The 70th Annual Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Conference in Philadelphia was a grand affair, attended by almost 2,000 investment professionals from around the globe, most of whom are CFA charter holders. I was there in my capacity as chairman of the Investment Analysts Society of South Africa and was pleased to see the South African contingent punching way above its weight, with the third-highest number of delegates at the conference after the US and Canada. Philadelphia is the US’s fifth-largest city, with a population of just over 1.5-million and is historically significant, being the home of the Liberty Bell and George Washington’s original White House. Clean and neat, it lacks the grittiness of New York, the elegance of Chicago or the scenic beauty of San Francisco. It lacks "gees" — that expressive Afrikaans word for spirit — being well-ordered and functional, but a little bit sterile for my liking. I refused to embarrass myself by running up and down the famous Rocky Steps...

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