An invite-only gathering for hedge fund operational leaders, that will explore the current trends, future drivers, and mission-critical tools pushing positive business growth.

Informed by in-depth industry consultation, our gathering for senior teams will help your business evolve via incisive panel discussions and a series of detail-orientated roundtable sessions designed for small groups.

• An ‘urban’ business retreat conducted under strict rules of confidentiality and limited to 120 places to ensure the relevance of delegates and quality of discussion
• All content created by managers-for-managers, via a series of focus groups
• Topics dealing with operations, regulation, compliance, emerging product trends – all designed to help you run a better business
• A focus on small roundtable discussions, led by experts and enabling all guests to share ideas

What is the Hedge Fund European Leadership Summit?

All Hedgeweek Summits operate under Chatham House Rule. This means that attendees are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed. Recording of the panels and roundtables is strictly prohibited.

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AGENDA

REGISTRATION AND NETWORKING BREAKFAST

WELCOME ADDRESS

Last year, there were some big winners and big losers. In 2023, how are those managers successful in H1 planning to navigate the months ahead, and what is their performance outlook for the rest of the year? In our opening session, senior investment officers at some of Europe’s biggest hedge funds discuss:

Performance outlook: The next wave of opportunities after a solid start to 2023

PANEL 1

• Their expected drivers of performance in H2 and beyond
• How to maintain a competitive edge as markets turn in funds’ favour
• Avoiding style drift in the face of a widening opportunity set
• Managing investor expectations after the challenges of 2022
• Best practice for communicating with clients during turbulent periods
  

Has it become more difficult to launch a hedge fund or does a manager with a good investment thesis find the journey quite straightforward? We get the lay of the land in terms of the barriers to entry and seek to understand the steps managers need to take to launch their fund and the obstacles they may face when trying to do this.

No entry or welcome to all? Understanding the barriers to entry across the hedge fund space

Fireside Chat

It’s been a long time since markets could be called benign. As volatility continues, operations professionals are working harder than ever to support their firms’ alpha generating capabilities. Where are industry leaders finding the latest operational efficiencies? Top COOs will discuss:

Doing more with less: A volatile period brings operational alpha to the fore

PANEL 2

• The most pressing operational pressures they face in the current environment
• How technology and automation are improving the way investment decisions are made
• How managers’ priorities have shifted – what is critical now that wasn’t in 2022?
• The operational adjustments helping give better focus to funds’ core expertise – returns
• Have hedge fund COOs changed the way they work? What is driving these changes?
  

NETWORKING BREAK

Coffee break and a chance to meet our experts and network with your peers

• How can managers claim to be ESG compliant, particularly when most have no/little influence over the underlying investment?
• What is needed to successfully implement ESG standards and practices at the management firm level vs underlying funds
• Can managers harness the power of standardised ESG disclosures and reporting to strengthen investor trust and transparency and to demonstrate a clear alignment of interest?
• Does following strict ESG guidelines help with performance and fund raising or does it inhibit room for growth?

ROUNDTABLE ROUND 1

Roundtable A: ESG acceleration: How to handle allocator questions and navigate emerging regulatory issues

Roundtables take place as repeated parallel sessions. Delegates rotate through all 4 topics for focused discussion in small groups

2022 was tipped to be a pivotal year for ESG disclosures, following International Sustainability Standards Board’s approval of "global baseline" rules for firm disclosures in February. How has this impacted the hedge fund community? What does your firm need to know about ESG rules and regulations both at home and abroad?

Roundtable B: Uncovering capital: Fundraising outlook for the year

• Growing Middle East and emerging markets opportunity
• Struggle of capital-raising in developed markets
• Marketing rules and how to best navigate the different regulations
• Impact of regulation on asset growth and capital-raising

As industry participants expect a persistently difficult capital raising environment, where do managers think their funds will come from?

Roundtable C: The retail opportunity: Managers in search of growth are taking advantage of new areas of distribution

• Examining the regulatory requirements for retail distribution including prospectus and offer documents.
• Ensuring compliance with suitability and disclosure obligations
• Complying with marketing and advertising regulations, including restrictions on performance claims and use of certain terminology.
• Reviewing risk management and monitoring processes to align with retail investor needs

The rise in hybrid fund launches and liquid alternative structures is seeing hedge fund managers set their sights on increased retail distribution. What regulatory and compliance considerations do they have to make when considering this move?

Roundtable D: AI and Technology: AI is changing the way we live. Adopting these tools within hedge funds can see managers reach new levels of integration

• Maximising the use of tech innovations in AI and blockchain across a business
• Opportunities for hedge funds to improve their investment strategies through AI
• AI support in risk management and compliance
• Breaking down barriers to adoption

The progress seen in the AI space over the past year has been unpresented. As new developments continue to emerge, hedge funds are fast coming to terms with the fact that this space is the future and must play a key role in their business.

ROUNDTABLE ROUND 2

Roundtables take place as repeated parallel sessions. Delegates rotate through all 4 topics for focused discussion in small groups

Roundtable A: ESG acceleration

Roundtable D: AI and Technology

Roundtable B: Uncovering capital

Roundtable C: The retail opportunity

NETWORKING LUNCH

• How have multi-strategy hedge fund fared in the tumultuous market environment?
• Do cost and competition concerns still persist?
• What has the investor experience been like with multi-strat funds and has this changed their appetite for such products?
• Do multi-strategy managers face operational challenges around due diligence, reporting etc and how can these be overcome to not impact the investors?

Investor focus: Following on from the boom in popularity of multi-strategy hedge funds, we map their fate in the current environment.

PANEL 3

Diversification and the spreading of risk are keystone concepts when investing. Given the expected choppy markets, these tenets have become even more important as investors look to navigate the uncertainty. Multi-strategy hedge funds were billed to help investors do just this…

ROUNDTABLE ROUND 3

Roundtables take place as repeated parallel sessions. Delegates rotate through all 4 topics for focused discussion in small groups

Roundtable A: ESG acceleration

Roundtable B: Uncovering capital

Roundtable C: The retail opportunity

Roundtable D: AI and Technology

NETWORKING BREAK

Coffee break and a chance to meet our experts and network with your peers

Fireside Chat

Contrarian investing: Market turmoil creates a ripe environment to execute trades

Which investment approaches could win out in 2023? There are clear areas of return opportunity across the financial markets. Panelists discuss the outlook for different hedge fund strategies and whether now is the time for contrarian investing.

• Investor appetite for volatility
• The role of bond and credit funds in the current environment
• Continued optimism in macro, fundamental and trend following hedge funds
• Operational efficiency – the importance of being quick to execute in fast-moving markets

• Identifying investment opportunities
• Understanding risk and return profiles
• Structures available
• Tax and other governance implications

Re-discovering Europe: Investment opportunities in Europe are in demand. Facilitating access for US investors is gaining momentum

PANEL 4

Many US investor portfolios are heavily overweight US assets. As they look to diversify their holdings, how can they best access European exposure?

NETWORKING

Connect with peers from around the industry over a glass of wine

EVENT CLOSES

HEDGE FUND MANAGERS

100+

EXPERT SPEAKERS

30+

SERVICE PROVIDERS

20

Convene - London

Address: 22 Bishopsgate // City of London, London

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Dress Code

Electronic Devices

Please note attendees are asked to dress in business casual.

We kindly ask attendees to please keep electronic devices on silent during panels and roundtables.

Venue Requirements

REGISTER FOR THE HEDGE FUND

EUROPEAN LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

Please note that registration for this summit is only open to senior executives at fund managers and investors. If you are a service provider and would like to attend, please get in touch with us via the sponsor enquiries form, or on sales@globalfundmedia.com.