Managed Accounts USA 2007
Dates: March 13-15, 2007
Location: New York
Organized by: Terrapinn
The folks who brought you the “Hedge Funds World” series and various other hedge funds events (including the recent Alternative Beta shindig in London) say their research shows institutions would allocate more to hedge funds if they could open a separately managed account. They say this would solve issues of liquidity, transparency and risk controls.
From the name of this event, it may not be apparent that it is about institutional investments in hedge funds. But check out the the speakers: Lars Jaeger, Tom Schneeweis, Leslie Rahl, and representatives from a host of asset management and consulting firms from the pages of AllAboutAlpha. So don’t be fooled, this is a bona fide hedge fund event.
Investing in hedge funds via managed accounts opens up possibilities similar to those touted by the UMA business such as cross-account management and reporting
Says the organizer:
“The institutionalization of hedge funds is a trend that has been around for some time now. Pension funds and insurance companies in particular are increasing allocation towards alternatives, but for many there are still huge barriers. Hedge funds are still perceived as being high-risk, and the mainstream media’s love of a blow-out scenario mean that investors are increasingly demanding the ability to fully justify their allocation. If the hedge fund’s lack of transparency was once so bewitching for investors, it is now the stumbling block for growth.
“Research from Edhec, amongst others, has pointed to ‘operational risk’ (that being the risk attached to the individual, rather than the market) as the predominant feature of hedge fund blow outs. But what if there was a way of mitigating that risk? What if an investor could sleep at night, knowing that the hedge fund manager was being monitored by a trusted third party?”
For those unfamiliar with managed accounts, one of the sponsors is pleased to get you up to speed here.
View conference program.
3rd Annual Hedge Fund Performance & Risk Measurement Event
Dates: April 17-18, 2007
Location: New York
Organized by: Institutional Investor Events
“Anything worth doing is worth measuring”, they say. With so many potential ways to skin the alpha cat, it’s probably a good idea to stop by ii’s upcoming event on performance and risk measurement if you’re in town in mid-April.
Says ii:
“Risk is inherent in Hedge Funds but recent events have shed a light on the negative side of risk damaging the reputation of hedge funds and causing great financial loss. It is imperative that you and your fund take action, implement strategies to minimize risk and utilize better tools to monitor/measure performance not only to be compliant but to be profitable and maximize your returns.”
Some say that risk management leading to asymmetric returns is the primary source of hedge fund alpha. So don’t think these topics are just for your risk management people. But it’s the “performance measurement” aspect of this gathering than caught our eye at AllAboutAlpha. Performance attribution is a surprisingly complex topic that has evolved considerably in the past few years. And we believe that in the end, performance attribution is All About Alpha.
And for you hedge fund replication junkies, there’s even a session entitled “Risks in Replicating Hedge Funds”.
