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Symposium
The 14th annual HedgeNews Africa Symposium took place on March 9, 2023 at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town, showcasing some of the most innovative ideas in the global alternative asset industry today.
Known for delivering an original agenda, the Symposium once again welcomed some of the top minds in the industry, allowing attendees access to unique high-level content in a fast changing world.
Sonja Saunderson, new chief investment officer of the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund, delivered a keynote address. The EPPF is the second biggest pension fund in South Africa and the largest privately administered fund, with assets under management of around R180 billion.
After 22 years at the Momentum Group and almost 13 years as its CIO, Saunderson took on her new role at the end of October, bringing unique insights into the aims and outcomes of one of the country’s biggest allocators.
Marcus Storr of FERI Trust, who has long been an investor in the African space, also joined the programme in Keynote Conversation.
Marcus joined FERI in 2005. As head of alternative investments he is responsible for hedge fund, private equity, investment solutions, manager selection and positioning of FERIs Alternative Investment Division including client reporting.
FERI is a specialist in Alternative Investments and one of the largest investment management firms in Germany based in Bad Homburg managing approximately €55 billion including €15 billion in Alternative Investments.
Also part of the 2023 line-up was Cato Brahde, CIO of London-based Oceanic Investment Management, who co-founded the Oceanic Hedge Fund in 2002, an early entrant into the alternative energy sector.
Cato joined Tufton Oceanic in 1989 where he was responsible for the group’s shipping investment fund and individual investment accounts with a total of 50 ships. He co-founded Oceanic Hedge Fund in 2002 and currently serves as CIO.
The fund seeks to capture long/short opportunities arising from rapid decarbonisation in the cyclical shipping and energy transition sectors through proprietary industry and company valuation factors.
Oceanic Investment Management has a unique skillset – combining industry backgrounds from ship technology, trading and operations, shipping economics as well as pioneering oil service and renewable energy developments over several decades. Its team has developed several unique industry tools that give valuable insights into longer-term cycles as well as real-time data.
Delegates also heard from Dureka Carrasquillo, CIO of 1.5 degrees, based in London.
Carrasquillo manages a long/short fund focusing on climate change technologies. She launched her own hedge fund firm last year having previously worked at the Canada Pension Plan Investments, Canada’s largest sovereign wealth fund, where she managed the equity long/short team for the EMEA region.
As always, the Symposium agenda featured other topical keynote sessions and interactive panel discussions, working with top fund managers, investors and service providers to deliver a thought-provoking agenda.
The agenda has been accredited with 7 CPD points for attendees.
Look out for full coverage of the Symposium in our April quarterly print edition.
Symposium topics:
- Climate change – how investors are responding
- Trends and potential outcomes amid a global energy crisis
- New avenues of opportunity, from private debt to global macro
- Transformation and diversity – ushering in a new era for asset management
- Operational and business issues for a sophisticated industry
- Inflation, recession and a world at war: What hedge funds offer investors
- Women in the industry: breaking the barriers
- Best ideas: South African equity and fixed income
Booking Rates
• Standard booking rate: $590/R8,800 – access to post-event podcasts 50% off this rate
• 15% discount for hedge fund managers and investors $500/R7,480
• 25% discount for HedgeNews Africa subscribers $440/R6,600
Only one discount applies
*ZAR rates are exclusive of VAT
**Applicable to standard booking rate only
Not-for-profit hedge fund investors, pension fund trustees and financial advisers are eligible for discounted rates. Please email events@hedgenewsafrica.com for information.
Download the Symposium booking form here, or alternatively, you can email your booking query to events@hedgenewsafrica.com.
For accommodation at the Vineyard Hotel or alternative options, please click here.
The HedgeNews Africa Symposium 2023 programme has been approved by the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa. Members who attend will receive 7 CPD Hours, which are required to develop and maintain their capabilities to perform competently in their professional environments.
Programme
HedgeNews Africa Symposium 2023 PROVISIONAL AGENDA
07h00-07h50 Registration: Tea, coffee and refreshments
08h00-08h15 Welcome and introduction
08h15-09h00 Panel session: Decoding the global macro milieu: Panellists grapple with market trends and conditions, and what these mean for asset classes and allocators.
09h00-09h30 KEYNOTE CONVERSATION: View from an international investor
Marcus Storr, FERI, in conversation with Jean Turner, Investec
09h30-10h15 Panel session: Global equity markets took a hammering for much of 2022 with equity-focused hedge funds offering shelter from the storm. What does the South African equity market offer in 2023 and beyond, and how are hedge fund managers playing major market themes in search of alpha?
10h15-10h45 tea, coffee, refreshments
10h45-11h15 KEYNOTE CONVERSATION: View from an institutional allocator
Sonja Saunderson, Eskom Pension and Provident Fund, in conversation with Andre Steyn, Steyn Capital Management
11h15-12h00 Panel session: Bond markets faced sustained and unprecedented volatility in 2022 amid a tightening interest-rate cycle. What’s in store for the asset class in 2023 and beyond? Are fixed income hedge funds making sense of market conditions?
12h00-12h45 From tangled supply chains to the energy transition: Examining the global economy through a specialist lens
Cato Brahde, Oceanic Investment Management, in conversation with Neil Wilson
12h45-13h45 LUNCH in EXHIBITION ROOM
13h00-13h45pm LUNCH Workshop – Absa Fund-Linked Solutions – Adam Reeves
13h45-14h30 Climate investing: Hedging for a cooler future
Dureka Carrasquillo, 1.5 Degrees, in conversation with Niki Natarajan
14h30-15h15 Panel session: Alternative investments and the climate and energy opportunity: How money managers are flexing their muscle in a world in transition.
15h15-15h45 ESG and Alternatives: Turning 21st century risks into opportunities Emily Forsyth-Davies, Aurum, and Emlyn Palmer, Albourne, in conversation.
OR
Stream session: BlackRock Masterclass: 2023 private markets outlook – a new era for investors.
15h45-16h15 Panel session: Making the grade: Panellists discuss how boutique businesses can gain, and maintain, an edge on the investment, operational and business fronts.
16h15-16h55 Panel session: The great hedge fund debate: Why hedge, why now? Panellists discuss the perennial potential of including an allocation to hedge funds.
15h15- Tea, coffee, refreshments available in Exhibition Room
* this agenda is provisional and subject to change at the organiser’s discretion
16h45 Tea, coffee, refreshments
Speakers
Confirmed 2023 speakers include:
Rob Bird, BlackRock
Taddy Blecher, Imvula Securities
Cato Brahde, Oceanic Investment Management
Andre Breedt, Capital Fund Management
Jacques Conradie, Peregrine Capital
Dureka Carrasquillo, 1.5 Degrees
Craig French, Visio
Jeff Gable, Absa
Werner Gerber, Apex
Anthony Hall, Corion Capital
Jeleze Hattingh, Southchester
Jarred Houston, All Weather Capital
Nigel Hikmet, Lansdowne Partners
Grant Hogan, Independent Alternatives
Kasief Isaacs, Mergence
Rayhaan Joosub, Sentio Capital
Emily Forsyth-Davies, Aurum
Motshidisi Mazibuko, Sanlam Investments
Kamini Naidoo, Momentum Alternative Investments
Carmen Nel, Matrix Fund Managers
Niki Natarajan, In Ink (London)
Nosibusiso Ngqondoyi, Old Mutual Multi Managers
Nomathibana Okello, Terebinth Capital
Emlyn Palmer, Albourne
Matthew Pouncett, Laurium Capital
Adam Reeves, Absa Fund-Linked Solutions
Kim Silberman, RMB
Lebo Thubisi, Alexander Forbes Investments
Jean-Pierre Verster, Protea Capital
Sonja Saunderson, EPPF
Marcus Storr, FERI
Andre Steyn, Steyn Capital Management
Jean Turner, Investec
Clarissa van der Westhuysen, Fairtree
Hannes van den Berg, NinetyOne
Elmien Wagenaar, THINK.CAPITAL
Neil Wilson, Wilson Willis Management
Who Attends?
The Symposium attracts the top hedge fund managers, investors and service providers focusing on the African region.
Our programme is created by an editorial team who track the industry year round, giving us the edge in creating a topical and timely agenda that covers the real issues in the market.
We facilitate executive-level discussions with company decision-makers on our impressive speaker list, contributing via panel sessions and keynote speeches.
The one-day forum is held in a closed-door environment with no other media present, allowing participants the freedom to engage in in-depth discussions as well as interactive Q&A sessions.
For a full list of companies that attended the 2017 HedgeNews Africa Symposium, please email events@hedgenewsafrica.com
Sponsors and Exhibits
The HedgeNews Africa Symposium offers an important opportunity for sponsors to showcase their products and services before a high-level audience.
We partner with top-tier industry players who are dedicated to building their brand at the highest levels while interacting with their target audience in a productive and informative environment.
The Symposium offers a premier sponsorship opportunity for:
• Prime brokers
• Investment banks
• Brokerage firms
• Accounting firms
• Lawyers
• Administrators
• Fund companies
If you are looking to enter the exciting African market or if your company offers access to untapped opportunities on the continent or the more developed South African space, you should consider partnering with us.
To discuss partnering with us further or if you would like to receive our marketing pack with more details, please contact Lindsay Mitchell.
Email: lindsay.mitchell@hedgenewsafrica.com
T: +27 21 8500585
Contact Us
Tel: +27 (0) 43 748 1283 / 6476
Fax: +27 (0) 86 549 6914
Email: events@hedgenewsafrica.com / aiden.davis@hedgenewsafrica.com
FAQ
Q. You have several discounts on offer. Can I have more than one discount applied to my booking?
Only one discount can be applied per booking.
Q. Is the Symposium for one day only?
Yes it is.
Q. Can I share my ticket with a colleague?
If you would like to share your ticket with a colleague you must apply in writing to us via email. A decision will be made at our discretion.
Q. Do I have to fill in a booking form or can I register over the telephone or by email?
We must receive a completed booking form.
Q. Does a ticket to the Symposium include a dinner seat at the HedgeNews Africa Awards Dinner?
No, a ticket to the Symposium does not include attendance at the HedgeNews Africa Awards. These tickets are sold separately.
Q. Is the HedgeNews Africa Awards Dinner always on the same day of the Symposium?
Yes. It is hosted in the evening.
Q. Can I pay for my booking by credit card?
Yes. You can pay by credit card. We will send you an email with the details of how to proceed.
Q. Can I cancel my booking and get a refund?
Tickets are non-refundable and may be transferred only at the organiser’s discretion. Please note a ticket to the Symposium does not include attendance at the HedgeNews Africa Awards.
Q. Can I have a delegate list?
It is our policy not to release delegate lists. However, you can view a list of companies that attended the Symposium last year here.
Q. Can I claim CPD credits for this event?
Yes, you can. The Symposium programme is approved by the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI).
Attendee Feedback
“We loved the event and the location.” – Simon Ruddick, Albourne Partners
“I enjoyed the cross section of speakers.” – Gary Linford, HighWater Limited
“They get better and better every year and we thoroughly enjoyed the content and networking from the day” – Hamish James, Investec Prime Services
“The annual HedgeNews Africa Symposium has established itself as a benchmark industry event over recent years. I have found great value in the interactions and insights shared by peers and investors. The event presents a high quality offering.” – Steve Liptz: Director & Co-founder of 36ONE Asset Management