Fund Selection: Blending Quantitative and Qualitative Factors
Dr. Francesco Mandalà, Chief Investment Officer, MBaer Merchant Bank AG
Fund selection is a core activity in the construction of advisory and discretionary portfolios as well as for pension fund allocations. This master class will discuss the fundamental concepts for the successful implementation of fund selection. The selection of the fund will be analyzed in the context of adding alpha and factor risk premia to the desired portfolio.
We will start by providing the framework and quantitative tools for carrying out a fund manager selection. These notions will be put into practice during the breakout session. We will expand our discussion to cover the performance of institutional portfolios, the choice of fixed income managers, and ETF investing.
Outline
- Asset Allocation Perspective: adding alpha and beta. Academic view on the existence of alpha.
- Overview of the fund selection process. Investment due diligence.
- Quantitative screening, alpha, and factor exposures.
- The timing of hiring/firing decisions of external managers.
- Breakout session: Application in Fund Selection.
- Institutional Investors’ performance in the active space.
- Manager selection in the fixed-income space. Learning the macro view of the manager.
- Which ETFs for the passive alternative?
SFI Master Class Features and Target Audience
SFI Master Classes offer seasoned banking and finance professionals a unique opportunity to exchange knowledge and share their professional views with top-level academics and industry experts in an interactive learning environment. Master Classes incorporate hands-on group work and opportunities for discussion.
This particular Master Class is aimed at professionals in the financial industry who work in asset and wealth management or hold client-facing advisory roles. It is also of value to financial experts seeking insight into fund management.
SAQ Recertification
This SFI Master Class is an acknowledged SAQ recertification measure for CWMA, CCoB, Affluent-, SME-, and Individual Client Advisor profiles and comprises four learning hours. The Master Class covers the "industry knowledge" aspect.