Kroll’s European Alternative Investments Conference

Breakfast in the River Room.

• Anne O'Dwyer made the opening remarks for the day, welcoming delegates to the 16th Annual European Alternative Investments Conference, the first branded as Kroll after the transition from Duff & Phelps earlier this year.
• Sharon Davies was the Master of Ceremonies for the conference.

Kroll’s Chief Economist, Megan Greene, provided an economic update as it relates to private investments and gave her view on a possible recession, rising inflation and more.

• Over the last three decades, prosperity, equality, democracy, and peace have made considerable progress but that progress has been unevenly distributed. The result has been greater inequality and that has triggered a rise in discontent which is at the root of political polarisation.
• Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, Professor of Economic Geography, London School of Economics (LSE) explored the consequences of this transformation.

• Tom Everett-Heath, Global Head of Forensic Investigations and Intelligence, Kroll
• Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, Professor of Economic Geography, LSE
• Megan Greene, Global Chief Economist, Kroll

Networking break.

• Martin Bresson, Public Affairs Director, Invest Europe
• Julianne Recine, Managing Director, ESG, Kroll
• Andrew Probert, EMEA Head of ESG Advisory, Kroll

Lunch in the River Room.

Rory Stewart is a renowned academic, politician and diplomat. He is a former cabinet minister that made widely-praised contributions to the Conservative Party leadership contest. Rory governed two Iraqi provinces, lectured at Harvard and has currently returned to academia to focus on international development, intervention and the wider crisis in contemporary politics.

How Do the IPEV Guidelines Help with Determining Fair Value in the Current Economic Climate?

• David Larsen, Managing Director, Alternative Asset Advisory, Kroll
• Catherine Zou, Vice President, Portfolio Valuation, Kroll
• Deji Oduwole, Director, Valuation Advisory Services, Kroll
• Daniel Turi, Director, Portfolio Valuation, Kroll

An interactive discussion about the judgments required to determine fair value in the current economic environment. How should the IPEV Valuation Guidelines and IPEV Board special guidance be incorporated in the fair value estimation process?

Created Value Attribution: Quantifying Alpha and Implications for Measuring ESG

• PJ Viscio, Managing Director, Alternative Asset Advisory, Kroll

This session covered the historical attribution model and its fatal flaws; development of a refined attribution framework that addresses those flaws; and the potential application of the enhanced framework to the quantification of value created through ESG and other initiatives.

The Changing Cyber Risk Landscape and its Importance to the Investment Community

• Andrew Beckett, Managing Director and EMEA Leader, Cyber Risk, Kroll

This interactive discussion highlighted the current changes to the cyber threatscape given the current economic and geopolitical situations; reasons we think the changes have occurred; how long they may last; and what it tells us about long-term threats.

Mitigating Risk Across the Investment Lifecycle

• Elizabeth Ross, Associate Managing Director, Forensic Investigations and Intelligence, Kroll
• Justine Radnedge, Senior Manager, Forensic Investigations and Intelligence, Kroll

Representatives of Kroll’s Forensic Investigations and Intelligence team provided insights into recent trends in financial crime, such as fraud, bribery and corruption, that can have a significant impact on asset managers and the companies that they are investing in. Kroll also provided some practical tips for risk mitigation and management through the deal cycle, and most importantly, value creation which we hope will help you on your journey as investors. This talk included “war stories” based on our many years of case management experience and audience contribution.

Networking break.

Digital Assets: Sound Due Diligence and Valuation Practices

• David Larsen, Managing Director, Alternative Asset Advisory, Kroll
• John Ward, Managing Director, Alternative Asset Advisory, Kroll

Discussion on valuation and due diligence considerations with respect to various types of tokens, including cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

Post-Brexit Capital Raising in EU

• Monique Melis, Managing Director and Global Head of Financial Services Compliance and Regulation, Kroll
• Anil Singh, Managing Director, Financial Services Compliance and Regulation, Kroll
• Alan Thomas, Director, Financial Services Compliance and Regulation, Kroll

How do you access new sources of capital? Are you looking to diversify your investor base? Frustrated with navigating the complexity of EU regulatory frameworks?

From the decision of where to base your fund to meeting the substance expectations of regulatory bodies, fund promotors are finding the complexities of capital raising in the EU challenging.

Discussion on the structures and processes needed for fund promotors to access and raise capital across the EU.

Hot Topics in Operational and Financial Risk Management

• Albert Maass, Managing Director, Valuation Advisory Services, Kroll
• Marcus Morton, Managing Director, Valuation Advisory Services, Kroll
• Mark Turner, Managing Director, Financial Services Compliance and Regulation, Kroll

Operational resilience is an area that regulators have been increasingly focused on in recent times, including through the introduction of new FCA rules for some larger firms that were effective March 31 this year. Both the direct and indirect impact of ongoing geopolitical events have increased the focus on how regulated firms oversee and manage operational resilience, including their use of third-party suppliers, across their supply chains.

On the financial risk management side, a hot topic for investors in illiquid assets is being able to assess the risk of investments such as private equity and real estate in times of stress such as now. This requires looking at all risks, including not only the risk of changes in net asset value due to sharp market fluctuations but also the risks of secondary market liquidity, LP funding, fund distributions and default risk. We provide case studies to illustrate the problems encountered by investors and the solutions available.

Intelligence Overview of the Russia Ukraine War

• Simon Blackman, Senior Consultant, Security Risk Management, Kroll
• Bob Thompson, Associate Managing Director, Security Risk Management, Kroll

This session highlighted the work Kroll has done to assist clients with operations and people in Ukraine and provided an overview of how the risk picture has changed since the invasion through to its present level of risk.

Drinks and canapés in the River Room.