm where he specialized in auditing financial institutions.
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Monica Sonnier, CPA, CFA
Senior Vice President
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Portfolio Strategies Group
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Monica serves as a senior vice president in the Portfolio Strategies Group, assisting financial institutions in managing their fixed income portfolios, increasing profitability and managing risk. Previously, she was the chief investment officer for a banker's bank and managed its investment division. Additionally, Monica managed investment portfolios for banks, and provided consulting services in investments and ALM. She has been a presenter at various conferences and seminars for CPA societies, financial management societies, software vendors and in-house training groups.
Monica received a degree in accounting from Louisiana State University. She is a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst. Monica is a former chair of the Investment Committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute.
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Katherine Russell
Senior Vice President
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Portfolio Strategies Group
Katherine Russell is a senior vice president in FTN Financial’s Portfolio Strategies Group. She assists a wide range of investors in the analysis of current investment portfolios as well as in the design and implementation of strategies that address return, cash flow and risk. She is also involved in the evaluation of various product sectors including agency securities, mortgage-backed structures, and municipal bonds. In addition to portfolio and individual security analysis, she analyzes the effect of multiple security swaps on overall portfolio performance.
Katherine earned her B.B.A. degree with majors in business administration and economics and also her M.B.A. from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.
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Jerry Hubbard
President
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FTN Financial Capital Assets Corporation
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Jerry Hubbard serves as President of FTN Financial Capital Assets Corporation, the loan and servicing asset management and advisory services group of FTN Financial. As President of FTN Capital Assets, Jerry oversees the full spectrum of services offered by the group’s professional staff of CPA’s, financial analysts, loan portfolio advisors and operations specialists. Jerry’s primary expertise includes loan portfolio risk management, whole bank acquisitions, balance sheet strategies, asset management workout plans, and all facets of loan operations. Jerry has served on many industry-related committees and boards, and has authored numerous articles on a variety of loan portfolio management topics. As the former sole owner of a thrift institution that was the largest servicer of mortgage loans in the nation for its asset category, he understands first-hand the complexity of issues required to successfully manage the loan portfolio. Jerry is a graduate of the University of Arkansas and currently lives in Memphis, Tennessee.
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Peter J. Taglia, CPA, CMB
Vice President Financial Management
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FTN Financial Capital Assets Corporation
Pete Taglia is vice president of FTN Financial Capital Assets Corporation, concentrating on loan sale and securitization strategies, asset-backed structuring and portfolio analysis. His duties include client support for mortgage banking issues with an emphasis on hedging and risk management. He is a faculty Fellow for the MBA and received that organization's Master Faculty Award in 1998. He has also served as a senior faculty member for the Freddie Mac School of Mortgage Finance. In addition, Pete served as a member of the Illinois Residential Mortgage Board (State of Illinois - Office of Commissioner of Residential Finance); served on Fannie Mae’s Midwest Marketing Advisory Council, Chaired Alltel’s Secondary Functional Advisory Committee; was a member of Freddie Mac’s Midanet Advisory Board; and was the mortgage banking representative on MCAP (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago). Pete has authored several articles for Secondary Marketing Executive, Futures Magazine, Futures Industry, and the Chicago Board of Trade.
Pete graduated from the University of Illinois where he earned a BS in Accounting. He has participated in the London Business School's MBA Graduate Shadowing Program and is also a 1994 graduate of the MBA School of Mortgage Banking, for which he achieved his CMB designation in 1995.
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Al Farlow, CFA
Senior Vice President and Manager
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ALM Advisors Group
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Al has been with First Tennessee Bank since 1991 and has worked for FTN Financial
since 1997. His responsibilities at FTN Financial include management of the
Asset/Liability Management (ALM) Advisors Group, providing analytical and accounting
support (FAS 133) to the derivatives desk, and assisting clients with balance sheet
strategies.
Prior to transferring to FTN Financial, Al worked in First Tennessee Bank’s Risk
Management division where he was responsible for presenting the bank's interest rate
risk position to the Asset/Liability Planning Committee.
Al graduated from Miami University with a Bachelor of Science in finance, earned his
M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University, and is a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst
Institute.
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