Investors have come to the realisation that low expected returns are the new normal. This has led investment managers to expand their investment opportunity set and increase their allocation to alternative, often illiquid, assets that come with new challenges. This session considers these challenges and discusses various operational alpha strategies that funds use to stay competitive.

Digitization is driving value in securities servicing
How net is your net?
Rethinking your operating model

If change is the only constant then we should not expect regulation to remain the same. This session invites asset owners to learn more about the intent and expectations from policy makers and regulators, the challenges they face and what conversations need to take place to improve outcomes for members.

Data is more than an intangible asset. Data it is critical to improving investment decisions. This session explores how data is incorporated within funds and what is best practice in terms of data warehousing, governance and security.

Despite the increasing impact of technology and specifically automation on funds, your staff will remain a critical component of an investment manager. This session will discuss the trends that are affecting investment operation careers and how to build the right ‘operations’ culture, the importance of diversity and up-skilling.

This session provides an update from the Australian Custodial Services Association on key industry issues, engagement and medium-term strategy. This session will also include the ACSA awards and the Conexus lifetime achievement award.

PAPER
ACSA releases role of custodian white paper

The role of custodians has changed significantly. One of these changes is the increasing investment overseas and the growth in foreign currency exposure resulting in increased FX hedging activities. Custodians have also been on a path of re-invention as they adapt to changes in the investment landscape, disruptive technology and the evolving needs of key client segments. This session involves an update from the world of custody and how asset owners can get the most from their custodian.

Asset owners require insight into all components of their NAV calculation process and confidence in the accuracy of their service providers results. This keynote session looks at the granularity and the auditability on changes in pricing, expenses, income and capital flows that satisfy board, investor and regulatory scrutiny.

This session will provide an update on the trends within operational due diligence. The session will also highlight the most important operational risk factors often overlooked today and importance of employing evaluations to ensure that risks are fully vetted.

There are many reasons your project could fail. This session takes a holistic view of past projects that have not turned out as expected and how pre-mortems can provide insight into the challenges that could cause everything to fail.

There is a regular argument that Australia's future prosperity is at risk unless we take bold action and commit to long-term thinking, but what does that mean exactly? This closing session explores two scenarios that present two vastly different visions of Australia, and what factors can help in achieving a country that we all want to live in.