Investment Strategy Forum 2017

Investment Strategy Forum 2017

What if’s …

In recent times, there is no shortage of major events impacting global markets in unexpected ways. Geopolitical specialist Alan Dupont takes Nassim Taleb’s theory further, arguing that we are going to see flocks of black swans rather than individual black swans. In the context of investor’s portfolios, how can scenario analysis enhance diversification strategies?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …

The divergence of investment regimes, monetary policies and markets will continue to have profound impact on the drivers of portfolio construction. The search for yield, taking into consideration correlation, valuation and volatility, may need to be re-examined in greater granularity.

Investing for the long term

Much has been said about the problem of short-termism in financial markets.

With appropriate governance structures and investment beliefs, the asset owner/investor has a distinct competitive advantage of being a patient investor of long term capital.

Sound in theory, but how does that translate into implementation?

  • What does long-term investing mean in a volatile, irrational and uncertain environment where payoffs are hard to forecast?
  • How active should we be? Is there a role for tactical and opportunistic approaches?
  • In the search for alpha, how granular should we look? Should we examine individual manager/security/sector selection rather than broad market beta exposures as the main return generator?
  • How should we position our portfolios in the face of downside systemic risks, but cyclical upside opportunities? Is the risk mitigation system sufficiently robust?

The 6th annual [i3] Investment Strategy Forum will take a deep dive into issues relating to strategy and governance, portfolio risk management and diversification as well as current developments in machine learning and impact investing.

To see the photo gallery of this program, please click here.