Scientific Beta

The inaugural "Investing in Smart Beta" seminar series has been launched, with presentations taking place in Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe and the Middle East in 2013. 

The inaugural "Investing in Smart Beta" seminar series has been launched, with presentations taking place in Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe and the Middle-East in 2013. The Investing in Smart Beta seminar is an intensive half-day course, organised by ERI Scientific Beta, that will provide participants with an in-depth appreciation of the concepts and techniques underlying the new index and benchmark offerings in the equity universe:

• The first part of the seminar focuses on bridging the gap between portfolio theory and portfolio construction to achieve efficient risk diversification. It discusses the limits of modern portfolio theory and presents the solutions proposed today to achieve a better level of diversification of the equity portfolio.
  
  
• The second part of the seminar analyses the systematic and specific risks of these new forms of indices and benchmarks, whether based on what are referred to as fundamental or quantitative approaches. It enables the participants to take stock of the latest research advances (Smart Beta 2.0) so as to better control the absolute and relative risks of their investments. Particular attention will be given to the specific risks and conditions of optimality of smart beta.
  
  
• The third part of the seminar deals with questions arising from the use of smart beta. It will provide in-depth analysis of diversification across different types of smart beta and the different contexts for the use of smart beta, whether involving passive investment, active investment or multimanagement.

Seminars will be taking place at the following locations:

• Singapore - 28 January, 2013
• Hong Kong - 29 January, 2013
• Tokyo - 4 February, 2013
• Sydney - 7 February, 2013
• Melbourne - 8 February, 2013
• Boston - 8 April, 2013
• New York - 11 April, 2013
• Washington DC - 15 April, 2013
• Montreal - 16 April, 2013
• Amsterdam - 16 April, 2013
• Toronto - 17 April, 2013
• Copenhagen - 17 April, 2013
• Chicago - 18 April, 2013
• Munich - 24 May, 2013
  
• Frankfurt - 14 June, 2013
• Stockholm - 17 June, 2013
• Oslo - 18 June, 2013
• Helsinki - 19 June, 2013
• Vienna - 28 June, 2013
• San Francisco - 2 July, 2013
• Zurich - 4 July, 2013
• London - 10 July, 2013
• Doha - 11 September, 2013
• Dubai - 12 September, 2013

The programme is of particular interest to all professionals involved in passive investment. More generally, this seminar is intended to be a reference for investment management professionals who advise on or participate in the design and implementation of asset allocation policies, equity portfolio models, and for sell-side practitioners who develop new equity investment solutions. The approach to diversifying the different forms of smart beta is also of great interest for diversified managers and multimanagers.