LSE Alternative Investment Conference

History

The conference was founded in 2006 by a group of undergraduate students at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and continues to be run by LSE students with the support of the Financial Markets Group. The conference has expanded substantially over the years to become one of the largest international student conferences on the hedge fund and private equity industries. The conference rapidly outgrew the original venue of the LSE, attracting over 6,300 applicants for 350 available places for the 2015 Conference, and is now held at the Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square.

Overview

Each year, the conference invites prominent figures in the financial industry to speak on current industry issues and outlook. The conference is well regarded on campus and outside of the LSE, and has been cited on several occasions in the media.

The conference takes place over two days, one of which focuses on private equity and the other on hedge funds. Daily events include keynote speakers and panels, which are moderated in order for delegates to have the opportunity to interact with the speakers by asking questions or making comments. Other events include workshops led by leading professionals and researchers in the industry and networking events with firms and sponsors in attendance.

Topics

Conference topics change every year and aim to focus on the pressing issues facing the hedge fund and private equity industries. Topics covered in past conferences have ranged from the changes to the alternative investments industry after the financial crisis to China’s asset bubble, stimulus packages, gold prices, and the future of macroeconomic policies for the United Kingdom and USA. For the 2014 Conference workshops will be conducted on Commodity Funds, Venture Capital, and several other notable topics that have yet to be announced. The Conference consists of: Keynotes by Kyle Bass, Randall Dillard, David Allen; and interactive Workshops and Panel Discussions by leading professionals in the finance sector such as Alex McCracken, Neil Mehta, Prakash Narayanan. Topics that will be discussed this year include: Investing through the Economic Cycle and Using Alternative Investments in a Long-Term Portfolio.

Notable past speakers

Speakers in past conferences have included:

Attendance

Admission to the conference is competitive; for the 2015 conference there were over 6,300 student applications received for the 350 available places with an acceptance rate of 5.6%, resulting in only applicants of the highest calibre being selected. The conference is very international in character; applicants come from more than 200 universities and 123 nationalities, with past participants coming from universities in Europe and North America, and from as far as Asia and Australia. Over 2,300 delegates have attended the conference since it was founded.

The 2015 Conference

The Alternative Investments Conference 2015 will be held at the Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square, London on January 19 and 20, 2015. Confirmed keynote speakers for the conference include Emmanuel Roman, CEO of Man Group, Guy Hands, Co-Founder and CIO of Terra Firma, Kurt Björklund, Co-Managing Partner of Permira, Anthony Scaramucci, Founder and Co-Managing Partner of SkyBridge Capital, as well as a special joint keynote between Daniel Arbess, Partner at Perella Weinberg Partners (and former head of the Xerion Fund) and Gerard Baker, Editor-in-Chief of the Wall Street Journal.

LSE SU Alternative Investments Research Conference

The LSE SU Alternative Investments Research Conference is an extension to the LSE Alternative Investments Conference, and aims to bring together postgraduate research students involved in the fields of hedge funds and private equity. The conference, established in 2009, aims to provide a forum for students to interact with the leading researchers and professors in the industry, as well as practitioners, and covers a variety of topics that vary each year.