In 2020, and with the onset of COVID-19 restricting our investor community from getting together, CII launched its popular online Webcast series.
These Webcasts bring together some of the brightest minds across a wide range of industries to deliver unique content and insights for investors. Sessions are highly interactive and are free to attend for all investors.
If you’re interested in being kept up to date with our online Webcast series, please email nick@ciiconferences.com.au
WEBCAST REBROADCASTS
Webcast 1: PANDEMIC POLITICS - SHIFTING GLOBAL POWER
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated change in many facets of life as we know it, translating to fundamental shifts in global power dynamics and fractures in long-standing relationships. In this session, we’ll example some of the potential outcomes of the virus for key economic regions and how these outcomes will impact globalization more broadly.
Webcast 2: ASIA AFTER COVID-19
How will the coronavirus pandemic change Asia? Hervé Lemahieu will provide his analysis on the pandemic’s impact on US-China competition, globalisation and the regional economy, multilateralism and the nation state, misinformation and diplomacy.
Webcast 3: EPISTEMIC HUMILITY - MANAGING OVERCONFIDENCE
At CII's 2020 CIOs Symposium in February, delegates identified overconfidence as the most prevalent bias affecting key decisions in the superannuation industry, highlighting the need for collective focus and action. In this session, our speaker will share insights into why overconfidence is so pervasive, why it's hard to eliminate, and discuss science based interventions that can help us improve as individuals and, in organisations, how we can build overconfidence-proof teams.
Webcast 4: RETHINKING RESILIENCE IN UNCERTAINTY
COVID-19 has launched investors into an era of uncertainty, both economically and politically. We can only speculate as to the long-term consequences. Faced with a growing list of unknowns, how could or should you rethink your approach to asset allocation? Our speakers will discuss how they would prepare a portfolio for a period of heightened uncertainty starting with a "blank slate"
Webcast 5: THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS - AN UNCOMFORTABLE DISCUSSION ON PRIVATE EQUITY
In recent years, unlisted assets, including private equity, have been highly sought after by institutional investors chasing yield and diversification. But, the illiquid, and often opaque nature of private equity investments means that asset owners do not always have a clear picture of how efficiently their capital is being put to work. In this webcast, our speaker will share the controversial findings of his latest soon-to-be published research, including why private equity returns are often misleading, why transactions are often highly inefficient, why professionals and fiduciaries can neglect to ask the right questions, and what industry participants might consider to move towards a more sustainable future.
Webcast 6: ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE - THE CENTRAL BANK DEBT EXPERIMENT
Global interest rates are at all-time lows, flirting with territory below zero, while Central Banks indiscriminately prop up zombie companies under the guise of stimulus. Price discovery and risk are increasingly obscured, sowing the seeds for a broader scale reckoning. With debt markets signalling lower for longer, investors are rightfully questioning risk and return drivers and the role of fixed income in their portfolios.
Webcast 7: EMERGING FROM A CRISIS - A NEW EMERGING MARKET NARRATIVE
Emerging markets have been hit by a double whammy of crises - thrust into a demand crisis as developed markets locked down their economies early, as they also enter the worst stages of the health crisis relatively unprepared and unequipped. Without the fiscal and monetary firepower of developed markets, and as companies globally reconsider their supply chain security, where does this leave Emerging Market Equities?
Webcast 8: TECHNOLOGIES RESHAPING AUSTRALIA’S FUTURE - HOW WE CAN BUILD THE NEXT INDUSTRIAL GIANTS
What is a quantum computer? How could quantum computing become the foundational building block upon which many future industries are built? What is alternative protein and how can it help us make twice as much food using half as much planet? These are examples of scientific enquiry in which Australia is uniquely positioned to lead in the world. Upcoming technological breakthroughs in areas such as agricultural technology and quantum computing, enabling us to re-wire our world at an atomic and molecular level, will fundamentally alter not only the way we live, but also have far reaching effects on opportunities and risks at a portfolio level.
Webcast 9: RESILIENT INCOME: EUROPE'S UNIQUE REAL ESTATE STORY
Competition and innovation across European real estate is fierce, with not only developers competing for investment capital, but 32 EU countries plus the UK. As a result, Europe provides insights into emerging trends that will shape markets globally, coloured by their resolve as global leaders in sustainability. With broader property yields compressed, identifying opportunities for appreciation and finding sustainable, resilient income will be critical going forward.
Webcast 10: CHALLENGING DEFINITIONS: RETHINKING CORE IN THE US
The outlook for traditional core allocations is increasingly uncertain as the forced acceleration of existing trends resulting from COVID continues. Broadening the scope of what is now considered “core” is therefore critical as investors look for yield and stable income. Through companies like Amazon, the US has pioneered the transition to an e-commerce driven world and has the most developed “alternative” property opportunities globally.
Webcast 11: INTO THE BREACH - PRIVATE CREDIT IN THE NEW NORMAL
Globally, demand for private lending is growing at pace. Banks continue to tighten loan issuance in the face of rising bad debt provisions and exposure limits. Navigating both short term and structural changes in credit markets, in an era of heightened uncertainty, will be fraught with challenges, but also some of the best opportunities for attractive risk-adjusted yield across any asset class.
Webcast 12: LESSONS IN LISTENING - HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS TO BOARDROOMS
Listening can be the difference between success and failure, between life and death. As individuals, we often neglect this fundamental soft skill. Subsequently, as boards or teams, our effectiveness is heavily impaired. Cognitive diversity, such a key attribute in today's environment, is not possible without diversity of participation. In turn, effective participation is not possible if we fail to truly listen and interpret what is being said.
Webcast 13: HYPERTURBULENCE AND THE GREAT RESET: THREE SCENARIOS to 2050
The current pandemic, while an impactful global 'wildcard', is only one cog in a giant wheel of interconnected systems and events. In this increasingly hyperturbulent environment, imagination is one of the most powerful tools we have to ensure we, as decision makers and stewards, are future ready rather than focussed on backward looking measures and models.
Webcast 14: THE $44 TRILLION ECOLOGICAL OPPORTUNITY
Despite the pandemic, focus on socially responsible and sustainable investing continues to gain momentum globally. Shareholder activism is at all-time highs, and both companies and investors are increasingly pushed (or punished) toward socially responsible behaviour. According to a recent report published by the World Economic Forum, over half of global GDP is threatened by ecosystem destruction. As fiduciary investors, what does this mean for our equity investments?
Webcast 15: THE SEARCH FOR RISK EFFICIENT YIELD
The search for yield to meet return targets is all an all-encompassing quest in a low rate environment. However, recent events have rightfully renewed focus on risk-adjusted returns. A diminishing pool of suitable investment opportunities has led to an increased focus on illiquids and other alpha sources. Where might we find some solutions?
Webcast 16: GLOBAL DISINFORMATION - THE WAR ON FAKE NEWS
The plague of disinformation is a rapidly growing problem for society and investors alike. From influencing election outcomes and moving markets, to emboldening anti-vax, anti-mask, and flat-earthers, stories are designed to maximise advertising revenue or create social conditions of unrest. We see narratives seeded with half-truths, which crescendo into full blown disinformation campaigns; a central and divisive issue in the US in the lead up to the election.
Webcast 17: TECH SUPPORT - THE TECHNOLOGY FACTOR
As technology stocks reach new highs, an increasingly luminous spotlight is shone on them by investors, governments, and regulators. But, are these valuations justified? Are there risks being overlooked? Being appropriately “technology-enabled” is a key metric, both internally for investors, and externally for managers and portfolio companies. What are some of the key technological factors impacting the future of equity portfolios?
Webcast 18: DEMOCRATIC DISSONANCE AND BELIEF SCARRING- GEOPOLITICS IN 2021
2021 offered just five consecutive days of relative calm. On the 6th of January, rioters stormed and breached the US Capitol, laying bare deep divides for the world to see. Meanwhile, as COVID relentlessly gathers pace, the social contract is strained by lockdowns, growing distrust is fanned by disinformation, and support for global cooperation wanes. These social and political fractures are increasingly prevalent in almost all countries around the world; a democratic dissonance lending growing support to populism and more extreme movements. Yet, some hope for cautious optimism remains.