Think Tank Sessions
Off-the-Record, Small-Group Round Table Conversations

Risk-Managed Equity Strategies: Growth Since the Financial Crisis

• Pros and Cons of different strategies such as volatility control, risk parity, and other systematic hedging techniques.
• Developments of the market and overview of its various hedging strategies.
• Recent developments in the market with regard to next-generation product offerings.

Blockchain Pitfalls, Promise, and Peril

• Is Buffett right? Are Cryptocurrencies a House of Cards?
• Is cryptocurrency a viable asset class for Institutional Asset Owners?
• What hurdles must the asset class achieve to become a part of your portfolio?

Managing the Team that Manages the Money

• What structures have participants developed or considered for dividing responsibilities?
• How large does an in-house research team need to be?
• How do you best divide responsibilities? By asset class? By industry expertise?
• How hands-on must a CIO be?

Outside Advisors and Consultants

It seems that more and more asset owners are falling into one of two camps: Outsource nearly everything to a consultant/advisor/OCIO -- or recruit top analysts and PMs to do the work in-house and if an outside advisor is used at all, it's more for operational due diligence.

• What are the Pros/Cons of each approach?
• For those that wish to navigate the middle, how do we find a balance?
• How do we ensure that the advisors we engage see their roles the same way we see it?
• When is it appropriate to replace an outside consultant?

Best Practices in Emerging Manager Selection

• What performance advantage have emerging managers succeeded in generating?
• What inducements - first loss arrangements, fee concessions, gap equity, etc. make seeding most compelling?
• What is the right 'fit' qualitatively and quantitatively?
• What are the most important characters for an emerging manager? Pedigree? Track record? Back-office support?