Political power and economic influence are shifting and the way economies emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate this change. How have the geopolitical landscape and economic powerbases shifted and what are the long-term impacts for investors? US/China tensions, Trump v Biden, the future of the EU, the future for oil, national security and technology will all influence how and with who economic power rests.

The Coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on investments and on the outlook of many assets held in the private markets. What has changed in terms of valuations and the general dynamics of particular sectors and to what extent are those changes permanent or temporary? Is this downturn different? How will government stimulus support specific sectors and what role do investors need to play in rebuilding economies. And, what will be the impact on the focus around ESG and sustainability. Wherever there are challenges there are also opportunities.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, how has the landscape and the approach to investing changed for institutional investors planning for the decade ahead? How will the major themes that ran into 2020: emerging markets; inequality & modern slavery; energy and climate, influence outcomes through the 2020s in a post-COVID world?

The landscape for investors has shifted considerably in 2020.  Beyond the immediate challenges COVID-19 has presented, what are the total portfolio implications for investors over the next decade and beyond? Our panel will discuss how risks have evolved, if long run return expectations have changed and what are the key portfolio construction changes required as well as where the opportunities are for growth and other sources of return.

At times of economic crisis, the need for a robust investment governance framework to withstand these kind of market shocks is particularly paramount.  Our observation working with a wide range of institutional investors is that well-structured investment governance arrangements are vital to manage across a range of different environments.  Our panel will discuss how COVID-19 has impacted their organisation from an investment governance perspective, what lessons have been learnt and what areas of investment governance they will be most focussed on going forward.

In 2013 Frontier co-founded the Global Investment Research Alliance. By collaborating with our partners in North America and Europe we are able to bring local global perspectives into our own thinking and due diligence. In this session we will explore the differences and similarities each firm has experienced within its client set, and its local market more broadly, as the world has dealt with COVID-19 and the policy and market reactions around the globe.

This session examines the implications on investment strategy for APRA and non-APRA regulated liability driven investors in a negative real world.

Asia is the world’s largest continent and holds over half the world’s population.  It is vastly diverse by culture, population, climate and geography. We are truly amidst the Asian Century – a period of rapid growth that is expected to continue over the course of the 21st century. However, to sustain that growth, Asia requires US$26 trillion of investments in essential infrastructure such as power generation, water, roads, telecommunications, and health according to the Asian Development Bank. With a mix of OECD and developing markets, vibrant economies, foreign-investor friendly governments, why are investors continuing to neglect Asia as an infrastructure investment destination? We examine the markets, the attractiveness of the opportunities, recent experiences, and the post-COVID reality of investing in Asia from our panel of experts

The China A-Shares market is the world’s second largest equity market after the US, comprising over 3,000 listed securities. Improved foreign accessibility to domestic Chinese equities and an increased representation of the class in global equity indices, combined with the large and liquid nature of the market and the growing global role of China means investing in China A-Shares will become an important part of overseas equity portfolios. This session will explore the risks and opportunities as well as the optimal implementation approach for investing in domestic Chinese equities.

Investors are in the business of getting exposure to assets such as equities, bonds and credit and there are many ways to do this: passive investment, ETFs, swaps, futures and even options.  We cover the trade-offs faced by investors in these choices including lessons learned from the stress period in mid-March which was the height of the COVID-19 markets and liquidity crisis.

The Coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on the outlook of many sectors within real estate. Returns, while attractive relative to bonds, are expected to remain modest (if not negative in some sectors). Most Australian investors have material allocations to the retail and office sectors, both of which are facing significant challenges. Is there a way to access enduring income streams in alternative sectors without taking undue risk?

In this session we explore the niche (alternative) sectors of housing (senior/student/workforce/manufactured), medical office, life science, data and education. Why are they attractive (even post-COVID)? What are the key risk/return drivers? What’s the outlook? Does a public or private market investment make the most sense? What should investors be wary of?

This session will consider the protection bonds are likely to provide to growth focussed portfolios now that yields are at or below zero. A difficult return outlook combined with poor liquidity have investors pondering the asset class’ defensiveness and relevance. What are the implications for portfolio construction, should linkers be used alongside nominal bonds, and what levers should managers use to navigate QE, yield curve control and unprecedented levels of government bond issuance?

Under the Australian Modern Slavery Act 2018, asset owners are required to describe the risks of modern slavery in their portfolios, and the actions they are taking to assess and address these risks as part of an annual Modern Slavery Statement. Over the last year, Frontier’s research teams have surveyed investment managers on how they are identifying modern slavery risks and contributing to global efforts to eliminate these crimes.  In this session, we present key insights arising from this research as well as showcasing ways in which Frontier can support clients in preparing their statements.

The Government and regulators have challenged our industry to do better when it comes to providing retirement solutions. Product providers have been slow to develop solutions which are suitable for members’ needs. Late last year, Frontier instigated a taskforce of profit-for-member funds to collectively design a longevity solution for the benefit of Australian workers in retirement. Tune in to hear our progress.

The Australian electricity system has experienced significant disruption in recent years driven by a rapid buildout of new renewable energy generation capacity. This session will look at some of the challenges Australian renewables have faced as a result of this rapid development and will also consider government’s role.  We’ll then discuss how the US market has handled these challenges.

The underperformance of value as a style has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 sell-off, with the dispersion in valuation spreads reaching extreme levels by historical standards. This session will reflect on the current opportunity and role for value, while bringing historical context to the drawdown. We will discuss the rationale and implications for why many value managers have adapted their approach since the GFC and whether this amounts to style drift or a rational evolution and explore some of the problematic definitions of value and the important distinctions to be made between value managers in blending multi-manager equity portfolios.

Constructing a diversified portfolio of different managers and strategies requires an understanding of how each relates to others in different market conditions. Clustering analysis helps identify similarities and differences which may otherwise not be easily discerned. Strategies which cluster together, in terms of a positive relationship, should receive a smaller allocation in a diversified portfolio whereas those that don’t cluster can help diversification and should be allocated accordingly.