7th Deutscher Investment-Hochschultag at Goethe University

The 7th Deutscher Investment-Hochschultag was hosted by the Chair of Investment, Portfolio Management und Pension Finance at Goethe University, in close co-operation with BVI, Bundesverband Investment und Asset Management. As Host President, Prof. Raimond Maurer opened the event on November 25 at the Westend campus of the university.

There were over 200 participants, including academics from different institutions as well as policy makers, representatives from supervisory bodies, and business leaders from asset management companies (both national and international), as well as accounting, law and consulting firms. The huge presence of industry practitioners serves to highlight an important objective of this event, namely to enhance the partnership between academia and the world of business.

There were four sessions in the program. Pablo Antolin-Nicolas, Principal Economist in the OECD’s Financial Affairs Division, delivered the keynote speech on "Investment Regulations and Defined Contribution Pensions". He gave an overview of his analysis regarding the implications of different quantitative approaches for regulating the investment risk for retirement income stemming from defined contribution plans. Antolin-Nicolas called for greater attention to be paid to the wealth embodied in individual pension accounts, as well as for carefully considered regulation given the ongoing financial crisis.

Prof. Hato Schmeiser from the University of St. Gallen and Dr. Daniel Guennewig from Union Investment hosted the session on "Investment Guarantees: the Perspective of Providers and Customers". They focused on how consumers view guarantees and on their willingness to pay for these. Prof. Antje Mahayni from University Duisburg-Essen and Herold Rohweder, a director of Allianz Global Investors, then talked about "Dynamic Portfolio Insurance Strategy in Asset Management", and discussed the pros and cons of a derivative-based approach versus a CPPI model.

The last session, "Open-end Real Estate Funds", was discussed by Prof. Marcel Tyrell from Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen and Barbara A. Knoflach, a member of the management committee for SEB Asset Management AG. Here, participants enthusiastically debated long-term investment and the liquidity problem. Finally, Dr. Wolfgang Mansfeld, the President of BVI, concluded with an outlook on the important political topics likely to be faced by the European asset management industry in the coming years.

All the participants, their great contributions and high spirit of co-operation, made this event a success. The outcome was a truly remarkable achievement: the event provided  a unique platform for academics and practitioners to exchange their knowledge on the application of theoretical and empirical analysis to practical problems. All in all, there were some inspiring, thought-provoking discussions on topics in the field of investment and asset management.

Contact and further information: Prof. Raimond Maurer, phone: 069/798-33647. www.investment-hochschultag.de