The Opalesque 2010 U.K. Roundtable revolved around risk, regulation, opportunities and UCITS. You will hear from some of London's leading hedge fund managers and industry professionals rare insights and details about:
The extraordinary opportunities available to investors with “patient” capital
How asset managers successfully rebuilt investors’ confidence in the listed hedge fund sector
As regulators continue to push the industry towards exchange-traded OTC products, what instruments are or become available?
Why are the exchanges not jumping on CDS clearing? What are the real issues involved?
Why do industry practitioners think UCITS are a disaster waiting to happen?
What is the inherent conflict between the manager and the fund investor in a closed-end fund that may also play out in UCITS funds?
How can investors identify “good” UCITS?
Insiders' views on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive, and how international asset managers can prepare for “Fortress Europe”
Fear of the Regulator
The regulatory changes on the way represent a paradigm shift in the industry, leaving many firms in a position they feel they “almost cannot move for fear of the regulator”. The discussed regulatory reforms appear like attempts to "introduce an air traffic control regime that operates by boroughs or counties”. Hear a candid analysis from Ian Plenderleith - now Chairman of BH Macro and a former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee - about the “great failing” of the global regulatory framework, and which potential conflicts he identifies that nobody else so far has addressed or offered sensible solutions.
Failures in risk measurement at the root of many risk management problems
The Roundtable also offers surprising insights into the reality of risk measurement and risk management of many hedge funds. While a lot of strategies manage risk and exposures based on “rules of thumb”, many funds active in more derivatives-heavy strategies often fail to measure risk appropriately. On top, there is a common mistake amongst portfolio managers to confuse cash usage of a portfolio with risk of a portfolio. The obvious problem is that many funds as a consequence trade strategies based on how much cash they have in the till as opposed to how much capital is at risk.
The 2010 Opalesque U.K. Roundtable was sponsored by NYSE Liffe and took place in their London office on June 29th with the following experts:
Ana Haurie, Managing Director, Dexion Capital Group
Chris Keen, Partner, Culross Global Management
George Castrounis, Partner, Maple Leaf Capital
Ian Plenderleith, Chairman, BH Macro
Joe Taussig, Founder, Taussig Capital
Olivier Lebleu, Partner, Montier Partners
Louis Gargour, Founding Partner and CIO, LNG Capital
Paul Barbour, Chief Financial Officer, M2M Management
Paul MacGregor, Director, NYSE Liffe
We also thank the Opalesque 2010 Roundtable Series Sponsors Custom House Group and Taussig Capital for their support.
The Opalesque Roundtable Series offers unparalleled intelligence on the most important global hedge fund jurisdictions and their players. The Roundtable Series is a free publication from Opalesque and is continually updated. Please scroll down to view the full selection of our Roundtables - covering the globe!