3rd Annual Forecast Dinner Panelists:

Hank Cunningham

Fixed Income Strategist

Odlum Brown

Hank Cunningham has more than 40 years of experience in fixed income markets. He has been a trader, institutional salesman, portfolio manager, and zero coupon specialist. Since 1988, he has specialized in the retail aspect of the investment business, building and managing three different retail fixed income trading desks, for Dean Witter Canada, First Marathon Securities, and Blackmont Capital. He is currently the Fixed Income Strategist for Odlum Brown and has held that post since April 2009.

Mr. Cunningham is the author of "In Your Best Interest: the Ultimate Guide to the Canadian Bond Market" and a frequent guest on the Business News Network.

Frank Mersch

Chairman, Co-CIO and Vice President

Front Street Capital

Senior Portfolio Manager

Frank L. Mersch is the Chairman, Vice President, and a Management Committee member of Front Street Capital. He is also a Vice President, Director and Senior Portfolio Manager of FSIMI. He manages various investment vehicles, including the the Front Street Canadian Hedge Fund, Front Street Canadian Equity Fund, and also the offshore Front Street Canadian Opportunities Fund.  Mr. Mersch holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and has over 28 years of experience in the investment industry, including 11 years as an investment manager with Altamira, during which time he was instrumental in building an organization which had over 300 employees and approximately $17 billion of assets under management. At Altamira, Mr. Mersch managed and marketed private wealth, mutual funds and pension funds and earned a reputation as one of the most highly regarded investment managers in Canada, frequently making appearances on “Wall Street Week” and other investment programs. He has earned a reputation as one of the most highly regarded investment managers in Canada, and has outperformed the S&P/TSX Composite in 18 of the last 21 years.  Mr. Mersch holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto.

Robert Spector

Vice President, Chief Economist

McLean Budden Ltd.

Robert Spector is Chief Economist at McLean Budden, a Toronto investment firm with $34 billion in assets under management. Robert is Chairman of the firm's asset mix team and a member of the fixed-income team, providing macroeconomic analysis to McLean Budden's asset allocation process and interest rate outlook. Prior to joining McLean Budden, Robert was Head of Canadian Economics & Chief Strategist at Merrill Lynch Canada and a financial economist at Nesbitt Burns, both located in Toronto. Robert began his investment career with BCA Research in Montreal as a U.S. economist & strategist and was the firm's technical analyst. Robert has a B.A in Economics from McGill University and an M.A. in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. He received his CFA designation in 1996.