Scientific Beta

Scientific Beta's annual European conference concluded in London on 27 November, 2024. The two-day event brought together industry leaders and experts to discuss the latest research on systematic equity investing through a number of plenary sessions, panel discussions and case studies.

Highlights included sessions addressing the importance of economic risk in portfolio construction, exploring potential solutions to address concentration risk in the design of factor strategies, and considering the limitations of standard machine learning models for investment decisions and how these tools can be tailored to improve investment outcomes.

Further sessions looked at "green window dressing", forward-looking climate data and carbon emissions and how to exploit the insights of financial market participants to improve ESG data.

Case studies explored how to create enhanced equity solutions for investors with limited deviation from the cap-weighted index, how to assess both a company’s climate change risks and opportunities, and look at the pitfalls of implementing Quality investment strategies, proposing a more robust approach to capturing the benefits of Quality investing. A final case study looked at advanced equity factor investing, outlining innovative strategies for robust tracking error management.