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9:15 Covering the Basics of Alternative Investments and Modern Portfolio Theory
Portable Alpha offers significant promise as an investment strategy that can provide enhanced portfolio performance, especially when the traditional asset classes are underperforming. But to fully analyze and evaluate whether portable alpha is an appropriate strategy for your organization, a solid understanding of the underlying financial instruments and investment techniques used to deliver alpha and beta is of paramount importance.
This in-depth workshop is designed specifically for investment officers and risk managers from pension funds, endowments, foundations, and family offices, and will address the techniques, instruments, and strategies used in alternative investing. Through basic examples, analogies, and case studies, you'll gain a deeper understanding of how alternative investments work, and how they can work for you. This workshop will help you dissect the theory and application behind financial concepts and practices such as:
• Getting a handle on modern portfolio theory
• Deconstructing derivatives
• Making Sense of the Greek Alphabet Soup: Separating alpha from beta
• Options, futures, and swaps
• Looking at leverage
• Theories and practices with market-neutral investing
• Rounding up asset allocation strategies
• Understanding risk, rebalancing, transparency, and reporting practices
Specifically designed for public fund trustees, you'll leave this workshop armed with a greater knowledge and deeper understanding of alternative investment theories, concepts, and strategies. Not only will you be able to understand the advanced concepts and strategies discussed during the main conference, you'll have the skills you need to better analyze and manage your own investment strategies.
Jim Carder, Founder, WESTRIDGE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
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9:15 Part I: Liability Driven Investment
One of the hottest investment strategies in the pension fund world is liability driven investment, which is designed to minimize unwanted risk, and create a framework to take on risk explicitly, measured against a specifically tailored scheme liability benchmark.
Although investing to cover benefits payments is clearly at the heart of pension fund investing, liability driven investment can be thought of as a more targeted way to reduce risk and more accurately match investment strategies to plan liabilities.
Often times, LDI uses derivatives to reduce investment and pension volatility while maintaining returns. In this workshop, you'll hear how to set up a liability-driven plan using a bespoke portfolio, intermediate benchmarks, and cash plus swaps.
Attend this workshop today to learn how to maintain returns while reducing volatility. You'll leave this workshop understanding:
• How to evaluate whether an LDI strategy is right for your plan
• How to analyze which LDI strategy will work the best, based on plan assets, funding status, and size
• How to ascertain how pension fund reforms can affect your future investment objectives, goals, and methodology
• How to select the appropriate manager to handle LDI strategies
Designed for investors, this workshop will crystallize your understanding of this new investment framework, and give you the tools to make an assessment of its value to you and your investment committee.
Ron Ryan, Chief Financial Architect and Founder, RYAN ALM
10:45 Part II: PANEL DISCUSSION: Understanding the Selection Process for Portable Alpha Providers
In this session, you'll hear industry experts discuss the criteria they use in selecting a portable alpha provider. You'll hear them address benchmarks and selection issues such as:
• Relevant experience & past performance
• Fees
• Investment strategy
• Transparency
• Assessment and evaluation of investment mandates
• Capacity constraints
Eric Teal, CIO, FIRST CITIZENS BANK
Anne Popkin, Managing Director, LEHMAN BROTHERS
Tim Jackson, Partner, ROCATON INVESTMENT ADVISORS LLC
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