Smith’s High Yield Municipal Bond Conference will take a look at specific sectors like charter schools, higher education, hospitals, senior living and fallen angels.
Skyrocketing inflation and soaring interest rates have sent High Yield issuers into hiding. And that’s okay. Because, Municipal Bond Investors have suffered the shock and awe from the spike in rates.
But, the Wizard of Bonds knows that buying bonds now that rates are high can perform financial alchemy and replenish investment returns.
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
8:00 am
Conference Registration
8:30 am
Welcome
8:35 am
Does U.S. Economic Growth Continue?
Scott MacDonald, PhD, Chief Economist — Smith’s Research & Gradings
8:45 am
Financing the Future with Tax-Free Municipal Bonds
Infrastructure demands in the U.S. are great. The nation needs a new approach to finance America’s infrastructure and communities. The discussion will focus on opportunities using financial innovation, the municipal bond market and improving asset resilience as a way to improve credit and lower the cost of capital.
Terence Smith, CEO — Smith’s Research & Gradings
Maria Lehman, U.S. Infrastructure Market Leader — GHD
National Infrastructure Advisory Council to the President, ASCE Past President
Damon Burns, Chief Executive Officer — Finance New Orleans
9:30 am
The Future of Charter Schools: Risks, Remedies and Resilience
Panelists will explore the future landscape of charter schools, focusing on the evolving rights and remedies for bondholders and the correlations between risk factors and charter distress. What happens at pivotal moments when charters face revocation or renewal failure and what are the implications for stakeholders and communities? The discussion will include innovative strategies and regulatory frameworks to strengthen charter school stability and investor confidence. Join experts as they navigate the complex intersection of financial governance and educational outcomes in the charter school sector.
Rachel Repke, Vice President, Analyst — BlackRock
Margot Kleinman, Director of Research — Nuveen Asset Management
Richard Moreno, President — Building Hope Services, LLC
Emily Wadhwani, Senior Director and Sector Lead, Education and Nonprofit Institutions — Fitch Ratings
10:15 am
Coffee Break
10:30 am
Sunshine State’s Brightline East and Viva Las Vegas Brightline West
The Brightline East investment grade financing (which included insured bonds) was a landmark financing for a capital plan started in 2015 and 2017. Using Brightline Florida’s 235-mile passenger rail line as its blueprint, the privately held Brightline West has its sights set on connecting Southern California to Las Vegas. Construction on the 218-mile high-speed rail system is underway and is based on Brightline’s vision to connect city pairs that are too short to fly and too far to drive. And, it’s just in time because the ASCE’s Nevada Infrastructure Report Card shows the airports in Nevada are reaching maximum capacity (again). Siemens was able to build and operate the next generation of innovative high-speed trainsets, which eliminates a lot of the technical risk associated with the project. Join us as we examine the financing structures, demand drivers and Brightline’s vision for the future.
Zach Solomon, Executive Director, Co-Head of Public Finance Investment Banking — Morgan Stanley (Moderator)
Alexandra Levin, SVP, Capital Formation & Investor Relations — Brightline
James Schwartz, CFA, Managing Director, Head of Municipal Credit Research— BlackRock
Sam Nakhleh, Director, Infrastructure Finance, The Americas— Assured Guaranty
11:30 am
Navigating Financial Challenges in Higher Education
Navigate the diverging credit landscapes of larger institutions versus smaller private colleges. With a demographic downturn and escalating costs, the debate over higher education’s value proposition intensifies. Panelists will explore bond covenant violations stemming from sector distress and critical challenges facing the sector. Engage in a forward-looking discussion on higher education financing and evolving economic realities.
Miyoko Sato, Member, Chair, Public Finance, Real Estate, Bankruptcy, and Environmental Division — Mintz (Moderator)
Colin Shaw, CFA, Executive Director — Morgan Stanley Investment Management
Jessica Wood, Managing Director and Sector Leader, Education — S&P Global Ratings
Mark Podgainy, Managing Director — Getzler Henrich & Associates
Kenneth Dotson, Vice President, Special Accounts Consultant — Computershare Corporate Trust
12:15 pm
Luncheon
The Phoenix Award Presentation
— Recognizing Contributions and Achievements in the High Yield Sector
2024 Recipient: Hector Negroni, Founder & CEO — Foundation Credit
1:30 pm
Down the Rabbit Hole of CCRC workouts
Curiouser and Curiouser…Down the rabbit hole of CCRC workouts. Everything you thought you knew about CCRC secured lenders is being challenged and often re-written by the bankruptcy courts and the bankruptcy process. A look behind the scenes at what actually transpires in bankruptcy court and what issues should be addressed and pre-empted during the investor acquisition credit analysis. It’s a topsy turvy world.
Mary Jane Minier, CPA, Senior Analyst, Head of Opportunistic Credit Strategy — Invesco Ltd.
Dan Bleck, Member — Mintz
Chad Shandler, Senior Managing Director, Co-Leader of Healthcare Restructuring — FTI Consulting
Michael Slade, Senior Vice President — UMB Bank
2:15 pm
How Deals Evolve from Conception to Execution in the Project Finance Space
The municipal securities market is home to many greenfield projects that have limited sources of funds and need to deliver a completed project and recurring revenue stream. This can be challenging given construction, permitting, and financial ramp of net income that should approximate the obligor’s projections in the near term as well as over the life of the project. Given these challenges, the ingredients to a successful financing include: equity, liquidity, documentation that supports the credit, and a seasoned management team that together can manage challenges that may arise from a host of issues known and unknown. Significant parties to development, typically include a recognized management consultant to objectively support managements projections, a responsible construction company and owner’s rep as well as seasoned counsel representing various parties. This panel will showcase project finance transactions and incorporate views from purchaser’s counsel and project sponsors to discuss best execution in 2024 and beyond.
Yaffa Rattner, Senior Managing Director, Head of Municipal Credit — HilltopSecurities (Moderator)
Jon Novitsky, Chief Executive Officer — Max Midstream
Jeff Schumaker, President — American Tire Works
William C. Rhodes, Partner — Ballard Spahr LLP
3:00 pm
Million Air is Taking Off with High Yield Bonds
Million Air is in the fixed base operation (FBO) business, responsible for 36 corporate-owned and license-owned FBOs at various airports. FBOs provide aircraft fueling, parking, hangaring and other services for aircraft, pilots, and passengers. The Million Air license system constitutes the third largest FBO chain and the largest licensed chain in the United States. After an introduction by Raymond James banker, D.J. Mehigan, this session will be led by Roger Woolsey, Million Air CEO, who will discuss the firm’s growth and its current bond offering (its third publicly sold bond issue) for facilities in Austin, TX and Marathon, FL.
D.J Mehigan, Managing Director — Raymond James
Roger Woolsey, Chief Executive Officer — Million Air
3:20 pm
Workforce Housing from the Ground Up
This panel will discuss what works in Workforce Housing. The High-Yield Housing sector remains open, but is challenged by the unprecedented rising interest rates over the past year. Demand for affordable housing has sky rocketed even higher due to the lack of new affordable multifamily housing construction during the past five years. Meaningful credit distinctions can be made among different workforce structures. In addition, tax credit structures, documents and standards will be topics of conversation.
Helen Hough Feinberg, Managing Director, Manager – Housing Sector — RBC Capital Markets (Moderator)
Ian Parker, Managing Director — RBC Capital Markets
Richard Schwam, CFA, High Yield Research Analyst—Municipal Credit — Alliance Bernstein
John Stoecker, Financial Advisor — California Municipal Finance Authority
4:05 pm
Day One Roundtable
Join our high-yield municipal bond roundtable for an in-depth look at current market dynamics. This group of seasoned municipal bond professionals will discuss the impact of shifting interest rates and identify sectors facing significant challenges. Explore how recent trends and economic factors are shaping the high-yield municipal bond landscape. Panelists will share insights on distressed sectors and their implications for investors. Gain a forward-looking perspective on the market’s trajectory and what to anticipate for 2025. This discussion promises insightful knowledge, strategic foresight and an entertaining discussion as we navigate the evolving landscape of high-yield municipal bonds.
Mark Whitaker, CFA, Senior Managing Director and Head of Municipal Research — Mesirow (Moderator)
Jon Schotz, Co-Managing Partner, Co-Portfolio Manager — Saybrook Fund Advisors, LLC
Jim Schwartz, CFA, Managing Director, Head of Municipal Credit Research — BlackRock
Bryce Pickering, Head of High Yield Municipal Credit Trading — First Eagle Investments
Hector Negroni, Founder and CEO — Foundation Credit
5:00 pm
Municipal Bonds on the Rocks Cocktail Hour
6:00 pm
Smith’s High Yield Conference Dinner
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
7:30 am
Conference Registration
8:15 am
Opening Remarks
8:30 am
Reflections of a High Yield Muni Analyst
It’s not the stuff you don’t know that gets municipal bonds into trouble, but it’s the stuff you know that just isn’t so. It’s not “did I miss a covenant”, but “did I believe in the story too much/wrongfully”. It would not make a difference if we had the best covenants and protections in place if the credit story does not play out. The question that we need to ask ourselves is “Did we put too much faith in the projections and feasibility studies?” In failed deals, it may help to conduct a post-mortem to understand how we could have done a better job at identifying the real risks in a transaction. The panelists will share some of their recent experiences to highlight the theme and the point that while credit fundamentals and structure both matter, fundamentals rule!
Prakash Vadlamani, Portfolio Manager and Senior Research Analyst, — Amundi US
Andrew Cooper, Senior High Yield Municipal Credit Analyst — Vanguard
Ryan McDonald, CFA, Managing Director — BlackRock
Neene Jenkins, Executive Vice President, Head of Municipal Research — JP Morgan Asset Management
9:15am
Hotel and Convention Center Financings
Hotel, Shopping Mall and Convention Centers were all negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, with malls also falling victim to growing online shopping trends. It’s taken years for hotels and convention centers to return to “normal” levels and developers have had to creatively reinvent shopping malls. Panelists will discuss the variety of factors impacting projects and how financial risks can be mitigated.
David Rodriguez, CFA, Managing Director, Senior Research Analyst — Saybrook Fund Advisors
Chip Wilson, Managing Partner — Dakota Ridge Real Estate Advisors
Tom Weyl, Head of Municipal Solutions — Celadon Capital Partners
9:45 am
Coffee Break
10:00 am
Healthcare Bonds: Creative Financings to Bridge Gaps Between Funding and Financial Health
The Healthcare sector has many facilities with life support from Federal funding that is running out, reimbursement rates that are paralyzed, and costs that have soaring temperatures. The panel will look at the rights and remedies available to bondholders. You will learn how the cure could be worse than the cold and the hard ground may prove to be of cold comfort. These physicians of high yield bond finance keep true to the oath of doing no harm when repairing broken covenants.
Soren Reynertson, Managing Director — GLC Advisors & Co.
Alex Geier, Managing Director — GLC Advisors & Co.
Richard Szalkowski, Managing Director, Municipal Desk Analyst — Raymond James
Kristin Going, Partner —McDermott Will & Emery
Charles Hachten, Senior Research Analyst — Nuveen Asset Management
11:00 am
Lessons Learned from Puerto Rico
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico was rated double-A before rating agencies downgraded the debt to non-investment grade in 2014. Puerto Rico defaulted on nearly $70 bln. of outstanding municipal debt in 2015. In 2022, Puerto Rico “emerged from bankruptcy”, but it still has not posted audited financial statements and attempts by Puerto Rico’s Congressional finance committees to reconcile financial plans to the government’s recorded revenues have failed. Bondholder on Bondholder violence has erupted in the process. There is no shame and in a dark world then all cats are black. Then, may be, the U.S. First Court of Appeals made a ruling this past Spring that shines like a good deed in a very dark garden. Bondholder rights were affirmed. Judicial caprice was reigned in. And, administrative excess was capped without proper legal authority. US District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain extended for an additional 30 days the litigation stay through Oct. 8 and ordered the parties to meet during that time, according to a court filing last Thursday.
You don’t want to miss the biggest highlight of this year’s municipal high yield conference.
Ian Rogow, Director, Co-Head Municipal Bond Research — BofA Securities (Moderator)
Hector Negroni, Founder and CEO — Foundation Credit
Justin Peterson, Managing Partner — DCI Group
Laura Appleby, Partner — Faegre Drinker
Jude Arena, Managing Director, Head of Municipal Trading — Bank of America
12:00 pm
Conference Adjourns
