Now regarded as the leading centre in Europe for financial research, EDHEC-Risk Institute is expanding: it is establishing two international outposts from which to do research, organise industry outreach activities, and deliver executive education programmes. The London-based EDHEC Risk Institute–Europe will strengthen the institute’s position in Europe’s financial capital, and development in the rest of the world will be focused on the Asia-Pacific region, owing to its importance as a key growth area for the global investment industry, and to its strong needs and demand for research and education.

In view of Singapore’s status as a financial and educational hub and of the support the local authorities have given the school’s finance programmes via the Finance Scholarship Programme (FSP) and Doctoral Scholarship Programme (DSP), the choice of Singapore as a home base for EDHEC-Risk Institute in the Asia-Pacific region was an easy one. EDHEC Risk Institute—Asia will serve as a platform for generating academic insight into investment issues of global importance and of particular relevance to investors and institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. With the support of the financial industry, EDHEC Risk Institute—Asia aims to foster innovation and high professional standards in the region’s investment industry and worldwide.

The ten-person-strong Singapore team, which will be fully operational as of September 2010, will adapt the institute’s existing research programmes to specific regional characteristics and work on two thematic programmes looking at new inflation-hedging techniques and at the management of sovereign funds and state pension funds (the latter programme is centred around the Deutsche Bank-EDHEC-Risk Institute Research Chair on ALM Techniques for Sovereign Wealth Fund Management).

EDHEC Risk Institute–Asia will also extend and adapt to the Asia-Pacific context its existing research programmes. In particular, it will:

• (i) assess the quality of Asian equity and bond indices; and (ii) promote passive investment in Asia (Indices and Benchmarking)
• look at the benefits of alternative investments in private wealth and institutional investment management with specific emphasis given to real assets (Asset Allocation and Alternative Diversification)
• look at the uses of structured products for Asian high-net-worth clients and institutional investors (Asset Allocation and Derivative Instruments)
• adapt ALM techniques to private wealth management in the Asian context; review the impact of the main regulatory constraints of pension funds and insurance companies on their investment management (ALM and Asset Management)
• look at the modelling, measurement, and management of liquidity risk with special consideration for the Asian cash (equity/bond) and derivatives markets (Operational Risks and Performance)

Drawing upon its research expertise and its senior faculty and associates, EDHEC-Risk Institute will offer the whole range of its executive education programmes in Asia:

• CFA Institute-EDHEC-Risk Institute Seminars – three-day courses imparting research advances to senior investment officers
• EDHEC-Risk Institute Executive MSc in Risk & Investment Management – seventeen-month part-time programme designed to help experienced investment professionals embrace and lead industry changes
• EDHEC-Risk Institute PhD in Finance – three-year doctoral programme allowing high-level practitioners in full-time jobs to acquire the background and skills to become independent researchers

In terms of governance, the dual scientific and business development management of EDHEC Risk Institute–Asia will run the operations in the Asia Pacific region. A senior consultative committee will be established to validate the relevance and goals of the research proposals presented by the centre’s management and evaluate research outcomes with respect to their potential impact on industry practices. This committee will bring together distinguished scholars, representatives of regulatory bodies and senior executives from sponsoring entities and partners.

The research output of EDHEC Risk Institute–Asia will be promoted, in the region and globally, using a series of communication and marketing channels, including physical and electronic distribution of research to a high-quality audience of potential users; presentation at research events and conferences; direct marketing through features in electronic newsletters; and media relations. EDHEC Risk Institute–Asia will enjoy dedicated marketing resources and full-support from the Europe-based teams in charge of publishing, marketing, events, and databases.

Research results and research publications are presented to industry professionals at complimentary events organised by EDHEC-Risk Institute and its research sponsors in the world’s financial capitals – these may be public or reserved to a research sponsor’s clients. To accompany the launch of EDHEC Risk Institute–Asia, events have been organised or scheduled in Hong Kong, Melbourne, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo, and the cumulative audience is expected to break the 1,000 mark in 2010. These outreach activities will increase in the Asia Pacific region as EDHEC Risk Institute–Asia develops.

EDHEC Risk Institute–Asia will also hold an annual research roundtable targeted at senior officers of sovereign investment vehicles and government funds. From 2012 onwards, it will organise a major academic conference in the Asia-Pacific region to present its applied research to the industry and discuss its results with the institutional investor and investment/wealth manager communities. As in Europe, the objective will be to establish the most worthwhile conference in the region. These events will allow the Institute’s sponsors to market their services to senior representatives of institutional investors, investment managers, and private banks.

For more information on EDHEC Risk Institute–Asia, please contact me at frederic.ducoulombier@edhec-risk.com or by phone to +65 6823 1514.