Discretionary Portfolio Management Leaders Conversation, Singapore 2017

Date:
30 May, 2017
Time:
8:30am – 1:10pm followed by luncheon
Venue:
The Westin, Singapore

2017 Photos

 

Overview

For the third year, Asian Private Banker brought together senior Discretionary Portfolio Managers from the leading private banks in the region for a leader’s morning to examine how the DPM space is evolving, what it means to Asian clients, and how growing rates of DPM penetration are affecting the industry. The morning consisted of four 40-minute revolving workshops, held in an intimate, off-the record, and facilitated environment.

The workshops were followed by a Leaders Conversation panel with the heads of DPM from the leading private banks in the region – where unique insights were shared based on observations of data collected from all participants.

Agenda

8:30am – 9:00am Registration and Coffee
9:00am – 9:05am Opening Comments
9:05am – 9:45am Leaders Conversation Panel 1 | Risk-taking through DPM

The current environment appears ripe for risk-taking, especially as equity markets have rallied on the expectation of reflation and Trump’s election promises. In Asia, however, equity appetite remains muted due to valuation concerns, fattened tail risks and raw memories of market turbulence. A number of managed solutions have emerged to help enhance returns without compromising income or clients’ low tolerance for drawdowns.

How are discretionary managers and their offerings helping clients navigate tough markets and achieve objectives? We discuss Asian HNW investor appetite and portfolio solutions with leading regional heads of DPM.

Moderator:
Richard Otsuki, Deputy Editor, Head of IPS Coverage, Asian Private Banker

Conversation catalysts:
Pascal Meilland, Head of Discretionary Portfolio Management, Asia, Indosuez Wealth Management
Ranjiv Raman, Head of Investments & Treasury, Cazenove Capital Management
Rebekah Chuan, CEO, Singapore Office and Head of Investment in Asia, EFG Asset Management
Yves Bogni, Head Programme Management Office APAC, UBS

Breakout Roundtable Sessions
(Breakout sessions will be held concurrently in separate rooms.)
9:50am – 10:30am Breakout Session 1
10:30am – 11:10am Breakout Session 2
11:10am – 11:50am Breakout Session 3
11:50am – 12:30pm Breakout Session 4
12:30pm – 1:10pm Leaders Conversation Panel 2 | Encouraging private bankers in Asia to adopt DPM

Are discretionary mandates tantamount to funds and how do they differ from multi-asset solutions? How can relationship managers promote the idea of a core-satellite approach to retain transactional activities while maintaining risk-adjusted return profiles of portfolios? Not only must private banks confront such questions when convincing clients to adopt a diversified portfolio-centric approach to investing via delegation, but also bankers’ predilection toward brokerage and deficient knowledge.

We discuss initiatives taken by private banks to further improve relationship manager DPM competency to grow discretionary assets in Asia.

Moderator:
Richard Otsuki, Deputy Editor, Head of IPS Coverage, Asian Private Banker

Conversation catalysts:
Lim Soon Chong, Managing Director, Regional Head, Investment Products & Advisory, Consumer Banking Group & Wealth Management, DBS Bank
Paul Stefansson, Managing Director, Head of Client Investment Specialists Funds and Mandate After-sales APAC, Investment Platforms and Solutions, UBS Wealth Management
Tuan Huynh, Regional Head of Portfolio Management, APAC, Deutsche Bank
Wei Mei Tan, Head of Portfolio Solutions, Asia Pacific, Credit Suisse

1:10pm – 2:00pm Networking Luncheon

 

Workshop Topics

Generating Returns through Factors
With fixed income yields expected to remain low and equity market return assumptions modest for the years ahead, investors are eager to identify additional sources of return for their portfolios. Factor Investing, an investment approach adopted by many of the world’s largest institutions, has become increasingly popular within the private bank community over the past few years. Factors are broad persistent drivers of return that exist within and across asset classes. Single Factors have been well known to investors through Smart Beta strategies, but how can investors tactically allocate across style factors to generate additional return? For investors looking for attractive uncorrelated returns, how can a long/short, multi-asset approach to style factors help deliver the desired outcome? These questions and more will be addressed in this session as BlackRock seeks to provide insights into how discretionary managers can benefit from the use of factors within their portfolios.

Workshop host:
Eric Mueller, Product Strategist, BlackRock’s Multi-Asset Strategies Group

Finding Quality Growth in China
Despite concerns around China’s economic slowdown, renminbi depreciation and the threat of trade protectionism, good investment opportunities prevail for bottom-up investors in China. As China continues to open up its capital markets, the number of companies that stock-pickers can select from has grown significantly. Where are the structural opportunities? How should investors identify companies with sustainable growth? This breakout session will give an analyst’s perspective on how stock selection is carried out in China and highlight a examples of quality growth companies.

Workshop host:
Lauren Prendiville, Head of Distribution, Southeast Asia, First State Investments

Can structured credit be the next income solution?
At approximately USD7.9 trillion in market value, residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities (MBS) comprise over 20% of the US fixed-income universe. Yields remain attractive relative to Treasuries and other credit alternatives. Residential and commercial mortgage spreads have historically exhibited lower correlation with equity market returns. By adding significant yield and diversification against other asset classes, these markets offer investors a potentially attractive return profile. Expectations for further monetary tightening and Fed member comments on balance sheet normalization have brought the topic of Fed “taper” (i.e., a gradual end to reinvestments) front and center. What is the impact of the Fed “taper” on the MBS markets? Where are the opportunities in a rising rate environment? How has the sector evolved since the global financial crisis? These questions and more will be addressed in this session as Legg Mason seeks to outline the benefits of active management in structured products.

Workshop host:
Amanda Stitt, Investment Director – Product Specialist, Legg Mason Global Asset Management

Listed infrastructure – a powerful thematic shift, or a fleeting fad?
M&G will use the session to discuss the varying approaches to investing in globally Listed infrastructure. The conversation will explore how the market defines infrastructure, what are the diversification benefits of the asset classes, whether you should take an active or passive approach to accessing this trend, and whether this theme has long term investment credentials, or is just a passing buzzword. The session will be conducting in an interactive way with delegates encouraged to share their views and past experiences of investing in the sector.

Workshop host:
Kotaro Miyata, Investment Director, M&G Investments

Factor Investing for Discretionary Portfolios
There is abundant empirical evidence that stocks with certain characteristics deliver superior risk-adjusted returns in the long-term. These characteristics, shared by groups of stocks, are referred to as factors, such as low-volatility, momentum, value and quality. In this workshop, we will present the building blocks available to discretionary portfolio managers – from passive to active and single to multi-factor solutions. For instance, generic index products such as smart beta ETFs have proved useful but investors should also be aware of potential drawbacks. We will present our research on this.

Finally, we will share Robeco’s experience in working with different financial institutions around the world, including private banks like yourselves, on factors implementation. It is likely that your portfolios would already have some implicit exposures to certain factors as a result of your manager selections – and it makes sense to understand these exposures and how you can systematically benefit from them.

Workshop host:
Tom Naaijkens, Client Portfolio Manager, Quantitative Equities, Robeco

Partners

BlackRock First State Investments Legg Mason M&G Robeco

 

Inquiries

For further information on the Discretionary Portfolio Management Leaders Conversation, [email protected]