14th Annual Hedge Fund Institutional Investment Conference
The Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco
Wine Tasting Tour & Luncheon Sponsored by Knight Capital Group
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Registration Opens
Welcome Cocktail Reception - Sponsored by Fidelity Prime Services
Registration, Continental Breakfast, and Exhibits
Opening Remarks and Welcome
Keynote Address: 2008 and Beyond - Market Cycles and Investment Opportunities
Investing in Climate Change
Climate change has emerged as dynamic and relevant investment themes in recent years. With a concentration on the economics affecting climate change, our diverse panel will examine the risks and opportunities facings investors today.
FX & Investors’ Quest for Alpha
The global quest for alpha has continued unabated, and many investors are focusing on the returns that can generated by FX, a market that has been transformed not only by improvements in performance but also through the efficiencies created by rapid technical advances, particularly in algorithmic trading. How are investors mitigating the attendant risks? And in a world of limited regulation and evolving technology, how are due diligence, fragmented liquidity, and smart orders affecting best execution. This panel will explore how investors are evaluating alpha in FX and how they are achieving best execution so as to protect and enhance that performance.
Coffee Break and Exhibits
130/30 and Long-Only Funds: Are they Fads?
A growing number of hedge funds have been offering specialized portfolios. Two of the more controversial offerings which have some similarities are what are called 130/30 funds and long-only funds. Learn why a growing number of hedge fund firms are creating these new niche funds, and who is investing in them. Managers of these funds will discuss how these funds fit into the firm’s overall strategy and who is investing in them. They will also discuss their individual strategies and their place in an overall hedge fund portfolio, as well as address the drawbacks of the strategies.
Investing in Real Estate
A growing number of hedge funds are embracing the property market, either as direct investors or as lenders. This includes opportunities in the US and abroad, including the emerging markets. Some investors invest directly in properties while others invest jointly with local developers. Still others provide financing to real estate projects. Several real estate specialists describe their strategies and the investment opportunities, both in the US and overseas.
The Looming Opportunities in Distressed Investing
As the default rate begins to climb once again and investors continue to assess the fallout from the sub-prime crisis, money has been flowing into existing and new funds designed to tap the looming opportunities in distressed and bankrupt securities. Several managers will discuss where they see the best opportunities.
Luncheon - Sponsored by Rothstein Kass
It’s a Marathon, not a Sprint: Bruce Richards on the Markets Today
Governance and Compliance - A Primer for Institutional InvestorsTM
Many Institutional Investors realize that the escalating regulatory environment has created a new dimension of risk within the alternative investment community. These new enterprise risks include extended regulatory inspections or investigations, adverse publicity of deficiencies and sanctions, and potential limitation, restriction or cessation of firm operations. Consequently, institutional investors have become significantly interested in analyzing and evaluating the fund manager’s governance and compliance infrastructure as well as conducting extensive interviews with Firm personnel. The panel will provide a preview addressing the issues of interest to regulatory authorities and Institutional Investors in the prospective year.
Institutional Investor in partnership with the Regulatory Compliance Association is delighted to offer this panel, produced by various faculty members of the RCA's CCO University. Content copyrighted by the Regulatory Compliance Association, all rights reserved.
Wine Tasting Refreshment Break – Sponsored by Credit Suisse
Activist Hedge Funds: Not all are Created Equal
Activist investing has become a fashionable—and profitable—strategy in recent years. The rise in shareholder activism in general and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have further emboldened activist hedge fund managers. However, they differ in many ways. Many of them make activism a dominant part of their strategy while others dabble in the strategy. Some target the largest companies while others specialize in small companies. Others look for a quick resolution to their activity while others work close with management to devise a long-term strategy. This session will highlight the cross-section of strategies and the circumstances under which they work best.
Is it Possible to Start a New Hedge Fund These Days?
Today there are more hedge funds managing more money than they ever have. At the same time, the largest hedge funds have become much bigger than they were just a few years ago. One of the reasons is that institutions have become a larger portion of the investor base. Meanwhile, it is not uncommon for star managers to raise more than $1 billion when they launch their own fund. Are these developments closing the hedge fund market to new entrants who do not have well-established reputations? Is there still room for the small, unknown manager? Who is investing with them? What are the best ways to raise money? How should they choose a prime broker and other service providers?
Cocktail Reception Sponsored by Bombardier Flexjet
Breakfast and Exhibits
Is a Hedge Fund Business Sustainable?
Maximizing the Value of Your Enterprise: Disposition or SuccessionTM
Over the past 18 months, the Hedge Fund Sector has entered a new era – the monetization of a Management Company’s enterprise value. Firms have employed a variety of methods to unlock their enterprise value: from private transactions to accessing the public markets. However, a larger and more fundamental question is in play: how to maximize the value of YOUR enterprise. Specifically, a sale may not comprise the best alternative. Formulating an optimal succession strategy may yield better results for current owners as well as the firm’s stakeholders.
This session will explore various disposition scenarios and evaluate the components of an optimal succession strategy.
Institutional Investor in partnership with the Regulatory Compliance Association is delighted to offer this panel, produced by various faculty members of the RCA's CCO University. Content copyrighted by the Regulatory Compliance Association, all rights reserved.
Hedge Funds and Private Equity: Can you tell the Difference?
A growing number of hedge funds have moved into the private equity space in the past few years. Some of them have designated some of their assets within their existing funds to buy companies. Others have created separate private equity funds within the firm. This session will explore the pros and cons of this strategy, how to blend a hedge fund strategy with a private equity strategy, and how this overlap impacts returns, liquidity and volatility. Also, managers will explain how they value and price the private portions of their portfolios.
Coffee Break and Exhibits
Current Strategies in Emerging Markets
It is no secret that the economic growth rate in emerging markets countries far exceeds that of the developed world. This has created tremendous opportunities for investors. However, the risks of a blowup in a single market are greater, as is the threat that the blowup could spread to other emerging markets, as what happened in 1997 and 1998. This panel will explore the risks and benefits of investing in emerging markets and how this strategy can reduce the volatility and correlation of a larger portfolio. The panel will also compare and contrast the many different emerging markets.
Luncheon Sponsored by MyComplianceOffice
Institutional Investors’ Panel
In the past few years, institutional investors have been rapidly increasing their allocations to hedge funds. In this panel, a number of these investors will reveal where they have put their money and where they see the best opportunities over the next few years.
Fund of Funds Roundtable
Where do fund of fund investors see the best opportunities for the next few years? What strategies are they dropping? Where are they getting their assets from? What are the latest trends regarding fees? Hear the answers to these and many other questions from our panel of expert managers.