To help investors decipher the importance from the distraction in this exciting yet challenging environment, the third annual Pan-Asian Morningstar Institutional Conference in Hong Kong held on 26 June 2016 had gathered financial experts and leading fund managers to share their perspectives on current trends in the industry. More than 200 delegates across the financial services industry attended the conference.
The theme for this year’s Morningstar Institutional Conference is “New Growth drivers in an Interconnected World”. While questions remain over financial systems, the globalisation of markets and economies has not slowed. Twenty-nine new trade agreements have come into force around the world since 2013 and the international trade of debt and equity securities grows by the day. Led by the key economic powerhouses of China and India, structural reforms in Asia are opening up new opportunities for investors and reshaping the investment landscape.
Intended for Asia-based institutional investors and wealth managers, the conference delivered compelling presentations and discussions led by Morningstar experts, regulatory bodies and other industry professionals. Speakers discussed several timely topics and examined the market from a macro perspective, detailing its effect on each major asset class.
Keynote speaker John Tsang, financial secretary of the Government of the Hong Kong S.A.R., shared with us the audience how structural reforms in Asia brings forth new opportunities for fund managers and other investment professionals. You can find his speech at the conference here.
It is also our pleasure to have Mr. John C. Bogle, the founder, former chief executive of Vanguard, and creator of the first index fund, shared his views with Mr. Jeffrey Ptak, global head of manager research of Morningstar. Mr. Bogle and Mr. Ptak spoke via a recorded video about building effective portfolios for long-term investors in Asia.
Other highlights of Morningstar Institutional Conference 2016 include:
Mr. Russ Koesterich, head of asset allocation for BlackRock’s Global Allocation Fund, joined us from the United States to contribute to a panel discussion on the search for growth and income.
Mr. Neil Dwane (left), global strategist at Allianz Global Investors and Mr. Paras Anand (right), head of Pan-European Equities at Fidelity International commented on the risks and opportunities in European equities.
Representing the most influential fixed-income asset managers in the world, portfolio managers Dr. Luke Spajic (right 2) of PIMCO, Mr. Neeraj Seth (right 1) of BlackRock, and Mr. Vivek Ahuja (left 2) of Templeton Asset Management discussed the relevance of this dynamic asset class for Asia-based investors.
Ms. Louisa Lo (right), deputy head of Asia ex-Japan equities at Schroders, and Mr. Richard Jones (middle), director of First State shared how they had been finding growth in Asian equities during the recent volatility.
Mr. Daire Dunne, portfolio manager at Wellington Management, highlighted the latest investment opportunities in emerging markets.
Mr. Ken Lee, founder and CEO of Belleview Research shared insights on how to understand the banking and investment behaviors of millennials.
Mr. Adam Fleck (middle) and Ms. Marie Sun (right) of Morningstar discussed how Morningstar’s proprietary economic moats approach applies to the e-commerce sector, and shared some of their favorite U.S. and Asian stock ideas that will strive in the rapidly evolving world of digital commerce.
In the following weeks, we will share the highlights of selective sessions above.
