4th Annual Canada West Institutional Forum

Opening Panel Discussion: Navigating Markets in 2025: Investment Strategies and Macroeconomic Outlook The financial landscape continues to evolve in an era marked by unprecedented global events. Investors are faced with the imperative challenge of constructing resilient portfolios in the face of economic shifts and market volatility. The panel will shed light on the current macroeconomic landscape, providing insights into global economic trends and their potential impact on various asset classes.  

Fixed Income: Trends Shaping Today’s Landscape Federal Reserve rate cuts are undetermined, but what will result from the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet and the U.S. Government’s borrowing needs? Given this precarious moment in time, investors are left wondering what role bonds should play within their portfolios.

The Equity Equation: Evaluating Impact on Portfolios The equities market faces substantial influence from earnings expectations, elections and policy considerations, sector bets, slowing economies and interest rates. Will the rally continue?

Unveiling the Dynamics of Passive vs. Active Management Join the discussion on the world of investment management and explore the distinct strategies of passive and active approaches.

Institutional Uses of ETFs Institutional investors use Exchange Traded Funds in a variety of different investment strategies. In fact, ETFs are among the fastest growing vehicles in institutional portfolios. This session will look at the most used ETF strategies for institutional investors and how these valuable tools can support portfolio construction and asset allocation.

Institutional Views on Private Credit’s Growing Portfolio Utility & Importance Great Recession-era bank regulations helped fuel the rise of private credit, as investors looked for more attractive returns. The rise is not without its challenges, and private-credit investors are preparing to face higher borrowing costs and a slower economy weighing on the margins of portfolio companies.

Alternative Investments – From Diversifier to Return-Generating Strategies With interest rates relatively high and central banks around the world working to fight inflation, which alternatives offer the most meaningful diversification and how can the best managers be sourced?

Navigating ESG – Considerations for a Successful Institutional Investment Strategy Numerous institutional investors think asset managers should be more proactive in developing new ESG products. ESG has moved from being a niche consideration to a central component of strategic institutional investment. This panel will delve into the crucial role of ESG in shaping institutional investment strategies, offering expert insights on navigating this evolving landscape.

The Expanding Tool Set for Institutional Investors Seeking Liquidity in the US and Canada Join us for an insightful panel discussion on evolving trends in how institutional investors identify and access liquidity across markets. The conversation will highlight how advancements in trading tools, market structure, and the growing index investing trend have increased the importance of portfolio trading, ETFs, and futures to the liquidity discovery process.

Effectively Investing Through Private Markets; Diversification & Returns As investors search for additional sources of revenue and methods for portfolio diversification in the volatile and changing environment, private markets stand out as an area of opportunities. The panel brings together leading alternatives investors and allocators to share the role private equity, private debt, venture capital and more play in their portfolios and what they look for in managers to meet their objectives in these asset classes.

Leadership Roundtable: Decision-Making in Disruptive Times Amid all this operational, cultural, and technological change, businesses must make strategic decisions on how to run and steer their firms in the face of these challenges. Leading institutional investors shed light on the most pressing investment and management issues facing their organizations for example, how have global developments shifted priorities and what are reasonable expectations for investment returns this year?