Day Two – Asset Allocation Implementation Day Wednesday 13th October 2010

• Are investors going back to the drawing board with asset allocation?
• How to achieve true diversification in different economic conditions
• Understanding how asset classes react across multiple economic scenarios
• With the rise of the East, should strategic allocation to Western equities be re-thought?
• How often should portfolio diversification be reviewed?

The strict separation between inflation and deflation misses the point that both can exist simultaneously affecting different aspects of the economy and asset class performance. The competing influence of inflation and deflation will impact different asset classes over differing time horizons, and presents challenges and opportunities for investors.

• Post crisis risk management – incorporating fat tail risk
• Is now the time to re-balance allocation to equities or should you be de-risking?
• Streamlining investment decisions with effective, simple and transparent risk measurement tools
• How have tactical and dynamic strategies fared during volatile environments?
• Creating optimal portfolio liquidity

• Examining the main advantages of investing into Foreign Exchange as an asset class
• Identifying the main sources of alpha in the FX markets
• Examining different FX strategies and their behaviour in different market environments
• Accessing FX as an asset class – what vehicles are available?

• Are alternatives still “alternative”?
• Analysing past performance figures – what does this indicate?
• How to maintain good levels of liquidity within alternatives assets
• Assessing different “alternatives” as diversifiers – commodities, private equity, hedge funds, infrastructure
• Where will you be investing in 2011?

• Will 2011 prove a ‘bargain year’ for global property investors?
• Does the case for longer term correlation remain valid?
• Where do the most promising current and longer-term property investment opportunities lie?
• Defining 'distressed' and 'stressed' opportunities
• How to invest in real estate – ETFs, mutual funds, direct investments

• Understanding where commodities sit in your portfolio
• Which commodities have the better risk/return prospects – gold, softs, oil?
• Is it preferable to focus on a single commodity or diversify across the spectrum?
• Commodities as part of strategic asset allocation or tactical asset allocation?

• Defining absolute return funds – more than simply hedge funds
• Analysing the growing interest in this strategy
• Returns in any market conditions – is this too good to be true?Examining historical performance
• Can long only managers successfully manage an absolute return fund?
• Selecting managers who genuinely know how to utilise the relaxed constraints and more flexible investment techniques allowed

• Realising returns through SRI
• Holistic approach vs. specialist funds
• How can asset owners scrutinise fund managers’ claims of responsible investing?
• Moving beyond the signatory process with the UN PRI

• You should consider the world as your investment set - but does that  mean global managers or many regional managers?
• Does globalisation render regional approaches obsolete or irrelevant
• What are the advantages of each? How much of each?

• Has the quant model survived the crisis unscathed?
• Are quantitative funds disclosing enough to satisfy investor demand for transparency?
• How has the level of transparency changed after the global financial crisis?
• How can quant strategies be effective in volatile markets?
• What quant strategies are investors considering for 2011?
• Are investors asking the right questions?