Commenting on this event, Hasan Al-Jabri, SEDCO Capital's CEO, said; "Our window on markets series of roundtables is fundamental to our partnership with our clients as it allows us to bring the best minds in the investment and asset management business to directly address our clients' concerns and to shine a light on possible solutions and opportunities. This is only one part of the overall added value we bring to our partners and clients who wrestle with the daily challenges of the current global economy such as the euro zone crisis, the excessive levels of public debt, possible fiscal austerity in the developed world, the forced de-leveraging of the banking system and the political transitions in many countries."
Michael Green, SEDCO Capital's chief investment officer, launched the panel discussion by briefly discussing the new investment realities of maneuvering through the developed world's policy stimuli such as quantitative easing (QE) and their effect on the economic cycles of the emerging economies.
Michel Meert, senior investment consultant at Towers Watson, a globally renowned consultant to Pension Funds and Foundations, highlighted the differences and benefits of diversity versus diversification in asset allocation methods that can be used to mitigate the increasing volatility and market risks that have been experienced since mid of 2011.
Robert Parker, senior adviser to Credit Suisse, one of the largest banks in Switzerland, drew attention to macroeconomic factors affecting the current investment climate and their effect on asset allocation. He highlighted the resilience and strength of the emerging markets as well as some Northern Europe's industrial countries. He also pointed out foreign exchange disparities in Asia compared to the US dollar and the euro, concluding that there remain very good medium and long-term investment opportunities to benefit from.
Steve Jacobs, CEO of BTG Pactual, one of the largest private equity managers in Brazil, joined the panel and highlighted the imperviousness of the Brazilian economy to the major world events experienced over the past two years and the many opportunities the Brazilian growth is offering investors today.
