Fund Manager Selection and Oversight February 19th, 20th and 21st, 2008 Toronto

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Conference Agenda

Session 1:

9:00-9:45 - COMPARING HEDGE FUNDS VS. TRADITIONAL INVESTMENT MANAGERS
Barry Allan, President, Marret Asset Management

With the changing environment and risk appetite of pension fund investors, special considerations are needed for evaluating and selecting fund managers for traditional and non-traditional vehicles. This discussion details:

· Key criteria used when assessing a manager during the selection process
· Key mistakes to avoid in preparing for the manager search and selecting managers
· Differences between hedge fund and traditional investment due diligence
· Fund of funds or direct investment?



9:45-10:30 - PURSUING ALPHA STRATEGIES: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN SELECTING FUND MANAGERS
Clive Morgan, Executive Vice President, Man Investments Canada Corp.

Investment managers pursuing alpha strategies should protect capital in rough markets and earn solid returns in good markets. However, identifying managers who consistently earn solid returns in a variety of market conditions is a key challenge. This discussion details how to choose alpha managers.

· Overview of portable alpha structure: what are the risks of portable alpha
· Criteria for selecting alpha managers for a portable alpha mandate
· Choosing the optimal combination of alpha managers
· Identifying multiple skilled alpha managers
· Building a robust alpha portfolio in the context of the total portfolio



10:30-11:00 NETWORKING BREAK

11:00-11:45 - BACK TO BASICS: DIVERSIFICATION
Dominic Blais, Performance and Risk Analyst, Canadian Medical Protective Association

Diversification is one of the most common finance terms. It has been around for decades and still gets tossed around frequently. But do we really understand it and what role does it play in fund manager selection and oversight? This session will explore whether diversification is still as meaningful today and what impact it should have on the choice of manage.

· What is diversification, why is it important?
· Is diversification limited to asset mix?
· What does a plan need to achieve diversification?
· Impact of diversification in selection of fund manager
· the role of diversification in manager oversight



11:45-12:30 - GENUINE ALPHA OR POOR MAN'S ALPHA?
Cameron Richards, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, Keel Capital Management Inc.

Before you invest, all managers look like they have alpha - why is that? Ex ante, it is often very hard to determine whether superior performance can be attributed to skill or simply luck, leverage, "exotic beta" or mis-specified benchmark. This presentation will look at a Keel case study.

- Death rounds analysis of August 2007 Quantitative Equity Market Neutral panic
· What happened and why?
· Keel's analysis and response
· Lessons learned and more generalized conclusions about other potential "Alpha Traps"
· What hedge fund strategies look attractive now?



12:30-1:30 Lunch