Times to Hold Investment Conference

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt will discuss how individuals can safeguard their investments, in a keynote speech at the Los Angeles Times’ first-ever Investment Strategies Conference on Feb. 22-23.

The conference, presented by The Times along with Morningstar Inc., a leading publisher of mutual fund information, is designed to help Southern California investors secure their financial futures and reach their investment goals.

More than 30 panels of investment experts will discuss such topics as what to know before picking a mutual fund, how to get the most out of a 401(k) retirement plan, global investing, women’s investment issues and how to pick an investment advisor. Panels will be moderated by experts from Morningstar and from the staff of The Times’ Business section and its Wall Street, California pages, including financial columnists Tom Petruno, Kathy M. Kristof, Debora Vrana and others.

Levitt, since becoming SEC chairman in 1993, has worked to improve protections for investors, raise standards for brokers and reform the municipal bond market so abuses and municipal bankruptcies such as Orange County’s are avoided.

Joining Levitt as a keynote speaker will be Muriel Siebert, the first female member of the New York Stock Exchange and chairwoman of nationwide discount brokerage firm Muriel Siebert & Co., and brothers David and Tom Gardner of Motley Fool Inc., a company dedicated to debunking conventional wisdom in personal finance and the stock market. Motley Fool can be found via America Online and the World Wide Web.

The conference will also include some of America’s most savvy money managers on a forum titled “Words of Wisdom From Great Mutual Fund Managers.” Those scheduled to appear include Gary Pilgrim, portfolio manager of the top-performing PBHG Growth Fund, and William Gross, founder and managing director of Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co., one of the world’s biggest bond investors.

The conference, which will be held at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles, will be limited to 5,000 people each day. The registration fee is $25 for one day or $35 for both days. Call (888) TIMES97, toll-free, to register.