Funds Selection Nexus 2018, Hong Kong

Date:
Sept 18, 2018
Time:
8:30am – 1:30pm
Venue:
American Club (Town Club – Central), Hong Kong

Overview

Asia’s largest fund selector gathering

2018 Event Photos

Agenda

8:30am – 8:55am Registration & Breakfast
8:55am – 9:00am Welcome & Opening Comments
Sebastian Enberg, Editor, Asian Private Banker
9:00am – 9:40am Leaders Conversation Panel 1 | Thematic equities — Riding the secular investment boom
Despite investor concerns about a equity correction that could be triggered by a myriad of factors — whether trade tensions, subdued growth, or rising rates — private banks have held the interest of clients by tapping into secular themes for investing. From an ongoing technological revolution to a structural shift in demographics, private banks are finding effective means to encourage clients to add equity risk through a thematic approach rather than via traditional asset allocation by market segments.
– What kinds of secular themes are resonating with Asian HNWIs?
– How are private banks implementing these views through managed solutions?
– Have asset managers responded effectively to the demand for thematic exposure?
What are some risks related to this approach (i.e. country or sector concentration risk)?
– Are there concerns about risks caused by a deviation from traditional asset allocation strategies that focus on market segments?

Moderator:
Charlene Cong, Senior Reporter, Asian Private Banker

Conversation catalysts:
Charis Wong, Vice President, Head of Funds and ETFs, Hong Kong, Private Banking and Wealth Management, Credit Suisse
Julie Koo, Managing Director, Head of Citi Investment Management Sales, Asia Pacific, Citi Private Bank
Paula Ip, Executive Director, Head of Investment Fund Sales Hong Kong, Investment Platforms & Solutions, UBS Global Wealth Management
Richard Mak, Head of Advisory – Asia, Pictet Wealth Management
Simon Godfrey, Head of Product Management, EFG Bank

9:45am – 10:25am First Workshop Rotation
10:25am – 11:05am Second Workshop Rotation
11:05am – 11:45am Third Workshop Rotation
11:45am – 12:25pm Leaders Conversation Panel 2 | Alternatives — Long-only only no longer sustainable?
Deleveraging by central banks, alongside other late-cycle risks, poses a broad market risk to nearly all long-only assets — by far, the key driver of returns for Asia’s young wealth, which has experienced more booms than busts. The region’s HNWIs, who have long been accustomed to strong returns from relatively low-volatility and high-liquidity investments, are facing a paradigm shift that will lead client portfolios to increasingly add new kinds of uncorrelated exposures to withstand or avoid future turbulence. Private banks have responded with a flurry of solutions designed to capture liquidity premiums, outperform markets in varying conditions, withstand inflation or rate risk and more.
– What is the state of demand for alternatives at private banks?
– Which trends are recurring for PE investment?
– How are clients responding to liquid alternatives relative to hedge funds?
– How are private banks managing long-only fixed income allocations, especially given the strong focus on duration risk and growing default risks (as is happening in China)?
Aside from traditional managed investments, what other solutions do clients find enticing for alternative exposure?

Moderator:
Richard Otsuki, Deputy Editor & Head of Investment Coverage, Asian Private Banker

Conversation catalysts:
James Fava, Head of Product Development & Management – Funds, APAC, UBS Global Wealth Management
Jaye Chiu, Managing Director, Head of Investment Asia, BMO Private Bank
Thor Monsen, Director, Head of Hedge Funds, Asia, Citi Private Bank
William Ma, Co-Chief Investment Officer, Noah Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited

12:25pm – 1:30pm Networking Luncheon

Workshop Topic Details

China A-Shares: Towards a strategic asset allocation decision
In June 2018, MSCI included China A-Shares in its emerging market indices for the first time — this was a milestone event. China A-Shares will become increasingly important in global investors’ portfolios and we believe that, ultimately, China will be treated as a separate asset class. Current China exposure in global investor portfolios is dominated by offshore-listed, mega-cap stocks with high concentration risks in internet and old economy areas. China A-Shares provide more diversified access to structural growth opportunities — a complement to offshore China exposure. At Allianz Global Investors, we provide two ways of assessing China A-Shares: a dedicated China A-Shares strategy and an All China Equity strategy which invests across both onshore and offshore China markets. After the correction in the first half of 2018, China A-Shares now trade at post-2015 trough valuation and risk-reward is becoming increasingly attractive.

Workshop host:
Pinakin Patel, Product Specialist, Allianz Global Investors

Enhancing Portfolios with Absolute Return and Alpha Extension Strategies
With the proliferation of ETFs as low-cost access to beta, absolute return strategies can be used effectively to complement passives by separating beta and alpha sources. This potentially allows discretionary portfolio managers greater flexibility in being able to better control both beta as well as alpha exposure in their client portfolios. ­

Alpha extension strategies, whilst having beta embedded in the portfolios, differ from absolute return in that the counterbalanced long-short portfolio provides greater scope to deliver even higher alpha. This enables an effective position for alpha extension strategies within discretionary mandates to provide stock-picking leverage in addition to beta exposure.

Both strategies can be allocated dynamically to achieve optimum beta and alpha exposures.

Workshop host:
Amit Kumar, Portfolio Manager, US Equities, Columbia Threadneedle Investments

Time to Buy or Bail: EM Debt
In the first half of 2018, the environment shifted, with the index returning a negative 5.2%. The 5% mark was significant — email alerts started dropping into investors’ inboxes and many of those who had become used to the hot returns of the previous two years started getting nervous. Understandably so. Without a doubt, drawdowns are a headache, but they are an inevitable part of investing in emerging market debt — an inefficient asset class prone to periods of volatility and prolonged stretches of low yields. Thus investors will continue to seek exposure to spreads and income. Adrian will explain how these inefficiencies can be exploited by taking an active, bottom-up, and contrarian (ABC) approach to generate excess returns.

Workshop host:
Adrian Bender, Client Portfolio Manager, Executive Director, Vontobel Asset Management

Multi-asset Total Return Income strategy: Targeting growth and income with half the volatility of equities
With volatility on the rise, many investors are struggling to generate sustainable income without putting capital at excessive risk. In this workshop, Andrew Sharp-Paul, Wellington’s Multi-Asset Investment Director, will discuss some of the challenges this poses to traditional multi-asset income strategies — including crowding into illiquid high-yield, sub-investment grade and niche credit sectors; liquidity profiles that limit flexibility to adapt through cycles; and a narrow incorporation of risk management techniques. He will then outline what we believe to be a solution to the income challenge.

Managed within Wellington Management’s Global Multi-asset Strategies platform, this multi-asset approach combines fundamental and systematic insights to deliver consistent income whilst overcoming these common challenges. We believe that investing in a blend of higher quality assets allows us to pursue a sustainable income and, at the same time, access opportunities for growth. By applying disciplined risk management and systematic controls, we also seek to cap volatility at less than half that of equity markets.

Workshop host:
Andrew Sharp-Paul, Investment Director, Multi-Asset, Wellington Management

2018 Partners

Enquiries

For further information, please contact: alice.c@asianprivatebanker.com
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