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Global Investment Conference 2002
"Investing in Volatile Markets - A Global Perspective"

Dress for the conference is business casual. Dinner on Thursday evening is business attire. All conference sessions will be held in the Salon A, Wildrose Ballroom.

Please note: The PowerPoint presentations are available as downloadable PDFs. If you do not have a PDF viewer on your computer you can download Adobe Acrobat Reader here.

 
Wednesday, April 3rd
Welcome: Reception & Registration
 
Thursday, April 4th - Investing In Volatile Markets: What Factors Must Plan Sponsors Consider?
Keynote Address: Long-Term Global Market Correlations
Session 1: Responding to International Volatility - Managing Risk
Session 2: Trends in Emerging Markets
Session 3: Global Approaches to Style Investing
 
Friday, April 5th - Investing In Volatile Markets: International Trends and Strategies
Session 4: Bureau of Asset Management Forum
Session 5: Trends in Global Performance Monitoring
Session 6: Trends in Global Asset Management
Session 7: Open Forum
 
  
Wednesday April 3rd - Welcome
5:30 - 8 p.m.
 Reception and Registration
 Meet your colleagues and register for the conference in the Wildrose reception area.
  
Thursday April 4th - Investing in Volatile Markets: What Factors Must Plan Sponsors Consider?
  
7:00 - 8:30 a.m.
 Breakfast in the Primrose Restaurant
8:30 - 8:45 am.
 Opening Remarks
  
8:45 - 10 a.m.
 Keynote Address
  
 Long-Term Global Market Correlations [Download PDF (252K)]
The volatility and correlation structure of the major world equity markets has varied considerably over the last 150 years. The diversification benefits to global investing are currently low compared to the rest of capital market history. Periods of globalization have both benefits and drawbacks for international investors. They expand the opportunity set, but diversification relies increasingly on investment in emerging markets.
K. Geert Rouwenhorst, Yale University
 
10:00 - 10:30 a.m.
 Break
  
10:30 - 12 noon
 Session 1: Responding to International Volatility - Managing Risk
  
 The Center and the Periphery: The Globalization of Financial Turmoil [Download PDF (128K)]
The crisis-prone 1990s gave rise to a debate about the international transmission of shocks. This presentation will analyze the behavior of stock markets for thirty-five emerging-to-mature market countries in the late 1990s and examine the degree of globalization of various shocks. In particular, it will focus on the degree of spillover of turbulences in financial centers (Germany, Japan, and U.S.) and in crisis-prone emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, and Thailand).
Graciela Kaminsky, George Washington University
  
 Risk Budgeting - A Closer Look [Download PDF (72K)]
The academic press for the investment management industry has much to say about risk budgeting theory, but often falls short on illustrative, practical examples of its application to institutional portfolios. In his presentation, Mr. Pisarkiewicz will discuss how risk budgeting can be applied to passive, enhanced and active strategies in developing optimal manager structures.
Steven Pisarkiewicz, AllianceBernstein
  
 Creating an Optimal Global Portfolio [Download PDF (196K)]
Today's volatile markets have moved risk budgeting to the forefront of portfolio management. New technology is available to help plan sponsors build a portfolio that best suits their risk and return objectives by incorporating both active and index strategies. Bill will discuss how to optimize your global portfolio using a model that helps select the optimal mix of managers across the entire portfolio.
Bill Chinery, Barclays Global Investors Canada
  
 Designated Respondents:
 1. Zev Frishman, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board
 2. Don Walcot, Bimcor Inc.
  
12 noon - 1:15 p.m
 Lunch in the Primrose Restaurant
  
1:15 - 2:30 p.m.
 Session 2: Trends in Emerging Markets
  
 Trends in Emerging Markets: Reality Versus Perception [Download PDF (700K)]
 The popular view of emerging markets continues to include the following; persistent underperformance relative to developed markets, recurring economic crises and poor accountancy standards. However, the emerging asset class has outperformed the MSCI World index during the last 1 and 3 years. Positive changes are happening which include declining risk premiums and volatility. Find out why the historic perception needs to be challenged.
Kate Munday, Baring Asset Management Inc.
 
 China and the WTO - What Does it Mean for Investors? [Download PDF (280K)]
 This session will explore the effects in China and abroad of China's accession to the World Trade Organization. In particular, it will review the probable effects on the development of rule of law in China and consequential effects on investment, business development and societal change generally.
Jeffrey Thomas, Borden Ladner Gervais
  
 Designated Respondents:
 1. Tom Phelps, Trilon Financial Corporation
 2. Ross Steeves, IWA - Forest Industry Pension Plan
  
2:30 - 3:00 p.m.
 Break
  
3:00 - 4:15 p.m.
 Session 3: Global Approaches to Style Investing
  
 Risks and Rewards of Investment Style in Global Equity Investing [Download PDF (180K)]
 There have been enormous swings in the performance of value and growth investment styles over the past few years. This presentation will examine the risks and rewards of the various styles as applied to global equity investing over the past few years, as well as lay out the basis for assessing what the relative payoffs to these styles might be going forward. We will also examine why value and growth as measured by various indices are somewhat simplistic, and why a multi-factor approach integrating both value and growth related components makes more sense.
John Chisholm, Acadian Asset Management
  
 Style Investing: New Perspectives [Download PDF (1.1MB)]
The institutional investment environment has seen a tremendous empasis on returns linked to indices. This has two attractive characteristics - it allows for easy measurement of performance and the ability for plan sponsors to "box" managers. However, the "boxing" process has left out an equally important component, the Total Return manager. We will demonstrate a total return investment style is a good compliment to a plan sponsor's portfolio.
Chuck Bastyr, Altamira
  
 Designated Respondents:
 1. Emilian Groch, Alberta Teachers' Retirement Fund Board (ATRF)
 2. Bruce Grantier, Scotiabank
  
4:15 - 4:30 p.m.
 Wrap-up
  
6:30 p.m.
 Cocktail reception in the reception area.
  
7:15 p.m.
 Dinner in the Hawthorn Room (business attire)
 Dinner Speaker: Allan Fotheringham
  
Friday April 5th - Investing in Volatile Markets: International Trends and Strategies
  
7:00 - 8:30 a.m.
 Breakfast in the Primrose Restaurant
  
8:45 - 10:15 a.m.
 Session 4: Bureau of Asset Management Forum
  
 Responding to Global Uncertainty -- Plan Sponsors Share their Top Concerns About Global Investing
 A panel of 3 plan sponsors will share their top five concerns when it comes to global investing. The panel will address some of their obstacles and concerns. Following the discussion, delegates will be asked to share their own top concerns by completing a survey. The survey results will be shared and discussed in Session Seven, at the end of the day.
Moderator: Stan Hamilton
Susan Ezrati, Chief Investment Officer, GM Subsidiaries
Rick McAloney, CEO of the Nova Scotia Association of Health Organizations Pension Plan
Terri Troy, Manager of Pension Investments, RBC
  
 Designated Respondents:
 1. TBD
 2. Michael Campbell, Imperial Oil Limited
  
10:15 - 10:45 a.m.
 Break
  
10:45 - 12 noon
 Session 5: Trends in Global Performance Monitoring
 
 The Causes and Consequences of Style Drift [Download PDF (80K)]
 "Style drift" in equity portfolios represents a substantial risk to pension fund sponsors, yet current methods of monitoring style are imprecise. This talk will discuss a new method for monitoring the style of an equity portfolio, using portfolio holdings information—this method precisely captures short-term movements in style by managers.
Russ Wermers, University of Maryland
  
 Short-term Volatility Does Matter: Ways to Measure, Monitor and Manage [Download PDF (256K)]
 Short-term market volatility should be an important concern to plan sponsors. Along with recent events, the availability of new risk management tools and techniques is driving an increased focus on short-term variance. These tools will shift the paradigm of the traditional approach to risk management and will allow plan sponsors to significantly enhance their decision making ability at each stage of the investment process - from the setting of objectives to asset allocation, manager selection, risk monitoring and performance evaluation.
Karen Luprypa, RBC Global Services
  
 Designated Respondents:
 1. Paul Owens, Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) Pension Plan
 2. Gretchen Van Riesen, CIBC
  
noon - 12:30 p.m.
 Group photo (location to be announced)
  
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
 Lunch in the Primrose Restaurant
  
1:30 - 2:45 p.m.
 Session 6: Trends in Global Asset Management
  
 A Unique Global Investment Alternative [Download PDF (152K)]
Increased equity volatility and shrinking returns have led plan sponsors to seek innovative fixed income investment strategies that increase portfolio diversification and returns. Beyond the typical sleepy bond portfolio, this presentation will focus on fixed income strategies that deliver true alpha for either a core portfolio or as a zero duration portable alpha alternative.
Perry Vieth, PanAgora Asset Management
  
 Active Management and Fundamental Research...The Trend Again or Here Forever? [Download PDF (360K)]
 The best long-term results will no longer be captured by emphasizing a particular pre-defined country allocation or sector, as was the case in the often narrowly led markets of the 1990's. We are moving to a broader based market environment, where the global investment attributes of individual companies are more important. Understanding each business, knowing suppliers, and competitors while keeping an eye on macroeconomic dynamics will be even more crucial than ever.
Andy Barth, Capital Guardian
  
 Dollarization: The Pros and Cons [Download PDF (52K)]
Informal dollarization is already widespread. It helps explain the high value of the US dollar. Canada is not ready to dollarize. There would be benefits for trade from reduced currency costs and maybe risk, and a reduced cost of capital, but it could make the Canadian economy more volatile and increase forex exposure.
Maurice Levi, University of British Columbia
  
 Designated Respondents:
 1. Lynn Clark, OMERS
 2. Reynald Harpin, Alcan Inc.
  
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
 Session 7: Survey Results
  
 What are the key concerns of Canadian plan sponsors when investing globally? This open session deals with the results of the delegates survey from Session Four.
  
4:00 - 4:15 p.m.
 Wrap-up
  
4:15 - 4:30 p.m.
 Closing Remarks
  
4:30 p.m.
 Closing Reception in the Wildrose reception area
  
Saturday April 6th - Ski Day
All day

Skiing and boarding.