Anthony Bolton, President – Investments, FIDELITY WORLDWIDE INVESTMENT in interview with Stewart Aldcroft (CITI Investor Services) was a not to miss opportunity to hear the insights of a world renowned fund manager. We opened with a piece of music that Anthony holds dear before delving into matters regarding Anthony's move to Hong Kong and the current state of his China Special Situations Fund.

Richard Hokenson, Founder, HOKENSON & COMPANY spoke on the Influence of Demographics on the Funds Industry, an issue that has come into sharp focus in Asia with a rapidly growing middle class population and an increasingly wealthy aging one. His talk was rounded off by one of the most interesting panel discussions of the event, led by Lawrence Au of BNP Paribas Securities Services, covering how demographic issues are affecting the fund management business in Asia

Jing Ulrich, Managing Director and Chairman of Global Markets, China, JPMORGAN One of Asia’s highest regarded specialists discusses China’s Role In The World Of Tomorrow for our ‘Big Picture’ Interview. Expertly interviewed by Roy Stockell, Jing gave us her overarching opinion of the role China will play in the future.

Azran Osman Rani, CEO, AIRASIA X  was our Out Of The Box Guest Speaker and as an expert in making a business flexible and able to withstand competition in a volatile environment, Azran compared the Airline Industry to the Funds Industry to greater enhance business.  A huge Thank You to Azran for joining us for what was one of the highlights of the day!

Plus our two world renowned Economists, Arnab Das, Managing Director, ROUBINI GLOBAL ECONOMICS and Andy Xie, Independent Economist opened our main conference days with highlights on the Economy and the Future Role of the Asian Mutual Funds Industry. See our FundForumTV page for an interview with Andy Xie.

The opening day of our Main Conference will see 50 remarkable and rousing business leaders’ debate issues at the forefront of the Asian market, from Chief Executive opinions on high level strategy stakes to market leaders on the in-depth concerns about distribution, the main event begins triumphantly. This day offers you the chance to get up close and personal to those who are leading debates about Asia. Covering issues from every angle, whether macro-economic or product specific, this is the most comprehensive high-level dialogue you will be party to this year.

The ‘Thought Leadership’ Forum: Tuesday 16th April 2013

Key highlights include:

At 10:10

Our Opening CEO Think Tank is the ultimate in sophisticated discussion, highlighting the first major element of the days’ theme on client centric thinking – how to ensure your business is protected and continues to grow and support your client base in years to come. With key officials from Fidelity Worldwide Investment, Eastspring Investments, Franklin Templeton, Fullerton Fund Management, BNP Paribas IP and chaired by Brent Reuter of RBC Investor Services, this opening session will set the tone for the rest of the day’s highpoints.

At 11:00

Roy Stockell interviews Jing Ulrich, JP Morgan’s renowned China specialist on the future role of China in the world economy and where she sees growth in the region in the near future.

At 12:50

Michael Dommermuth, President and Head of Asia, Manulife Asset Management outlines key new research findings in Demographics. Following Manulife’s recent 2012 report alongside the EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) on the rising number of pensioners region-wide, challenge your expectations of what a ‘greying Asia’ really means for Asset Managers.

At 15:00

Donald Pepper, Head of Alternatives for Old Mutual Investors gets down to the nuts and bolts of product innovation, discussing how good strategy and design can influence how you innovate, and are in fact vital, to the process of creating new products for the Asian markets.

At 15:30

James Wrisdale, Senior Analyst & Economist, Goldman Sachs Asset Management who works alongside emerging market Guru Jim O’Neill will be moving beyond BRICs and detailing the future buzzword of this space, the MIST countries.

The 2nd Day of our main event gets to the nitty-gritty of what is really effecting the market in terms of distribution, product design and business strategy and how to get to grips with the fast paced evolution of the Asian marketplace.Continuing the high level discussions, Wednesday will build on the foundations of our Thought-Leadership Forum focusing on the evolution of your business in a market that moves with the speed that Asia does.

Main Conference Day 2: Wednesday 17th April 2013

Key highlights include:

At 09:10

The FundForum Economists Council chaired by Martin Vogel sees high level discussion of volatility on a macro level, examining the truth behind the often presented dichotomy between East and West, and the future flow of Global Investment Potential. With David Fernandez, Diana Choyleva and David Mann

At 11:30

Our New Future Trends Council provides the 2nd highlight on Demographics for the conference, a theme that is emerging to wide interest in the region. Beginning with a special guest address by Richard Hokenson, a demographer with a finance background and sometimes controversial views, the council will end with a debate and our 4th CEO Think Tank which follows the deomography theme through to its most interesting conclusion; what is the impact for investors and investment managers.

At 12:20

Our Out of the Box Speaker will entertain you with something a little different, and extremely relevant to keeping your business afloat in volatile and highly competitive times, adaptability. Azran Osman Rani is a business guru, and entrepreneur and an excellent speaker. Join him for Lunch afterwards as he hosts one of our Meet the Expert Lunchtables

At 15:30

Sub-Advisory Models are given an in depth going over by Thomas Albert, MD, Oppenheim Asset Management Services S.A.R.L as he examines what benefits they can give both business and customers.

Our Third Main Conference Day is another star studded heavyweight, focusing on the investment potential and asset management side of the mutual fund industry. Gain expert knowledge from the people who actually manage the investments and give yourself and your clients the chance to delve into these expertise on both a global and local scale.

Our Investment Specific Day: Thursday 18th April 2013

Key highlights include

At 10:20

Our CIO Think Tank will take the reigns of the debate firmly into the Investment sphere, as our varied panel discuss the culture of asset allocation in a multi-asset arena. BNP Paribas IP, Coutts, Amundi Asset Management and HSBC represent some of the best investment minds in Asia and we look forward to hearing there thoughts.

At 11:20

The FundForum Asia Asset Management Interview is an evolution of our famous interview format with an investment management twist, Anthony Bolton will be giving his opinions on China, Investing for the Long-term and the future of global fund management for Asia.

Also Don't Miss

14:10 Mike Iman, Silverhorn Investment Advisors on Selling Asia Around the World

and

14:40 Kevin Anderson, SSGA on how it's All About Fixed Income

: Our audience has always been of high-calibre and one of the key benefits of FundForumAsia is that the attendees make the event, feed the discussion and boost the results of the conference to new heights year after year.With more Fund Selectors than ever before This event is a key opportunity for delegates to meet with the leading retail & private banks, IFA platforms, fund of funds and multi-managers, for some of the most rewarding networking opportunities.

From Closed-Door sessions for sensitive and discreet debate through to interactive meeting and the stand-out large scale discussions, FundForum Asia 2013 allowed for all your concerns to be aired and addressed, whatever the circumstances. A snapshot of the learning oppertunites and topics that we had this year include:

Our CEO Closed - Door Session

A popular continuation from last year and a chance for high-level execs to get together and discuss the market away from the hubble and bubble of the main conference.

(Stewart Aldcroft Prepares the CEO Closed Door Session Room ahead of the attendees arrival)

Our Champange Roundtable Sessions

 A chance to discuss in depth with an expert over a glass of champagne the issues most relevent to you chosen topic.

(Z-Ben Advisors Roundtable covered the Growth in China)

As well as our popular Networking and Cocktail Receptions

Ernst & Young and the IFIA outdid themselves this year with two excellent receptions that allowed for networking and after-hours interaction with all the big names in the industry.