One Year after the Global Financial Turmoil - the Way Forward for the Fund Industry

Following the success of the annual conferences hosted since 2007, the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association ("HKIFA") will hold its third annual conference in September this year, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The financial tsunami sent waves around the world at an unprecedented speed and magnitude. Its abrupt escalation has led to a deepening global economic downturn. Asset prices declined around the world and the landslide began in August 2007 with the subprime crisis spreading beyond Wall Street. The collapse of Lehman Brothers has not only had a domino effect on the global financial world, but also shattered the confidence of investors worldwide. This has had significant impact on the global financial industry, including both fund managers and regulatory bodies.

The world is looking to build a new financial order and regardless of the length and breadth of the downturn, it seems clear that global regulators plan to move forward with regulatory reforms aimed at enhancing regulatory oversight, risk disclosure and assessment, governing of selling procedures, and product advertising. The industry will need to respond to the new standards accordingly, all of which will have significant impact on day to day operations. How would these affect fund managers and distributors?

Increasing market volatility and the Lehman Brothers minibond saga have accentuated the need for investor education and risk assessment, and has prompted fund managers and distributors to revisit their business models. The rebuilding of investor confidence in retail investment products is more important than ever and enhancing investor education has become critical. What is the best way forward for investor education? What should be done to match the coming regulatory reforms? What is the way to rebuild investor confidence in fund products through investor education?

MPF covers 2 million employees in Hong Kong, so how do the various stakeholder groups (employer, employee, trade union, regulator, etc.) assess the MPF system? Since its launch in the year 2000, the MPF system has undergone several refinements and the pending implementation of employee choice may bring a significant change to the system. How can it be made a success? How can the system be further improved?

With the theme "One Year After the Global Financial Turmoil - the Way Forward for the Fund Industry", this year's conference looks at the outlook for the fund management industry and the issues mentioned above. The event will also look at the latest trends within the Asian fund industry. The dynamic group of leading speakers and panelists, from the different perspectives of regulators, fund managers, distributors, lawyers and the media, will have an in-depth discussion to flesh out the latest issues and highlight how the industry can gear up for the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities provided.

This half-day conference provides a platform for fund managers, distributors, trustees, lawyers, accountants and other related professionals to bounce ideas off each other for the best way forward for the industry. The conference also features a luncheon speech on the challenging question of whether Shanghai can rival Hong Kong as the premier international financial centre in the region.

Accreditations

*Subject to individual company's compliance approval.
**For the session: "A review of the MPF system and understand the wish list of the various stakeholder groups"

IIQAS CPD: This conference may be recognised as a qualified CPD activity for the Insurance Intermediaries Quality Assurance Scheme ("IIQAS") CPD Programme (Note A). However, we do not warrant that the attendance of this conference would automatically be recognized as complying with the IIQAS CPD requirements as different SRO may have different requirements. If in doubt the insurance intermediaries should contact their SRO for clarification.

Note A:
CPD courses organized or formally approved by specified professional bodies including the Law Society of Hong Kong for their own CPD programmes can be recognised as qualified CPD activities for the IIQAS CPD Programme, without the need to be further approved by the IIQAS CPD Programme assessment authority, if they relate to local insurance (or related) legislation, regulatory aspects of insurance practice in Hong Kong, insurance, actuarial science, risk management, financial planning, or other disciplines which are directly related to the work of insurance intermediaries, such as investment, law and legal knowledge, finance, business, commerce, management, engineering or communication skills. Generally, one CPD hour can be earned for each hour's participation in these activities. For more information, please see the IIQAS CPD Information Sheet issued by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (http://www.oci.gov.hk/download/CPD_info_sheet_July2008E.pdf).