Conference Opening & Welcome

Keynote Address

Emerging Strategies and Technology's Role

Increased competition has taken funds far afield in the quest for alpha. As managers pursue increasingly intricate strategies and move into new and more exotic asset classes, their trading operations must keep pace with them. This panel will chart the path to outsized returns, and what role technology will play in handling the complexity, speed and efficiency requirements of that journey.

Coffee Break

Regulation of Trading: Primer and Predictions

From Reg NMS, to Reg SHO, to surveillance of personal accounts to-of course-SEC registration, a number of regulatory initiatives have hit recently that impact funds' trading operations. This panel of experts from the trading and legal communities will home in specifically on the rules that affect how fund managers trade, and peer into their crystal balls to see how portfolio management will look in the future as a result.

The Hedge Fund-Brokerage Relationship on the Couch

The relationship between fund managers and their prime brokers is intimate and pivotal. Involving a range of services including research, securities lending, trading technology and clearing, the partnership between funds and brokers has many facets-and potential complications. In a no-holds-barred discussion, executives from both sides of the industry will discuss what managers need and what their brokers can provide.

Lunch

Automated Trading: A Global Progress Report

While equities have long been traded electronically, other asset classes are still arriving at the automation party. With direct access and algorithmic trading, as well as FIX connectivity, among the areas projected to see the most marked growth in the next couple of years, this panel will look at the latest trends in automation: where the different asset classes stand, what the future holds for markets around the world, and how fund managers and their service providers can prepare for the next generation of trading.

Refreshment Break

Outsourcing: Trying to Resolve the Build-vs -Buy Debate

Cost analysis and competitive pride often meet in the discussion of whether to build proprietary trading technology or outsource to external providers. Particularly in areas such as OMSs and algorithmic trading, the determinations funds make about their systems are truly make or break. This session will feature a lively discussion between proponents of both build and buy, with the goal of help attendees make more informed decisions themselves.

Conference Concludes