FIXED INCOME ANALYSTS’ SOCIETY, INC.
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, March 15th, 2022
PRESENT: M. Aggarwal, R. DeCesare, M. Howard, G. Lemos-Stein, P. Mosakowski, H. Shilling, R. Slowko, M. Verde, L. White, and L. Nauser
EXCUSED: E. Lyons, D. Vazza
Review of Minutes from 12/6/21:
Monica Aggarwal made a motion to accept the minutes from the 12/6/21 Board Meeting. Pawel Mosakowski seconded the motion. The minutes were approved as written.
Treasurer’s Report:
Pawel Mosakowski presented the Treasurer’s report.
FIASI continues to be in good financial position.
Healthy Balance of approximately $520K
Income down due to outstanding CSM dues and Sponsorship income (early in fiscal year)
Lauren Nauser reported that CreditSights CSM and Fitch Ratings WiFI sponsorship payments had just come in—neither of which reflected on the report. Moody’s WiFI & BNP ESG sponsorship payment are still outstanding
Lauren Nauser confirmed that taxes have been filed and refund for tax penalty paid had been refunded
Mariarosa Verde made a motion to accept Treasurer’s report; Ralph DeCesare seconded. Approved.
New Member Report:
Lauren Nauser presented membership update.
New members shown on pages 17-21 of board packet. Also included is three pages of those members in grace period.
Gregg Lemos-Stein made a motion to accept; Larry White seconded the motion. Approved.
Corporate Membership Discussion:
Monica Aggrawal presented FIASI Corporate Membership approach in Erin Lyons’ absence
Suggested raising CSM fee from $5K to $7.5K as it has not been raised in several years and is below the market pricing
Proposed tiered membership
$7.5K for CSM
$17.5K bundle for CMS + table at HOF OR one event (including speaker) – note typical table cost is $12.5K. Later reduced to $15K based on discussions below.
Additional event $5K (no speaker) or $10K (with speaker)
Monica Aggrawal suggested the “bundle” approach alleviates the need for going back to companies for each element, and that some companies prefer this approach
Mariarosa Verde felt the bundling seemed too big of a jump, and several BOD members agreed that bundle should include a discount. All in agreement that $7.5K would not meet resistance from most current CSM’s based on conversations with key personnel
Monica Aggrawal will send out sponsorship package details by end of week
Marketing Committee Report:
Robert Slowko presented an update on the committee’s work to date, focusing on the Website Redesign Project.
He mentioned that many people on the committee have been working very hard and that the BOD should be cognizant of showing appreciation so that we do not lose members.
Monica Aggrawal recapped that there were two finalists—Aspire & Bowen Media—which both exceeded the original $25K that had been agreed to by the BOD
Robert Slowko reported that Arash (who is the computer science professional leading the project) and Lauren Nauser recommend Bowen as it is a more modern platform (Aspire=WordPress)
Lauren Nauser will continue to work on the website; Bowen’s proposal includes 3 hours of maintenance per month for work outside Lauren Nauser expertise. Bowen will train her on the new site. Some expressed concern that what happens if we significantly exceed the 3 hours per month and our costs balloon beyond current expectations. Robert Slowko suggested the 3 hour/month was based on the company expectation of their needed involvement
Development cost is a one-off; and after that:
HubSpot it will cost approximately $6,000 annually
We will use Bowen’s involvement at 3 hours per month for $550/monthly or $6,600 annually.
A vote of those in attendance was taken based on Robert Slowko sharing the contract and start date details with the Board:
Yes = 7
No = 0
Ralph DeCesare, Erin Lyons, Diane Vazza and Gregg Lemos-Stein did not vote because they weren’t present.
ESG EVENT:
Henry Shilling reported that they are ready to move forward with marketing.
Dates have been confirmed as 5/19 & 5/20/22 in an effort to get more speakers and sponsors lined up
Henry Shilling seeks BOD support in area of sponsorships
He reported he already has identified potential keynotes, panelists and moderators. He asked for other suggestions from BOD ASAP
The 2nd Annual FIASI/Fordham Research Competition is moving forward. Closing date for entries is 3/18 (expects 6-7 papers to be submitted). He will get back to BOD with dates for ground rules and review
Having no further business items, the meeting was adjourned.