Monday, 13 May 2019
08:00–18:00
08:00–16:15
08:00–09:00
09:00–09:30
09:30–11:45
Plenary Sessions
Plenary Sessions feature global thought leaders who provide big picture perspectives, innovative insights, and broad outlooks on current issues of interest to the entire audience.
09:30–10:15
The New World (Dis)Order
Peter Zeihan
President and Founder
Zeihan on Geopolitics
- The threats to the global order are not simply serious but are also mortal and unavoidable, setting the stage for at least two decades of global breakdown.
- Exploring the intersection between demography and finance—highlighting why something much worse than the 2007–09 financial crisis is right around the corner.
- Forecast how political evolutions in a host of countries are interacting with the Trump administration to remake the future of every country in the world.
10:15–10:45
10:45–11:45
Reinventing Capitalism in the Age of Big Data
Viktor Mayer-Schönberger
Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation
Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
- Data isn’t just the new oil; it greatly enhances markets, thereby reshaping the economy.
- Data’s new role has profound implications for the financial services sector and for finance capitalism more generally.
- The biggest challenge for the data economy is structural, and competition rules are ill suited to address this challenge.
11:45–13:30
12:30–13:15
Sponsored Corporate Presentations
Sponsored Corporate Presentations offer a range of best practices, strategies, tools, tactics, and insights for successful investment management and financial analysis from senior-thought leaders at leading financial services firms.
13:15–13:30
13:30–15:15
Technical Workshops
Technical Workshops are interactive small group sessions designed to engage investment professionals in skill-building.
13:30–15:15
Progression beyond Regression: Using AI to Transform Traditional Analysis
Malcolm White, CFA
Portfolio Manager
Signature Global Asset Management – CI Investments
- Hands-on technical session focusing on how to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance analytic capabilities
- Introduction to a revolutionary AI technology called neural networks, followed by a walkthrough of how the technology can be applied to an actual financial prediction problem
- The solution will leverage the latest in cloud computing technology used by leading data science practitioners.
13:30–14:15
Concurrent Practitioner Sessions
Concurrent Practitioner Sessions explore key topics with analysis and commentary on investment trends and strategies, financial technology, career skills, psychology and decision making, and Brexit.
13:30–14:15
Global ETFs: Products and Trends
Deborah Fuhr
Managing Partner
ETFGI LLP
- Discussion and analysis of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs) being used by institutional investors and others
- Ways to use ETFs as a part of your investment strategy
- Advice for selecting an ETF for your portfolio
- Trends in ETFs: What the future may hold for robo-advisers, smart beta, ESG, thematic, active, China A shares, China bonds, crypto ETFs/ETPs
Topical Track: Global Opportunities
13:30–14:15
13:30–14:15
Digital Financial Attention
Jane E. Henshaw
Head of Digital Research
Vanguard Center for Investor Research
- Facebook and Amazon routinely study the attention customers pay to their websites; financial institutions should learn to do the same.
- In the era of “robo,” what can we learn from the emerging science of digital interactions with our finances?
- How can neuroscience help us understand the brain mechanisms of attention?
Topical Track: Capital Markets
13:30–14:15
The Perfect Financial Services CV
Victoria McLean
Founder and CEO
City CV
- Your CV/resume is your future. Bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to take your career.
- It’s marketing: What’s your brand? What’s your pitch? Get ready for action.
- Artificial intelligence and the ATS: 80% of jobs advertised online could be screened by a computer. Beat the bots to ensure you get over the first hurdle.
- Tell a story, start with a bang, and provide just the right amount of context to hook your audience—show don’t tell.
Topical Track: Career Development
14:15–14:30
14:30–15:15
14:30–15:15
Dynamic Currency Management: Yes Alpha, No Beta
Thomas Clarke
Partner, Portfolio Manager
William Blair
- Investors always seek diversifying opportunities, and today this search takes place in an environment of high equity valuations, low bond yields, and increasing interest rates in some locations.
- Geopolitical, trade, and other macro influences pose vulnerability to potential downside from taking on more capital market beta.
- The merits of dynamic currency investing as a source of macro diversification and positive real return are often underappreciated and underused.
- Amid new and alternative asset classes, dynamic currency management is a well-founded, liquid, and viable source of investment alpha.
Topical Track: Global Opportunities
14:30–15:15
Forecasting Long-Term Portfolio Returns: The Efficient Valuation Hypothesis
Niall Gannon
Private Wealth Advisor
The Gannon Group
- What is the “expectations gap,” and why does it matter?
- Can earnings yields be predictive of future returns in an equity portfolio?
- What does research tell us about the “random walk”?
Topical Track: Capital Markets
14:30–15:15
ESG Investment: From Process to Product
Amanda Young
Head of Global ESG Investment Research
Aberdeen Standard Investments
- Discussion of values-based investment options
- Strategies for integrating ethical considerations and sustainability, climate, and social impact issues into your investment process
- Managing environmental, social, and governance risks in your business model to ensure that shareholder value is protected and enhanced
- Thoughts on making money and making a difference
Topical Track: Sustainable Investing
14:30–15:15
AI and Big Data in Investing: Present and Future Use by Investment Firms
Thorsten Heymann
Global Head of Strategy
Allianz Global Investors GmbH
Topical Track: FinTech
14:30–15:15
The Art of Business Influence
Mark Jeffries
Author, Keynote Speaker and Former Stockbroker at Merrill Lynch
- Discussion of the link between communication excellence and business success
- Focus on innovative communication, networking, and influence tools designed to accelerate your business success
- Focus on the three Cs of communication excellence, to the L-WAR (Listen, Watch, Anticipate, and React), and selling without selling to the BRAINS (Bridging, Rationalizing, Asserting, Inspiring, and Negotiating) of influence
Topical Track: Career Development
15:15–15:45
15:45–16:30
15:45–16:30
Alternative Assets in 2023: What Does the Future Hold?
Amy Bensted
Head of Data Products
Preqin
- Projections for alternative asset growth, covering private capital and hedge funds
- What should fund managers and investors be thinking about today to be part of the growth story of tomorrow?
- What will drive growth over the next five years, and how will technological innovation shape the alternative investment sector?
Topical Track: Global Opportunities
15:45–16:30
How ESG Factors Impact Corporate Valuations: Trends and Analysis
Jessica Alsford, CFA
Managing Director and Head of Global Sustainability Research
Morgan Stanley
Topical Track: Sustainable Investing
