FT Asset Management Summit 2013
 
05/06/2013
Printable agenda 
8:00 am - 9:00 amBreakfast and Registration
9:00 am - 9:05 amOpening Remarks
9:05 am - 9:45 amKeynote Dialogue: View From The Top (Part One)

The CEO of a leading asset management company exchanges views with a regulator on the state of the industry in a dialogue facilitated by an FT journalist.

  • Laura Cha, Chairman, Financial Services Development Council, Hong Kong SAR Government
  • Mark McCombe, Chairman, Asia Pacific, BlackRock

Moderator: Henny Sender, Chief International Finance Correspondent, Financial Times

9:45 am - 10:35 amPanel Discussion: The Asset Management Industry in Asia Today – Chasing Market Share as Competition Intensifies
As the investible funds held by institutions and the increasingly wealthy in Asia continue to grow, asset managers are jockeying for position and influence in an intensely competitive marketplace. Asia-based boutique or niche firms are benefiting from revived interest in local expertise, while at the other extreme, large international companies are seeing new demand for multi-asset, active-passive solutions with global reach. Profits are being squeezed as management fees are pressured to secure clients. What challenges are firms – small and large – facing as they seek to ensure sustained growth in institutional and retail business? Where is the demand coming from? Why are some markets, such as Korea or India, more difficult to crack than others? Are there quality issues related to asset managers trying to expand too quickly? How is the boom in wealth management affecting the investment market? With private equity firms also moving in amid increased interest in alternatives, is the industry in Asia getting too crowded?
 
  • Alan Harden, CEO, Asia Pacific, BNY Mellon Investment Management
  • Graham Mason, Chief Executive, Eastspring Investments
  • Xiaofeng Zhong, CEO, North Asia, Amundi Hong Kong
  • Timothy Dattels, Senior Partner, TPG Capital

Moderator: Rita Raagas De Ramos, Managing Editor, Ignites Asia 

10:35 am - 10:55 amNetworking Break
10:55 am - 11:25 pmKeynote: View From The Top (Part Two)
A leading investor shares their insights on Asia with an FT journalist.

  • Mark Burgess, Managing Director and President, Australian Government Future Fund

Interviewed by: Henny Sender, Chief International Finance Correspondent, Financial Times 
11:25 am - 12:25 pmPanel Discussion: What Institutional Investors Want and Need – Gauging Risk and Opportunity Behind a More Diversified Portfolio
Amid continued economic uncertainty and market volatility, institutional investors are moving towards a more diversified portfolio structure, with single-country, single-asset mandates, for instance, being combined with passive, index-driven multi-region allocations. How are sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, endowments and other large institutions evaluating risk and opportunity in the current environment? Are they assuming a continued period of low yields and unstable equity markets? What are the key factors in their decision-making on mandates? Is there a shift towards private equity from public equity? Is there more interest in sector-specific opportunities, such as in the fast-changing energy industry? Is the apparent increased interest in infrastructure investments a signal that natural capital and social capital have to play a greater role in state fund allocations? How are asset managers positioning themselves for this potential shift?

  • Kungsheng Fan, President, CIC International (Hong Kong)
  • Eloy Lindeijer, Chief Investment Management, PGGM, Netherlands
  • Ng Yong Ngee, CEO, Tahan Capital Management
  • Naomi Denning, Managing Director, Investment Services, Asia Pacific, Towers Watson

Moderator: Chris Newlands, Editor, FTfm 
12:25 pm - 1:00 pmDebate: China versus Southeast Asia
  • Timothy Dattels, Senior Partner, TPG Capital
  • Yichen Zhang, CEO, CITIC Capital 
Moderator: Henny Sender, Chief International Finance Correspondent, Financial Times
1:00 pm - 2:00 pmNetworking Lunch
2:00 pm - 2:30 pmKeynote: View From The Top (Part Three)

  • Mark Machin, President, CPPIB Asia Inc (Canada Pension Plan Investment Board) 

Interviewed by: Rita Raagas De Ramos, Managing Editor, Ignites Asia

2:30 pm - 3:10 pmKeynote: The Private Equity Leaders Session
Leaders from private equity in Asia Pacific discuss the investment environment in the region and the increased attraction of alternatives for institutional investors faced with volatile public markets..

  • Joseph Bae, Managing Partner, KKR Asia
  • Michael Chae, Senior Managing Director and Head of International Private Equity, Blackstone

Moderator: Henny Sender, Chief International Finance Correspondent, Financial Times 
3:10 pm - 3:40 pmKeynote: View From The Top (Part Four)

  • Michael Baldinger, CEO, RobecoSAM

3:40 pm - 4:00 pmNetworking Break
4:00 pm - 5:00 pmPanel Discussion: Managing Institutional Portfolios – Alpha, Beta and Smart Beta
Passive investing is becoming increasingly popular among retail investors but institutions are also making beta a part of their portfolio as they seek to diversify and manage risk amid continuing financial and economic uncertainty. With equities oversold and now looking more attractive, the return to more alpha investing appears likely, with hedge funds becoming popular again as institutions look for high returns in a low interest yield environment, At the same time, as the technology behind passive investment becomes more sophisticated, beta is becoming more active, with index providers playing a crucial role. Will the recent popularity of passive investing be sustained? How is beta being enhanced to increase yields? What innovative products are being created in equities, fixed income and alternatives to keep institutions confident in absolute returns? What is the potential of renminbi-related products in institutional portfolios?

  • Peter Ferket, Chief Investment Officer Equities, Robeco.
  • Kevin Hardy, Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific Index Equity Team, BlackRock
  • Anthony Michael, Head of Fixed Income, Asia Pacific, Aberdeen Asset Management
  • Konrad Sippel, Executive Director and Head of Business Development, STOXX

 

Moderator: Chris Newlands, Editor, FTfm 
5:00 pm - 5:30 pmKeynote: View From The Top (Part Five)

  • Weijian Shan, Group Chairman and CEO, PAG
Interviewed by: Henny Sender, Chief International Finance Correspondent, Financial Times

5:30 pm - 6:20 pmPanel Discussion: China – Plain Sailing or Are Risks Being Ignored?
China's asset management landscape continues to evolve rapidly, for both institutional and retail investors. The Chinese authorities are boosting efforts to attract more long-term overseas investors by expanding both the qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) and the renminbi qualified foreign institutional investors (RQFII) programmes, while mainland and Hong Kong regulators are working together to ease conditions for recognition of each other's mutual funds, which could turn Hong Kong into a major fund domicile as well as a centre for renminbi-denominated products. Despite slowing growth in China, there seems to be no quenching of the thirst for Chinese securities, with overseas sovereign wealth funds thwarted in their attempts for larger QFII quotas, while private equity firms continue to snap up Chinese assets. Chinese-based funds meanwhile are also continuing to expand their holdings abroad. Are there risks in the China market that are being ignored? Where are the key opportunities? What impact will the further internationalisation of the renminbi have on China-focused investment?
  • Au King Lun, CEO, BOCHK Asset Management
  • Enoch Fung, Head, Financial Stability Surveillance & Market Development, Hong Kong Monetary Authority
  • Alexa Lam, Deputy CEO, Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong

Moderator: Rita Raagas De Ramos, Managing Editor, Ignites Asia

6:20 pm - 6:30 pmCo-Chair’s Closing Remarks
6:30 pmCocktail Party