New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman declared earlier this year that Mexico will become a "more dominant economic power in the 21st century" than China. He noted how Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, argued that the Mexican economy's vital signs look a lot healthier. "The U.S. deficit is 7 percent of gross domestic product," said Fisher. "Mexico's deficit is about 2 percent of their G.D.P." Meanwhile, he added, America "is growing slowly, weighed down by debt and the pervasive uncertainty caused by our nation's fiscal imbalances and growing regulatory complexity. Mexico, in contrast, is growing robustly, and, in contrast to their Washington counterparts, Mexican policy makers are demonstrating remarkable commitment to fiscal discipline." The Financial Times also reported back in September that "today, Mexico exports more manufactured products than the rest of Latin America put together."

With this growing investor sentiment, Ms. Pichardo will provide insights on how international investors can tap into this viable, attractive emerging economy without having to go through the tedious steps of investing in individual Mexican equities.

Ms. Pichardo has more than 25 years of experience in Fundamental Research and Portfolio Management. She is responsible for the setting-up of the investment strategies and equities percentage allocation, as well as risk management. She is the founding Partner and President of the Board of Directors of PAM, as well as a member of PAM's Investment Committee.

She is the President and Portfolio Manager of The Mexico Equity and Income Fund, Inc.

Ms. Pichardo holds the Mexican Certified Investment Advisor License and is currently a CFA candidate. She studied Business Administration at IBERO University and has completed postgraduate courses in Economics, Accounting, Finance, and in Advanced Valuation and Value Creation Measurement, at ITAM University.

Mr. Rodriguez is Deputy Director of Investments & Financial Analysis of Acciones y Valores Banamex (Citi), Brokerage House. He has ample experience on Mexican debt markets and their investment trends as well as in Macroeconomic analysis and bond valuation methods.

Mr. Rodriguez is a part time professor of Master's programs in Administration and Finance at the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM), Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey and Universidad de las Americas Puebla. He writes a bi-monthly column in the newspaper "El Economista" and participates in the weekly program TV market Economy Forum on Channel 4 open TVE; has also participated in Bloomberg Television.

Mr. Rodriguez holds a Master in Finance from Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Master in Economics from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and a B.A. in Economics from Universidad de las Américas, Puebla.

Webinar Structure

The webinar will consist of a 40-minute expert presentation, which will be followed by a Q&A lasting for 10-15 minutes. This webinar will be archived and available for replay upon registration.