KEYNOTE SESSION ONE

China's Economy 2010

The year began with a few analysts asking out loud whether China's economy was on the verge of collapse and would prove to the biggest bubble of all. Recent developments in China justify a deeply sceptical view of where its economy is headed. What alarms many is how China has been deliberately moving away from market principles. The most blatant aspect has been the fixed value of the renminbi, far below what its trade and investment pattern would suggest. Indeed, China has exacerbated this mercantilist effort to promote exports and inhibit imports by tying its currency more tightly to the falling dollar. China's domestic policies began shifting away from the market three years ago. Smaller foreign investors also report that the state is making their lives more difficult. Only the largest foreign investors seem immune. These trends suggest that the best approach to the Chinese economy is one of wary scepticism.

Presenter:
Ross H. Munro, Director of Asian Studies, Center for Security Studies (Washington, D.C.) and member of the adjunct faculty of The Institute of World Politics

Session Two

New Opportunities in Emerging Market Debt

Emerging markets investing will likely receive even greater attention from institutional investors in 2010.This presentation will share views on the rapidly expanding emerging debt markets with a particular focus on two key developments that are re-shaping the emerging debt opportunity set: the changing composition of government debt issuance and the rise in corporate debt issuance.

Presenter:
Mike Conelius, Portfolio Manager, Emerging Markets Bond Strategy, T Rowe Price

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Session Three

Global Economic Imbalances to Dominate the Investment Landscape

Global economic imbalances are heady. Their evolution will define the investment landscape ahead. In this session, we identify these imbalances, describe their potential repercussions on economies and capital markets, and suggest investment strategies that pension funds can use to benefit.

Presenter:
Vincent Lépine, Vice-President, Global Asset Allocation and Currency Management, CIBC Global Asset Management

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Networking Coffee Break

Session Four

(R)evolution in Indexing Methods

One of the most hotly contested issues among investors is whether one should invest actively or passively. We study this question in detail, cover the more general issue of what "passive" actually means, and in doing so; by implication indirectly address the issue of what should be considered as "active". What implications do these results hold for the investment management industry going forward? Will EMH increasingly be put into question by investors? Will superior financial theories, which are verified by empirical research, continue to gain ground? Could this lead to a new breed of indexing method, which would steadily gain increased acceptance within the investor community? The revolution in indexing methods is undoubtedly well under way.

Presenter:
Dr. Christian Raubach, Managing Partner, Wegelin Asset Management

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Session Five

Back to Earth

Plans sponsors have been inundated with a raft of new strategies claiming to offer the perfect solution to their asset structure. Has the investment world really changed or are the traditional ways of investing still as rewarding as ever? The following still applies: markets are not efficient and genuine active management works in the long run; volatility is not risk - focus on businesses with good fundamentals and maintain a sensible level of diversity; and investment is not physics - most purely statistical approaches are self defeating. The key is to maximize the likelihood of investing in a few big winners. Most companies underperform. Why not return to a traditional approach to investing?

Presenter:
Gerald Smith, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Baillie Gifford

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Session Six

Risk Management after the Crisis

6A: Risk Management in the New World

The recent market crises present a unique opportunity to learn from what did not work in terms of risk management. This session will discuss why traditional analytics and approaches to risk management failed, review the key lessons learned, and provide thoughts on risk management best practices in the new world.

Presenter:
Robert L. Goldstein, Managing Director, Head of BlackRock Solutions, Member of Operating, Leadership and Global Client Committees, BlackRock Asset Management

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KEYNOTE SESSION TWO

Economic Forecast of India: Where Are the Opportunities?

What is new in this large market? How can Canadian investors invest in India? Public markets versus private markets? This area seems to be one of the countries that present the greatest opportunity for growth and yet there appear to be so many barriers for Canadian pension funds in terms of entering them. This session will provide an update on the growth in India and information for investors and pension funds that are looking to understand more about investment in these areas.

Presenter:
Dr. Rakesh P. Singh, Dean of NMIMS School of Economics and Union Bank Chair Professor of Economics at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai

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Session Ten

The Science Behind Risk-Adjusted Returns

Region, country and sector bets have proven to be an inconsistent source of alpha. Attribution analysis suggests that most international managers have had high levels of volatility due to their country and other top-down bets. Through analysis of allocation decision frameworks, process information ratio, and return impact, this presentation will demonstrate how combining factor constraints with stock research can maximize the risk-adjusted returns of a portfolio.

Presenter:
Peter Millington, Director of Quantitative Research, Pyramis Global Advisors

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Session Twelve

Global Backdrop and Regulatory Changes

The IMF is back by popular demand, featuring updated thoughts on the state of the global economy. It will discuss some lessons from the crisis and ask questions such as what have we learned regarding financial stability? Should central banks focus on asset prices? Is micro prudential supervision sufficient to detect systemic risk? Can we identify key policy issues to make the financial system more stable?

Presenter:
Herve Ferhani, Deputy Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, International Monetary Fund

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