CFA Institute Announces Speakers for European Investment Conference Madrid, 25-26 November 2019

CFA Institute, the global association of investment management professionals, today announces the agenda and speaker line-up for the CFA Institute European Investment Conference to be held on 25-26 November 2019 at The Westin Palace, Madrid. 

The flagship event will be hosted by CFA Society Spain and is expected to attract some 300 investment professionals from across Europe. More than 20 speakers will participate in the conference, including successful investment practitioners, noted economists, leading researchers and best-selling authors. 

Gary Baker, CFA, Managing Director for EMEA and Industry and Policy Research at CFA Institute, said: “The investment industry acknowledges the role it can play in harnessing the capital markets in service of pressing global challenges. Through keynotes and workstreams, our conference brings together the convergent ideas of investment pioneers, renowned economists, and leading industry specialists, to share knowledge and build insights into some of the most prescient developments shaping the industry and prospects for investors.”

Paul Gordon, team leader, Western European central banks coverage for Bloomberg News, willchair the event, with headline speakers including Yanis Varoufakis, co-founder of DiEM25 and formerly a Minister of Finance for Greece. Varoufakis will address delegates on The State of Europe with discussion on:

• The impact of globalization, wealth inequality, and populism on Europe’s future
• The most pressing economic risks for the Eurozone
• Technological innovations changing the global economy

Bill Browder, founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, Head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, and author of Red Notice, will discuss the rewards and costs of activist investing in emerging markets, the Russian influence on global politics and the effects of the Magnitsky Act, and uncovering money laundering schemes around the world.

Stephanie Kelton, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Stony Brook University and a Senior Economic Adviser to the 2016 Bernie Sanders U.S. presidential campaign, will address modern monetary theory in European politics, challenging established economic theories, and new approaches to policy problems.  

Headlining speakers also include:

• Alex Brooks, Senior Equity Analyst at Canaccord Genuity, on the cannabis investment industry in Europe including the legal, regulatory and reputational challenges. 
• Diana Choyleva, Chief Economist at Enodo Economics, on the economic fallout from the US-China confrontation: understanding what’s at stake and quantifying the costs.
• Santiago Fernandez Valbuena, Partner at Investtech and Deputy Chairman of EBN Banco, on investing in Latin America: the geopolitics and economics in the region, why Brazil is different, and what sets the region’s private equity opportunities apart.
• Bernardo Hernandez, Venture Partner at e.ventures and CEO and President of Verse Technologies, on venture capital opportunities in Europe, who is investing, and venture capital’s role in the European technology start-up ecosystem.
• Mark Jackson, scientific lead of business development at Cambridge Quantum Computing, on the quantum computing revolution in capital markets.
• Lionel Martellini, Professor of Finance at EDHEC Business School and Director of the EDHEC-Risk Institute, on using financial engineering to alleviate the pension crisis. 
• Sylvia Sonnendrucker, CFA, Managing Partner and co-Founder of Millennial Quest, on developing the mind of a leader in a disrupted environment.
• Anne Tolmunen, CFA, Lead Portfolio Manager for AXA WF Women Empowerment Fund at AXA Fund Managers, on gender diversity as a driver of investment returns.
• Josh Wade, responsible for leading engagement on Distributed Market Infrastructure for Calastone, on understanding the hype behind distributed ledger technology, how it is transforming the asset management industry, and lessons learned. 

Please visit the CFA Institute European Investment Conference website for further detail on  conference sessions and speakers. 

Complimentary conference registration is available for journalists. To request your complimentary media pass, please visit the conference Media Centre.   

Virtual Attendance: Follow the conference via @CFAInstitute and #EICMadrid.