Gail D. Fosler
The Conference Board
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Fosler directs the worldwide economics research program of The Conference Board, a research and business membership organization perhaps best known for its Consumer Confidence Index. The Wall Street Journal twice named Fosler the most accurate economic forecaster in the United States. Recently she also won the annual Blue Chip Economic Forecasting Award for accurately predicting major trends over the past four years.
Before joining The Conference Board in 1989, Fosler was chief economist and deputy staff director of the Senate Budget Committee. She currently sits on the boards of Unisys, H.B. Fuller, Baxter International, DBS Holdings and the National Bureau of Economic Research. Fosler is also a trustee of John Hancock mutual funds, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, The Economic Club of New York and the economic advisory panel to the New York Federal Reserve.
Gregory Valliere
Managing director, chief strategist
Washington Research Group, Schwab Capital Markets
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A widely-quoted Washington analyst, Valiere focuses on how Congress and the White House shape fiscal policy. He also covers the Federal Reserve.
Valliere started his Washington career in 1972 at F-D-C Reports, where he was chief congressional correspondent and news editor. He later co-founded The Washington Forum, the predecessor of the Washington Research Group. In 1974, he became the Forum's chief political analyst and publications editor. He was named research director in 1980.
Jim Awad
Chairman
Awad Asset Management |
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» Karen Gibbs talks to Jim Awad
Awad, a small-cap value specialist, manages more than $700 million in assets for individuals and institutions. Like the other two members of this week's panel, Awad is frequently quoted by journalists, including Wall $treet Week with FORTUNE co-host Karen Gibbs. Awad recently told Gibbs that the stock market should bottom out this fall.
After more than three decades on Wall Street, Awad knows something about market recoveries. Small caps are often the first to recover from a market downturn, and for five of nine years from 1993 through 2001, the core portfolio of Awad Asset Management outperformed the Russell 2000 Index, the most widely-used benchmark for small cap stocks. Last year, Awad's small cap core portfolio rose 14.8 percent, compared to a 2.6 percent gain for the Russell 2000.
According to SEC filings, the total value of Awad Asset Management's equity holdings rose 28 percent in 2001, to $692.3 million from $541.5 million at the end of 2000. And it continued to grow this year, to $737.8 million as of June 30.
Awad is also co-manager of the Heritage Small-Cap Stock Fund since 1993. The Heritage fund's performance has closely matched that of the Russell 2000.
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