July 29, 2003

Although long/short investing has been in the US since 1949, it has only recently become a hot topic with consultants and trustees in Australia. Some see it as the best way to build extra return into a portfolio. Long/short can make absolute return investing a viable alternative to equities and a legitimate competitor with bonds. The current poor return climate has been the reason behind its emergence but does long/short investing have on-going relevance?. Despite the attractions of long/short investing do capacity constraints on the short side limit its application?

This Roundtable focused on the concepts and implementation issues of long/short investing with input from a panel of leading industry professionals.

S P E A K E R S

Dr Stan Beckers CIO, Kedge Capital

Stan received his Ph.D. in Finance from the University of California. He was senior economist at Chase Econometric Associates in Philadelphia, before working as a consultant to BARRA for four years. He joined BARRA and started up their international operations in London in 1982. Before joining Kedge Capital, he was Global CIO of WestAM. He is currently visiting Professor in Finance at the K.U. Leuven (Belgium) and has taught at the University of California in Berkeley, the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management (Brussels), London's City University Business School and the Free University of Amsterdam.

Greg Vaughan CIO, WestAM (Australia)

M O D E R AT O R S

Stephen Taylor CEO, Victorian Funds Management Corporation in Melbourne
Doug McTaggert CEO, Queensland Investment Corporation in Sydney

P A N E L L I S T S

Christopher Andrews Head of Investment Consulting, William M. Mercer
Dr Stan Beckers CIO, Kedge Capital
John Coombe Divisional Director, JANA Investment Advisers
Kristian Fok Senior Consultant, Frontier Investment Consulting
Peter Gunning Chief Investment Officer, Frank Russell Company
Ray King Managing Director & Principal, Sovereign Investment Research
David Neal Head of Investment Consulting, Watson Wyatt Australia
John Peterson Head of Asset Consulting, van Eyk Research
Dennis Sams Head of Investment Research, Towers Perrin
Sasha Solop Equity Finance Director, JP Morgan Securities Lending
Greg Vaughan CIO, WestAM (Australia)

A G E N D A

Greg Vaughan and Stan Beckers made some introductory remarks on the topic drawing on various published material and recent International and Australian experience.

Round Table

Our moderator in each city then took over proceedings and moderated the panellists to debate the issues in more depth. The discussion was interactive and the moderator invited contributions from the audience.

Melbourne

Date Tuesday, 29th July
Time 2.15pm for 2.30pm start
Round Table ends at 5.15pm
followed by cocktails
Venue
Studio 2
Zinc at Federation Square
Cnr Flinders & Swanston Street

Sydney

Date Wednesday, 30th July
Time 2.15pm for 2.30pm start
Round Table ends at 5.15pm
followed by cocktails
Venue
Establishment
Level 4, 252 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000