EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre Conference Circuit Jean-René Giraud Director of Development, EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre www.edhec-risk.com
Introduction EDHEC is one of the top five French business schools thanks to the quality of its professors and researchers (88 permanent professors and researchers, as well as 23 affiliated professors and research associates) and the privileged relationship it has been developing with leading international universities. EDHEC pursues an ambitious strategy in the field of finance, more specifically with the development of its Risk and Asset Management research centre, which has gained recognition as the leading independent European research centre in the asset management field.
Introduction The EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre has been promoting independent academic research throughout Europe for the last five years. It brings together a team of 35 (professors, research engineers and research associates) in order to run six research programs. From inception, the research centre has adopted a proactive approach to interacting with the financial industry not only because it represents the ultimate recipient for our research, but more importantly because the EDHEC group is training students to be part of that industry.
Introduction EDHEC conferences have developed as a core element of the centre s organisation for a number of reasons: EDHEC conferences constitute a very powerful medium for exposing and disseminating the centre s research; EDHEC conferences remain a unique place where academics and industry expert meet, allowing for the research to be validated and for interaction with industry practitioners to be maximised; EDHEC conferences constitute a primary source of financing for the research centre, allowing for independent funding of research programmes. Even though EDHEC conferences are now compared to the leading industry get-togethers, they remain significantly different in their content and spirit and remain second to none within the European financial conference circuit.
Spirit of the EDHEC conference circuit: the best of both worlds Past conferences where EDHEC research was presented to the industry, with the participation of finance professionals: EDHEC Hedge Fund Day, May 2004, London (400 delegates) EDHEC Asset Management Days, April 2005, Geneva (600 delegates) EDHEC Hedge Fund Days, February 2006 (850 delegates) EDHEC Institutional Days & ETF Summit, November 2006, Paris (800 delegates) EDHEC Asset Management Days, March 2007, Geneva (740 delegates) Forthcoming conferences: two leading events every year EDHEC Alternative Investment Days, November 2007, London EDHEC Institutional Days, June 2008, Paris EDHEC Alternative Investment Days, November 2008, London
Spirit of the EDHEC conference circuit: the best of both worlds EDHEC conferences differ from industry events on a number of points: They are content-based; Agenda is designed by the research centre with input from industry experts, and focuses on the major research themes of interest to the industry; Focus is given to the quality of the audience rather than quantity, we always privilege the quality of the interaction over the financial results of the event; Because the number of attendees is capped, a policy of invitation is favoured over the commercialisation of delegate passes to unknown or unqualified delegates. Nevertheless, EDHEC conferences are second to none In terms of logistical organisation; In terms of delegate numbers; In terms of visibility and media exposure; In terms of quality of audience for sponsors.
Spirit of the EDHEC conference circuit: the best of both worlds EDHEC conferences are structured around a number of presentations that can take part either within plenary sessions or thematic streams. Presentations are made by the EDHEC research team and followed by an industry panel that comments and interacts on the research presented previously. Workshops are available to sponsors willing to structure an in-house presentation on a specific theme. Delegates opt for those workshops in advance, full editorial control is then left to the owner of the workshop.
Spirit of the EDHEC conference circuit: the best of both worlds EDHEC conferences focus on the themes that drive the money management industry overall, focusing on structuring trends and avoiding marketing buzz. At the forthcoming EAID 2007, themes covered in the programme comprise: Hedge fund regulation Hedging subprime risk Design techniques for long-only absolute return funds Inflation hedging with alternative investments State-of-the-art commodities investing Property derivatives and real estate risk management Hedge fund replication and hedge fund indices Listing of hedge funds and convergence with private equity New frontiers in performance analysis LDI with hedge funds
2008 innovations 2008 conferences (EID2008 in Paris, June 2008 and EAID2008 in London, November 2008) comprise a number of significant changes compared to previous years Merger of our previous EAMD (Geneva 2007) and EID into EID2008 Introduction of the concept of events and exclusive seminars within the umbrella conference Introduction of a new status as Global Event Partner Introduction of the concept of an exclusive lounge bar area for helping sponsors improve their networking capability Improvement of the support provided to sponsors before, during and after the event (marketing and communication assistance Improved presence of leading media during the conference (e.g. Wall Street Europe & CNBC Europe)
2008 innovations EID 2008 planned events: ETF Summit EDHEC Wall Street Journal Europe Institutional Investor Forum Pension Fund Conference Corporate Governance Panel EuroPerformance EDHEC Alpha League Forum EID 2008 planned seminars: EDHEC Solvency II Seminar L Etat de l art de la gestion institutionnelle EDHEC MiFID Seminar Stratégies Alternatives 2008 Immobilier Financier
2008 innovations EAID 2008 planned themes: What reporting for alternative investments? Recent evolutions in techniques supporting the various hedge fund strategies. Best practice for integrating hedge funds in institutional portfolios (LDI and hedge funds, real estate and inflation hedging, alternative investment as part of the core portfolio ) Assessing and pricing liquidity risk. New allocation techniques and portfolio construction in a multi-style multiclass context. Performances of managed accounts. New forms of structured products in the alternative space.
2008 innovations EAID 2008 planned seminars: Use of real estate derivatives in alternative investments. Advanced econometric techniques and tactical style allocation in the alternative space. Quantitative approach to measuring hedge fund risks Optimisation of commodities portfolios. In addition, EAID 2008 will be the opportunity to extend the reach of our conference to single managers through our econometric seminar as well as through the analysis of the evolution of hedge fund investment techniques.
Facts & figures
Independence, independence, independence
Benefits of sponsoring the event Being a sponsor of the EDHEC conference circuit brings a number of advantages that a growing number of firms have understood: Branding association with the leading European independent academic research centre; Access to a selected audience (senior representatives, concentration of end institutional investors) that do not attend industry conferences due to their sales & marketing nature; Allocation of a large number of free event passes that can be offered as gift given their face value, but more important, due to their scarcity; Access to state-of-the-art research; Significant networking opportunities during the event; Quality of the support provided before, during and after the event to make most of the investment.
Communication & promotion: internet www.edhec-risk.com, an academic website for finance professionals. With its joint academic and professional expertise, endeavours to be the most useful site for practitioners who wish to take advantage of research results to improve their investment and risk management processes. 22,000 registered members.
Communication & promotion: newsletter Electronic newsletter containing news from all the main sections of the EDHEC-Risk web site (editorial, feature, interview, research news, EDHEC publications, index returns, etc.) is sent out once a month to more than 120,000 readers worldwide.
Communication & promotion: press & media The research centre has been quoted in more than 2,000 articles in the professional press. Partnership with the Financial Times to publish the results of Alpha League Table (quarterly). Monthly contributions to Funds Europe and Hedge Funds Review. Monthly analysis of EDHEC s hedge fund indices in Investment & Pensions Europe and Les Echos.
Communication & promotion: press & media When new research papers or research chairs launched, press release sent out to our 750 financial press contacts. Marketing plan applied in partnership with the sponsors of the research programmes/chairs. Press articles based on research papers placed in specialised press by partners. Professional publication edition of the paper sent out to European institutional investors. PDF format version sent out by email to our professional contacts.
Communication & promotion: press & media The EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre s marketing team provides additional support to sponsors for obtaining excellent media visibility Pre-conference press-releases Newsletter to delegates with details of sponsors stands and websites List of registered journalists in attendance Journalists made aware of sponsor representatives eager to meet them Support in announcing product launches Post-conference press-releases Post-event e-mail to participants thanking sponsors with link to websites This support will help EDHEC partners to leverage the very high visibility the events gained through our extensive media relationships, including the most prestigious (Financial Times, CNBC Europe, The Wall Street Journal )
The packages
The packages The marketing of our events is significant and requires early preparation, as a result we have set the following key dates December 2007: Start of the call for sponsors EAID2008 January 2008: End of the call for sponsors EID2008 (started June 2007) July 2008: End of the call for sponsors EAID2008 A dedicated team will respond to your questions and discuss specific terms or arrangements for the forthcoming conferences: Jean-René Giraud: jrg@edhec-risk.com Vania Schleef vania.schleef@edhec-risk.com Sophie Simard sophie.simard@edhec-risk.com