Financial Services >> Sector Roundtables >> May 30, 2005
TAMARA KRAVEC is a vice president and a research analyst in the Equity
Research Department at Banc of America Securities LLC, where she covers
the life insurance sector. She joined Banc of America Securities in June
2000 as a member of the Equity Research Management team. In her role as
Director of Associates, she managed equity research associates
nationwide and developed the company's emerging analyst program. In
2002, she returned to research coverage and spent two years working with
the Property Casualty Insurance team, where she focused primarily on the
insurance brokers and personal lines insurers. Previously, she was a
research analyst in the Equity Research Department at Morgan Stanley
Dean Witter, where she covered health insurers and health maintenance
organizations and later focused on property/casualty insurers and
reinsurers. Before that, she was a research associate covering the life
and health insurance sector at Credit Suisse First Boston. She earned a
bachelor of science degree in economics from Miami University (Ohio) and
a master of business administration degree from New York University's
Leonard N. Stern School of Business. She is a member of the Association
of Insurance and Financial Analysts. Profile
MICHAEL DION joined Sandler O'Neill & Partners, LP, in May 2001. Mr.
Dion is an Associate Director, senior equity analyst, covering the
insurance industry, specializing in property and casualty companies. Mr.
Dion comes to Sandler O'Neill from ABN Amro, where he was a member of
the firm's Global Financial Institutions Group. Prior to this, he worked
at Hoefer & Arnett as a senior equity analyst, covering several
companies in the insurance universe. Previously, he was employed as an
analyst at both the Industrial Bank of Japan and the Bank of California.
He began his career as a financial analyst with Wells Fargo Bank. He
holds a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance from
the University of Southern California, and an MBA from the University of
Notre Dame with an emphasis in investments and international finance. He
is a member of the New York Society of Securities Analysts, the CFA
Institute, and the Association of Insurance and Financial Analysts. Mr.
Dion is a Chartered Financial Analyst. In May 2004, he was recognized in
the Wall Street Journal as one of the 'Best on the Street' analysts for
stock picking ability in the insurance property and casualty industry.
He has appeared as a commentator on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and Market
Watch; as well as quoted in several news and financial publications
including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Barron's, The
Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. Profile
A. MARK FINKELSTEIN, Vice President of Cochran, Caronia & Co., is an
Equity Research Analyst covering the life and multi-line insurance
sectors. Prior to joining Cochran, Caronia & Co. in 2003, he was a Vice
President with Swiss Re Capital Partners, the merchant banking arm of
the Swiss Re Group. In that capacity, he helped manage a portfolio of
public and private equity investments and evaluated corporate
development opportunities. Prior to joining Swiss Re Capital Partners in
2000, he spent eight years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the insurance
group. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the
University of Wisconsin and is a Certified Public Accountant. Profile
from a market perspective so far this year?
Ms. Kravec: When you look at the life insurance group, you find that
it's
