Assessing the preliminary stages of entering an emerging market
The importance of having a local (or global) partner to develop and market your fund, and how to identify and attract the right partner
Exploring the cross-cultural negotiation skills necessary to succeed to close your deal and maintain successful relationships
Why understanding local business practices is necessary for foreign investors to succeed
Evaluating and selecting key fund service providers such as custodians and administrators
Examining the regulatory requirements for a cross-border venture
Structuring your deal to address local and international tax considerations
Managing US SEC and domestic securities compliance issues and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

60% of hedge funds failure is related to operational issues. Running a successful hedge fund business is good both for managers and investors alike. Although attention to this subject is growing, operational due diligence and operations generally are still seen as predominantly administrative matters which do not add value. This workshop focuses on all relevant business aspects that are conducive to good returns and opens up the possibility that better returns will come from better managed hedge fund businesses.The interactive workshop offers an invaluable insight in how hedge funds should be run and how investors can look out for signs of future weakness.

Deconstructing current trends in emerging markets 
Identifying broad themes and strategies that are driving rapid growth in emerging markets
The impact of dislocations between emerging and developed economies
Macroeconomic risks associated with increased asset allocations to emerging markets

Identifying different categories of emerging markets based on size, liquidity, market depth from an investment perspective
Understanding the impact of the current downturn in US financial markets on US institutional investments in emerging markets
Implications of changes in ‘flight to quality’ securities on the global investment landscape
Shock of abandoning the dollar peg for a basket of currencies on emerging market economies and US funds in emerging markets
Framing the surge in local commodity and resource consumption patterns in the context of the global investment landscape 
Fluctuations in levels of global liquidity on short term emerging market investments

Conducting the initial manager identification process
Describing quantitative measures to benchmark past performance against other managers
Factors in selecting US (or EU) based fund managers over local fund managers
Engaging in final manager selection and fund allocation

• Understanding the fundamentals of frontier market investments
• Analyzing market depth, liquidity, and other investment constraints
• What makes frontier markets an attractive investment?
• Deconstructing risk in the context of frontier markets
   

• Strategies to evaluate new fund managers
• Addressing the short term nature of emerging manager market out-performance
• Conducting due diligence on emerging managers

Differentiating between fund administration services in developed and emerging markets 
Additional necessities for offshore funds targeting emerging market regions or countries 
Benefits of employing administrators with global expertise versus those with regional or single country operations 
Expanding role of fund administrators for single and multi-fund structures in accounting and NAV calculation

Identifying fund structures currently employed by US investors to access emerging markets: hedge funds, private equity, ETF funds
Differentiating between fund structures based on their risk profiles and fees
Benefits of allocating to different investment vehicles in different emerging markets based on sector selection and beneficial local regulation
Liquidity versus returns: balancing fund constraints with opportunities in emerging markets

Necessity of making private equity like investments via hedge funds in emerging markets
Balancing timelines for returns in public and private equity markets in a single fund structure
Deconstructing hybrid and crossover fund structures and mandates
Risks and potential conflicts from crossover funds
Utilizing side-pockets in hedge fund structures to access private equity
Outlining cross-over strategies to investors and its benefits on capital raising activity

• Coupling or decoupling: Understanding the fundamentals of the Latin American economy
• Differentiating between investment regions, their attractiveness, and fund structures to capture returns
• Harnessing specific growth strategies in Brasil
• Identifying Latin frontier markets, their dept, and investment opportunities

Identifying the emerging markets currently being allocated to and the funds being used to access emerging markets
Matching countries and regions with portfolio driven macro themes
Deconstructing the importance of understanding market depth, liquidity and volatility in emerging market investment 
Factoring in fund cost and fees into investment decisions
Balancing broader institutional goals in considering emerging market investments

• Navigating the ever-changing market: Introduction and overview
• Applying alternative techniques to traditional mechanisms and
• examining illustrative transaction structures such as CAT Bonds, industry loss warranties and sidecars
• Defining the elements and process of reinsurance-based capital markets transactions
• Looking at how to guarantee difficult to insure risk through alternative solutions
• Bermuda: Case study on the forefront of this emerging trend

Harnessing the low correlation with other asset classes
Discussing recent elevated returns from emerging market bonds and comparing it with local currency debt growth
Benefiting from growing trends in local savings and investment capital redeployment
The impact of increased local consumption on holding local debt
Identifying specific types of local debt structures that are conducive to foreign investment

Understanding the availability of distressed opportunities in emerging markets
Accessing distressed investments through hedge and private equity funds
Impact of local challenges in restructuring and turnaround management on returns

• Perception management: addressing perceptions of access to Malaysia – in terms of fund flows and foreign restrictions
• Broadening market access: rules, best practices, infrastructure & products in place to widen access to Malaysia as an investment, trading and capital raising destination
• Growth opportunities: identifying areas of growth – Islamic capital markets

• Identifying markets with aggressive returns (12-months trailing) and the factors behind their performance and further growth potential
• Understanding the investment climate in different African regions, and their respective markets
• Overcoming concerns of market dept and liquidity in African frontier markets
• Differentiating investing in South Africa from other African markets
• Utilizing hybrid / crossover funds and private equity to access African investments
• Deconstructing political and other risks associated with African investments

Understanding the dynamics of investing in the Chinese commodity market
Assessing and managing risk in real asset investments
Overcoming challenges faced by funds in emerging markets

Making sector specific investments in Russia based on domestic and global consumption trends
Harnessing the depth of the Russian fixed income market
Executing effective exit strategies for private equity like investments
Predicting the impact of the 2008 election on the domestic investment climate
Balancing Russian regulation and political movements with investment objectives
Investing in economies dependent on Russian resources and economic trends

Factoring in the growth of inter-regional investing and economic dependence into Asian allocations
Political and other risk factors influencing Asian investments in the short term
Global themes driving the rush to allocate and invest in Asia
Addressing fears of an overheated Asian market, and potential for long term growth
Harnessing the dislocation of the Asian economy from the US and Europe in investment strategies
Impact of the falling US dollar on the expansion of the Asian economy

Sustainability of high growth rates across the Chinese economy
Saturation in specific sectors and its impact on boosting complimentary investments
Debating the bubble in the Chinese public equity (A) market
Change in market practices and regulation post Olympics and the impact on the local investment climate

Sourcing opportunities in a complex investment market
Understanding Korea’s ban on local hedge fund operations
Entry points to efficiently access returns from growth in the Korean and Taiwanese economy
Harnessing volatility in Taiwanese investments
Accessing the expanding Malaysian and Indonesian markets
Deconstructing market structures, regulation and other factors that make these economies hard to assess and access

Identifying Asian frontier markets
Differentiating the Asian markets, structures and opportunities from other global frontier economies
Benefits of synergies and proximity to other emerging and frontier markets as a factor in sustaining growth
Understanding market depth in specific Asian frontier markets
Deconstructing the impact of shocks in developed economies on Asian frontier markets

Factors sustaining high growth rates across the Vietnamese economy
Addressing concerns about market saturation and lack of depth
Understanding local political risks and their impact on US investors
Implications of decoupling the Dong from the US Dollar

Benefiting from the explosive growth in local consumption
Real estate growth and differentiating between commercial and residential investments and returns
Reverse outsourcing and the implications on the state of the Indian economy and labor force
Education, financial services and other opportunities from investing in the expansion of the Indian middleclass
Advent of foreign infrastructure investing in India
Harnessing changes in SEBI regulation and implementing new hedging strategies