In this opening session, David Neal will provide some prepared remarks, and participate and an open Q&A discussing what the Future Fund is doing to prepare for the next ten years and the issues facing institutional investors.

The puzzle that perplexes investors is how Japan, with government debt to GDP around 256 per cent, seems to have perfected the debt load balancing act. As the broader world moves further into its biggest monetary experiment in history, what can be learned and what is unique about Japan’s situation?

Anyone who has remained bearish on global markets since the financial crisis has missed out on the most aggressive bull market. But with equities, bonds and currencies seemingly being kept within central bank control, capitalism almost non-existent, and globalisation seemingly in contraction, how are investors positioning for the next 10 years?  

In a world highly driven by noise, increasing reliance on algorithmic trading, and related crowding, how has the market microstructure and importance of trade execution been effected? How should success of implementation of common alternative beta strategies be benchmarked?

It has been argued that strategic asset allocation can overlook correlations between asset classes. In response, some investors have moved from traditional siloed approaches to total portfolio management. This session will examine the two approaches and look at how they differ in terms of practicality of implementation, the relative importance of investment cash flows, and the ability to be nimble in taking advantage of market mispricing.

Bond investing has become more difficult as negative yielding bonds continue to break records in Europe but US treasury bond yields, while low, are still positive. With this backdrop, and as investors look to build income generating portfolios, this session will look at how factor investing can be utilised as an alternative portfolio construction approach.

The SDGs provide a global framework covering three broad areas; economic, social and environmental development – and 17 global specific goals, designed to encourage sustainable economies and markets. How can the SDGs assist investors improve their risk frameworks and articulate their investment strategy, as universal owners?

This multi-dimensional session revisits the discussion on member outcomes and the expectations of APRA in terms of superannuation fund consolidation and the inclusion of retirement outcomes. The session will look at the role of the trustees, differentiation, governance trends, bench-marking and global shareholder litigation trends.

This session will be a fun and satirical look at four wild hypothetical ideas, with the audience having the chance to pose a fifth. What will be the scenarios and who will be the characters? Obviously, you will need to be there to find out!

We believe we are in the midst of a paradigm shift in monetary policy that has already had impact on markets and will likely be a key driver of market and economic outcomes as it unfolds. It’s our view that we are moving from a paradigm of interest rate normalization toward one of more managed rates, with overall easier monetary policy relative to conditions and larger fiscal deficits. In the short-term, we believe this shift and the slowdown in economic activity has created a large market reaction that has created significant mis-pricings and potential alpha opportunities. Longer-term, there is a wide range of potential outcomes for which many portfolios are unprepared, including inflationary outcomes along the lines of the 1970s and well as the potential for stagnation and increased conflict like we saw in the 1930s.

This session will discuss how the role of asset managers is evolving to strategic partnerships with asset owners. What are asset owners looking for from their managers and how can asset managers share the value from IP to alpha?

In short presentations, academics will present new research that impacts asset management and investment decisions by asset owners.

Over the past 125 years, Stuart Alexander's corporate philosophy is to establish, build and develop consumer brands such as Tabasco, Mentos, and Fisherman's Friends to become Australasian household names. This outside the box session is designed to share insights on marketing, sales and distribution as super funds become increasing competitive.

This session is a case study on the recent transformation of Mercer’s institutional wealth business and the delegated solutions offering.

In this session we hear from three former CIOs and CEOs about the challenges of the role and how their role evolved during their tenure. We will also get a comparison on how their experience on investment governance has transformed their approach committees today.

In this opening session, David Neal will provide some prepared remarks, and participate and an open Q&A discussing what the Future Fund is doing to prepare for the next ten years and the issues facing institutional investors.

The puzzle that perplexes investors is how Japan, with government debt to GDP around 256 per cent, seems to have perfected the debt load balancing act. As the broader world moves further into its biggest monetary experiment in history, what can be learned and what is unique about Japan’s situation?

Anyone who has remained bearish on global markets since the financial crisis has missed out on the most aggressive bull market. But with equities, bonds and currencies seemingly being kept within central bank control, capitalism almost non-existent, and globalisation seemingly in contraction, how are investors positioning for the next 10 years?  

In a world highly driven by noise, increasing reliance on algorithmic trading, and related crowding, how has the market microstructure and importance of trade execution been effected? How should success of implementation of common alternative beta strategies be benchmarked?

It has been argued that strategic asset allocation can overlook correlations between asset classes. In response, some investors have moved from traditional siloed approaches to total portfolio management. This session will examine the two approaches and look at how they differ in terms of practicality of implementation, the relative importance of investment cash flows, and the ability to be nimble in taking advantage of market mispricing.

Bond investing has become more difficult as negative yielding bonds continue to break records in Europe but US treasury bond yields, while low, are still positive. With this backdrop, and as investors look to build income generating portfolios, this session will look at how factor investing can be utilised as an alternative portfolio construction approach.

The SDGs provide a global framework covering three broad areas; economic, social and environmental development – and 17 global specific goals, designed to encourage sustainable economies and markets. How can the SDGs assist investors improve their risk frameworks and articulate their investment strategy, as universal owners?

This multi-dimensional session revisits the discussion on member outcomes and the expectations of APRA in terms of superannuation fund consolidation and the inclusion of retirement outcomes. The session will look at the role of the trustees, differentiation, governance trends, bench-marking and global shareholder litigation trends.

This session will be a fun and satirical look at four wild hypothetical ideas, with the audience having the chance to pose a fifth. What will be the scenarios and who will be the characters? Obviously, you will need to be there to find out!

We believe we are in the midst of a paradigm shift in monetary policy that has already had impact on markets and will likely be a key driver of market and economic outcomes as it unfolds. It’s our view that we are moving from a paradigm of interest rate normalization toward one of more managed rates, with overall easier monetary policy relative to conditions and larger fiscal deficits. In the short-term, we believe this shift and the slowdown in economic activity has created a large market reaction that has created significant mis-pricings and potential alpha opportunities. Longer-term, there is a wide range of potential outcomes for which many portfolios are unprepared, including inflationary outcomes along the lines of the 1970s and well as the potential for stagnation and increased conflict like we saw in the 1930s.

This session will discuss how the role of asset managers is evolving to strategic partnerships with asset owners. What are asset owners looking for from their managers and how can asset managers share the value from IP to alpha?

In short presentations, academics will present new research that impacts asset management and investment decisions by asset owners.

Over the past 125 years, Stuart Alexander's corporate philosophy is to establish, build and develop consumer brands such as Tabasco, Mentos, and Fisherman's Friends to become Australasian household names. This outside the box session is designed to share insights on marketing, sales and distribution as super funds become increasing competitive.

This session is a case study on the recent transformation of Mercer’s institutional wealth business and the delegated solutions offering.

In this session we hear from three former CIOs and CEOs about the challenges of the role and how their role evolved during their tenure. We will also get a comparison on how their experience on investment governance has transformed their approach committees today.