9.30-10.30

Exposure management in volatile markets

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Exposure management requires access to timely and accurate information, particularly in volatile markets. That valuation data is typically delivered at a two day lag which can present challenges for those tasked with managing cashflows, tilting and rebalancing of portfolios and various hedging strategies.

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This panel will discuss how different institutions approach this challenge. How are systems set up to manage the data flow with respect to effective exposure management? How do they know that the decisions they make are based on approximately correct information and what (combination of) technology solutions can help to facilitate accurate insights? For those firms that outsource implementation, how are instructions managed in times of volatility and what timeframes are acceptable?

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Charles Wu

Chief Investment Officer,

State Super

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Ivan Hewson

Associate Director Implementation,

IFM Investors

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Victor Huang

Head of Investment Solutions,

Milliman

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Brenton Hurst

Head of Transitions and Exposure Management,

AMP CapItal

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11.00-12.00

Rethinking risk overlays: lessons from 2020

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This panel will discuss the future of equity risk overlays and the governance processes required to facilitate effective dynamic hedging strategies. While traditional systematic equity hedging strategies that use options or futures in standalone structures are well known, there are potentially costly trade-offs between the level of protection, upfront premium costs, opportunity costs and potential additional risks such as hedge execution timing and gap risks.

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This session will discuss opportunities that more dynamic equity hedge structures present, along with the implementation considerations and the governance frameworks required to facilitate more active and flexible hedging decisions.

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Michael Armitage

Founding Director,

Fundlab Strategic Consulting

Stuart Eliot

Senior Portfolio Manager,

Pendal Group

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Jai Parrab

Associate Portfolio Manager - Liquid Alternatives,

Aware Super

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12.30-1.30

Market liquidity risk: evaluating capacity and liquidity across Australian equities

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Assessing available liquidity is difficult at the best of times. It's influenced by many factors and often dries up when it's most needed. These challenges are even more pronounced in the Australian small to mid-cap sector, which has long suffered from comparative illiquidity.

This session will discuss the status quo in this market segment. Is illiquidity increasing and what are potential drivers? What are some of the common assumptions underpinning market liquidity risk modelling and are these still relevant, particularly in stressed market environments? How can firms confidently assess the distribution of liquidity; including potential block trades, and factor in opportunity and execution costs across normal and stressed scenarios?

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James Thompson

Head of Investment Analytics & Risk,

Perpetual Investments

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Trent Hayes

Head of Investment Trading & Execution,

AustralianSuper
 

George Kanaan

Founding Partner, Head of Cash Equities Distribution, Head of Blocks Desk,

Barrenjoey Capital

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Janelle Manchee

Senior Equities Dealer

Canaccord Genuity

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9.30-10.30

Execution alpha: upgrading FX overlays

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Extreme volatility in the early days of the pandemic has caused many institutions to reconsider FX exposure management practices. While previously, rolling monthly was the norm, large unrealized losses half way through March 2020 forced many to adopt more flexible hedging arrangements.

This session will discuss lessons from 2020 with respect to FX, including tenor selection, currency basket composition, the use of proxies and liquidity management. It will also discuss prospects to further automate FX, the implementation of different FX automation solutions and API’s in practice and the workflow implications and execution impact.

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David Djukanovic

Head of Portfolio Implementation,

IOOF

Justin Lo

Portfolio Manager,

Sunsuper

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John Lucey

Chief Investment Officer

Avant Mutual Group

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Rory O'Connor

Portfolio Manager, Capital Markets,

QSuper

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11.00-12.00

Transaction costs of Factor investing – smart beta or careless slippage?

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Factor investing is often touted as a more sophisticated way of managing risk and return, but depending on the strategy, transaction costs and market impact can weigh heavily on returns. This session will discuss the implicit costs of implementation of different factor strategies, along with design and execution considerations that can help to maximise alpha and minimise drag.

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Stefano Cavaglia

Senior Managing Analyst,

State of Wisconsin Investment Board

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Mike Aked

Director of Research Australia,

Research Affiliates

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Jason Lapping

Head of International Trading,

Dimensional Fund Advisors

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12.30-1.30

The big picture: technology in 2021

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This buyside panel will discuss front office solutions and strategies that are gaining traction in 2021. How are PMS, OMS and EMS systems evolving and how is data being streamlined to facilitate the optimum interoperability of these solutions across equities and fixed income. What are the benefits of one solution versus best of breed and, more broadly, the cost/benefit considerations of internalisation vs outsourced trading.

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Karen Taylor

Consultant

1886 Consulting

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Lounarda David

Chief Operating Officer,

IFM Investors

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Manu Sharma (Hong Kong)

Trading Solutions,

FactSet

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Sam Willis

Vice President, Senior Trader,

Dimensional Fund Advisors

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9.30-10.30

Market resilience: lessons from an outage

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This session will discuss lessons from last year’s Australian Securities Exchange market outage with respect to market wide operational resilience, the ability to switch to alternative exchanges; the liquidity and best execution considerations and regulatory expectations with respect to market access. It will also discuss the impact of COVID-19 on operations and the ability for market participants to resolve issues.

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Prof. Carole Comerton-Forde

Professor of Finance,

UNSW Business School

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Richard Atkins

General Manager, Trading & Market Access,

Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)

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Andrew Briscoe

Senior Equity Dealer,

First Sentier Investors

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Nathan Bourne

Senior Executive Leader Market Structure, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)

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11.00-12.00

Multi-asset trading: trends in optimisation, technology and outsourcing

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In a climate of increased focus on efficiency and transparency, this session will examine these business drivers through the lens of the multi-asset trading function:

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• Cost in focus: what are areas of slippage, where is money left on the table and how to address it

• Optimising multi-asset trading capabilities 

• The fixed income challenge 

• Prospects for outsourcing and what to consider

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Wietske Blees

Editor,

Fund Business

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Paul Clarke (New York)

SVP - Global Strategy,

FlexTrade

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David Rogers

Partner,

Quinlan & Associates

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Alison Towers

Director Global Trading and Liquidity,

QIC

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