·   Where does the Nordic region currently sit in the wider financial world?

·   How will the education of institutional investors in ‘alternative’ forms of investing impact upon the population?

·   What is the outlook for investors in the region moving towards 2008?

·   Q&A session with the delegation

·   Overview of the unique and dynamic Nordic hedge fund market

·   Investors behaviour in different segments and Nordic countries

·   Trends and belief of the future development in the hedge fund area

With the Nordic countries having varying levels of regulation in the ‘alternatives’ space, the panel of FSA decision-makers discuss the latest developments, the barriers to change, and the likely outcomes for future regulatory rethinking.

·   Which asset classes are we investing in, and what are we going to invest in?

·   What are our expectations of counter-traditional asset classes?

·   Are we any closer to discovering ‘pure alpha’, and does alpha even exist?

·   How can the second and third tier of investors learn from the larger funds?

·   Which strategies have performed and are likely to for the foreseeable future?

·   What are institutional investor expectations, and how are we responding?

·   How can fund managers communicate more successfully with the investor?

·   The eight key advantages of Managed Accounts

·   What are the disadvantages of Managed Accounts?

·   Using Managed Accounts to increase cash efficiency

·   Using Managed Accounts as part of an integrated risk control process

·  On-exchange or over the counter?

·  Flexibility and security – the perfect match

·  Mitigating operational risk, a ready made solution

·  How does fund size affect performance?

·  Group thinking and mainstream funds

·  First in or last out?

·  How does internal ownership affect fund managers' performance?

·  How has the Nordic hedge fund landscape developed in the recent past?

·  Which are the Nordic top performers and why?

· The Nordic universe in a portfolio context 

·  What is the outlook for Nordic hedge funds going into 2008?

·   Should we be moving towards higher beta segments?

·   Selecting the best beta mix: among assets and over time

·   How should we separate alpha from beta?

·   Impact on the flexibility of portfolio construction

·   Has investment management reached a major crossroad?

·   Discussing beta return replicators as a core of investment programmes

·   Sharing first-hand experience of managing beta return replicating portfolios

·   Can one emulate hedge fund returns patterns and trading techniques passively?

·   Can these passive exposures be packaged in liquid, low cost and transparent form for broad distribution? 

·   How do the returns characteristics of passive hedge fund strategies compare with direct investment?

·   Which real estate strategies are yielding higher returns?

·   What proportion should real estate occupy in the overall investment portfolio?

·   Developing a successful investment strategy for commodity investing

·   Fundamental drivers of commodities markets

·   Identifying the uniqueness of Nordic private equity funds and potential future growth

·   Examining buy-out strategies for the Nordic region  

·   Identifying the key differences and similarities between infrastructure and private equity investment

·   Discussing what investors should look for in an infrastructure manager

·   How do you define risk and what is the optimal implementation of risk budgets? 

·   Assessing the pros and cons of adopting a Duration Strategy and examining the alternatives

·   Examining trading margins for diversified assets

·   Do Liability Driven Investments only generate small levels of alpha or are larger levels of alpha possible?

·   An overview of the development of ‘socially responsible investment’ in Europe      

·   Case studies of SRI funds in 2007

·   Differentiating the types of clients according to risk profile

·    Is it possible to bridge the gap between buyer and structurer?

·   Full or conditional capital protection?

Want to take your asset management career or your company to the next level? Enhance existing skill sets? Whether you already are a multi-billion dollar manager or a new manager, this fantastic workshop will go a long way towards achieving those goals. Using the ‘4P Method’, Max and Thomas will cover both qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques, applicable to all markets and time frames. In six hours, they could limit your operational risk significantly.

• The origin and core misconception about hedge funds
• The classic type of hedge fund (Jones model) and the market neutral fund
• The different types of hedge funds (a brief overview of the primary strategy styles)
• The inadequacy of track records and hidden risk

            • An introduction to ‘managed accounts’; discussing transparency, liquidity and risk control

• A detailed discussion of the commonly held misconceptions about correlation and leverage

           
• Revealing truths about top down versus bottom up investing, Sharpe ratio, risk management tools, the importance of risk/return, volatility, track records, diversification and more