4th OTC Derivatives Summit North America  –  September 15 – 16, Park Hyatt, Washington DC
 
As some will know this event run in the UK and US has strong support from the buy and sell-side. The Summit is jointly run by the Global Fixed Income Institute and the Fixed Income Forum, both buy side membership organisations of Institutional Investor. I attended the Pennyhill Park event in the UK in July and moderated a popular panel on the uncleared margin rules – I will be in the US and moderating a similar panel. The UK meeting has attained "near-legendary" status (sometimes for the evening speeches and drinks), and the US Summit is catching up fast!
 
Dedicated to the buy side to explore all aspects of best practice in OTC derivatives management, trading and operations, the event brings together all the main stakeholders in the industry (Asset Managers, CCPs, FCMs, SEFs/OTFs, Trade Repositories, Technology Platforms, Regulators, Leading Service Providers, Industry Bodies and Consultants) on a highly practical and topical agenda driven by a senior buy side Advisory Board.

The “no-marketing” rule for speaking roles, combined with the absence of press (except for CFTC Chairman Massad’s opening keynote), manageable numbers and an overnight residential stay, are all designed to promote an especially high level of interaction and frank exchanges between the participants.  The organiser, Stephen Glover, has shared the agenda with me, outlined below.  The overall theme, “Navigating Towards a New Normal”, reflects the fact that many implementation challenges remain, 6 years after the Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law, and that there is still everything at stake for the buy side in building an optimal OTC derivatives infrastructure and in establishing efficient and enduring counterparty relationships.

My personal experience is that this is an outstanding venue for building relationships and winning new or further business.  This is because the key buy side decision makers are there in numbers, discussions are focused on the practicalities, and the atmosphere is highly collegial.   I have also participated as a sponsor over the years for three different entities.

Agenda Outline

• The State of the OTC Derivatives Marketplace
• Preparing for the Market Liquidity Crisis
• Beyond the Mandate:  The Rise of Voluntary Clearing
• Best Practice in Portfolio Construction
• Where Will the Sell-Side Business Model End Up?
• Maximizing Trading Efficiency in 2016 and Beyond
• How is Domestic and Global Regulation Playing Out?
• Buy-Side Case Study Discussions on the Resolution of Main Front Office and Operational Challenges
• Uncleared Margin Rules:  Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back In the Water
• Striving to Grow Smaller:  The Benefits of Portfolio Compression
• New Developments and Concerns in Central Clearing
• What New Products are Service Providers Developing for the Buy Side?

There is an impressive group of people on the Advisory Board who have guided the development of the agenda.  They are:

• David Beard-Sackett, Head of Investment Risk Management, T. Rowe Price
• Jayesh Bhansali, Head of Global Derivatives & Quantitative Portfolio Management, TIAA-CREF
• Lisa A. Cavallari, Director, Fixed Income Derivatives and Commodities, Russell Investments
• Alan Coutts, Investments – Chief Operating Officer, Standard Life Investments
• Lara Gilman, Head of Global Product Services, Fidelity Investments
• Tracey Jordal, Executive Vice President, PIMCO
• Andrew Karsh, Chairman, Derivatives Committee, CalPERS
• Boris Liberman, Vice President & Associate General Counsel, AQR Capital Management, LLC
• Jason Manske, Senior Managing Director, Head of Global Derivatives & Liquid Markets, MetLife
• Sam Priyadarshi, Head, Fixed Income Derivatives, Vanguard Group
• James Wallin, Senior Vice President, AllianceBernstein

 If you would like to explore an invitation to this event, as a buy side attendee (free if you are eligible) or as a sponsor, please use the form below to contact Stephen Glover.