Los Angeles Investor Conference Back by Popular Demand

santana-miguel-city-of-la.jpg

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles took a year off after hosting its inaugural investor conference, but it's bringing the event back this year.

The city will host its 2nd Regional Investors Conference 2014 on Feb. 26-27 at Universal Studios and Paramount Studios.

The city held its first investor's conference in March 2012, but decided not to hold once last year because of the staff hours it requires to organize the event, said City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana.

Santana spends two weeks traveling the country to meet with investors each spring when Los Angeles prices its tax and revenue anticipation notes.

"When I meet with investors we talk a lot about the economy, the increase in property values, and the increase in tourism," Santana said. "You can have the prettiest charts and the most effective PowerPoint presentations, but it doesn't translate the same way as having people experience it themselves."

A conference gives Los Angeles an opportunity to tell people directly how the region is doing beyond what they read in the newspapers, he said.

The last conference generated a lot of interest from investors, who began asking during the first one when the city would host another, Santana said.

The CAO's office is still working out the details, but the conference will highlight tourism, Santana said.

The first day of the conference will be held at Universal Studios, where he said close to $1 billion dollars in private investment is occurring. The second day will be held at Paramount Studios.

"In addition to learning more about the city's credits, we also want investors to experience what is a major part of the Los Angeles economy - the entertainment industry," he said. "It is also something fun and unique to Los Angeles."

Department heads representing each of the city's bond issuers will give presentations followed by a question-and-answer session.

Unlike the first conference, Los Angeles County also will be involved. The timing of the first one just didn't work out for the county from a logistics perspective, Santana said.

So far, the confirmed presenting issuers are the city of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles World Airports, the Port of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Just like the first conference, the city will conduct tours of projects related to the city's largest issuers.

At the first event, tours were conducted at the Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Hyperion Wastewater Plant and Los Angeles International Airport. Details are still being worked out for this year's tours, but five are planned.

A new addition planned for this year's event is an economic update panel with speakers from PKF Consulting and Beacon Economics discussing the local economy and tourism.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also will speak.

City officials have not decided if the event will be held annually or every other year.

"It was very successful last time," Santana said. "We are getting a lot of good reaction so far."

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Buy side California
MORE FROM BOND BUYER