Monday, September 19, 2022
12:00 PM | Registration Opens
1:00 PM | Opening Keynote Address: On the Horizon: Exploring the Economic & Geopolitical Outlook for Pension Funds
The global pandemic has changed the way pension funds operate and navigate through volatile financial markets and dramatic economic impacts. The full impact of this economic turmoil is yet to be seen, and exceptional market turbulence tested asset managers’ investment skill and adaptability. This keynote will explore the current climate, identify the dominating key economic and geopolitical trends, and highlight how these will impact investing in a global economy.
Speaker:
Oleg Mogilny, Managing Director of Public Market Alternatives, IMCO
1:30 PM | Shifting Your Approach: Balancing Risk & Optimism In the Pursuit for Emerging Asset Classes
Alternative investments are projected to grow exponentially by 2025, as more investors increase their allocations in this market. As alternative allocations expand, where should asset managers seek new opportunities, and what are the emerging trends? Where does risk tolerance and investment strategy most align in these emerging assets? Join this session as our panelists discuss how they have tailored their funds to these trends, highlight optimal asset classes, and delve further into how the balance between risk and optimism should be considered.
Speakers:
Christian Hensley, Senior Managing Director, Equities and Credit, IMCO
2:15 PM | Networking Break
2:45 PM | Spotlight Session 1
3:15 PM | Spotlight Session 2
3:45 PM | Case Studies in Portfolio Construction for a New Era: Investing for the Future & Capitalizing on Unpredictability
The past year’s challenges - geopolitical volatility, inflation, disruptions in supply chain and global markets - proved that preparing for the unexpected can be daunting and overwhelming. Many investors are moving away from the traditional 60/40 model in an effort to balance growth and protection, but how else have investors prepared for the unexpected? These experts will discuss how risk mitigation affected their investing decisions, how they positioned their portfolios differently for a volatile market, and provide examples of long term sustainable opportunities.
Speakers:
Thomas Suter, Senior Analyst, Investment Management, VIA Rail Canada
4:30 PM | Networking Reception
5:30 PM | Close of Day One
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
8:00 AM | Registration & Networking Breakfast
9:00 AM | Keynote Address: Future of Alternative Investments - 2023 and Beyond
The allocation to alternative investments is expected to grow exponentially in the next year. What will be the fast growing asset sector? What outliers will become mainstream, and what non-traditional assets are transitioning to traditional investment strategies? This keynote will explore what the future of alternative investments could look like, next year and beyond.
9:30 AM | Considering the Dominance of the Industrial Sector and Alternative Real Estate Sectors
Investor interest in the industrial real estate sector has grown, as the rise in e-commerce warehouses, last-mile storage spaces, and logistics shifts created new demand and higher returns. However, with significant increases in industrial prices, supply chain issues, and competitive bidding, can the industrial sector maintain its stronghold? Or should investors be exploring alternative real estate classes such as data centres, medical offices, or even single family rentals? What alternative real estate asset will dominate the industry next?
10:15 AM | Networking Break
10:45 AM | Spotlight Session 3
11:15 AM | Best Practices: Opportunities in Private Debt & Alternative Credit
Private corporate debt is currently one of the most attractive and fastest-growing alternative asset classes, specifically direct corporate loans to core middle market and lower-middle market companies. Join this session as expert panelists highlight the advantages of these markets, examine the largest challenges in this space, and provide best practices to analyze opportunities in alternative debt and credit.
Speakers:
François Rozon, Managing Director, Private Investment Risk, PSP Investments
12:00 PM | Spotlight Session 4
12:30 PM | Networking Luncheon
1:45 PM | Spotlight Session 5
2:15 PM | Identifying Liquid Alternatives During Volatile Cycles
Liquid alternatives can be a complementary asset to portfolios by offering increased diversification and risk management. As risk assets trend toward illiquid in risk-off cycles, where can investors find liquid alternatives that will mitigate risk and correlate with their alternative investment strategies? This session will explore liquidity cycles, the most common liquid alternative vehicles, and how to find liquidity in a volatile environment.
Speakers:
Patrick Murray, Head of Alternatives, Senior Portfolio Manager, CEOS Family Office
3:00 PM | Spotlight Session 6
3:30 PM | Keynote Address: Driving Meaningful Change and Building For the Future
Many asset managers are starting to focus on impact investing with the intention of generating positive and measurable social, economic and environmental outcomes as well as a financial return, but is that enough? This keynote will discuss how investors can push the needle and drive meaningful change both internally within their organization and externally, and provide some real-life examples of successful changes.
4:15 PM | Networking Reception
5:15 PM | Gala Dinner
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
8:00 AM | Networking Breakfast
9:00 AM | Driving ESG Initiatives in Emerging Markets: Accessing New Opportunities & Avoiding Future Pitfalls
With many pension funds expected to push forward and make meaningful strides with their ESG initiatives, It is becoming increasingly common for investors to look abroad for sustainable investment opportunities. However, this comes with challenges of its own and range from credibility to data transparency. Join this session as our speakers share why ESG investments in emerging markets have a strong upside, how to decide which markets to utilize and how to effectively determine the risk factors.
9:45 AM | Spotlight Session 7
10:15 AM | Don’t Forget about G! How Pension Fund Governance is Evolving in an ESG Era
The impact of ESG in investing has shown that it is now a priority, not a fad, for pension funds, and fund governance needs to evolve to meet these priorities. The pressure is on for pensions to include more diversity in their trustee boards and management teams, be transparent in ESG ratings, and increase sustainable allocation. This panel will examine how pension fund governance is changing to meet these pressures, as well as the challenges of an ever-evolving regulatory landscape.
10:45 AM | Networking Break
11:15 AM | Spotlight Session 8
11:45 AM | Closing Keynote Address: The Future of Sustainable Investing – ESG in the Next Decade
The opportunities for sustainable institutional investing are expanding, as more asset classes branch out into green alternatives. This keynote will explore the future of ESG investments as carbon zero trends heat up.
Speaker:
Sean Cleary, Chair of the Institute for Sustainable Finance, CFA, Smith School of Business, Queen’s University