Finology Summit 2023 - Uncertainty - Exploring human factors in portfolio construction

Finology Summit 2023 will help grow your knowledge and understanding of the “human factors” – beliefs, behaviours and principles – that influence portfolio construction, to help you build better quality investor portfolios. The focus of this year’s program is “Uncertainty”. Designed and curated by our specialist, experienced and independent team, the program features an exceptional Faculty of experts from around the world, each offering a high conviction perspective on a facet of investment uncertainty and/or certainty. This year’s program includes:

• Adam Ferrier, Founder of multi-award winning, independent creative agency, Thinkerbell (Sydney) and leading consumer psychologist and behavioural economics authority, speaking on how humans are hard wired to deal with uncertainty;
• Clare Flynn Levy, Founder and CEO of Essentia Analytics (Hartford) and expert on “behavioural alpha”, speaking on how to master our biases to improve our investment skills;
• Elise Payzan-Le Nestour, PhD, Associate Professor at UNSW Business School (Sydney) and expert on how individuals apprehend financial risks, speaking on how neurofinance insights can improve investor decision-making; and,
• Herman Brodie, Founder of Prospecta (Birmingham) and expert on educating financial services providers in the use of behavioural finance, speaking on how to overcome the heuristics that have us make poor investment “sell” decisions.

We’d welcome you joining us - at our live studio in Sydney, at a live site around Australia and NZ, or via live stream from your desk.   Register now!

Graham Rich
Dean, Portfolio Construction Forum
P.S. An interactive post-program Implementation Workshop (AEST 8am-10am Thursday 04 May) will once again be hosted by consulting firm, InvestSense. Complimentary to all Practitioners who attend Finology Summit, a separate registration link will be provided.

Overview  Where; When; Aim; Most suited to; CE/CPD; Cost

About the program  Introduction;  Theme;  Program Structure

Register now  Registration options; Terms and conditions

Where:   Join us in our live studio, at a live site, or via live stream

Finology Summit 2023 is a full live “hybrid” program - uniquely, you can attend in one or more of four ways: at our live studio in Sydney; at a live site with a group hosted by one of our Faculty Partners; via live stream from wherever they wish; or on-demand afterwards.

1. at our live studio in Sydney with 200+ peers
Attend the full program in person - mix and network face-to-face with Faculty and fellow delegates at our Live Studio at the University of New South Wales campus (Sydney).

2. as part of a group at an off-site live site with a group
Organise a group of your colleagues, or accept an invitation to join a group organised by one of our Faculty Partners, and attend the live broadcast together at an offsite location (e.g. boardroom or hotel meeting room). We have many groups do this around Australia and NZ and it works really well - you can enjoy the continuing education, camaraderie and networking without having to travel.

• If you’d like to get together with others near you at a live site and enjoy the continuing education along with camaraderie and networking, please contact us and we’ll put you in contact with a group near you.

3. via live stream at your desk - this is a very popular option with many of our members (and the backup for any live studio or live site delegate who at the last minute has to isolate or deal with a personal emergency and can no longer attend in person).

4. on-demand during and/or after the live program - as a registered delegate you get to the on-demand video within an hour or two of a session being live streamed, so you can catch up anytime if you miss a session.

When:   AEST 8.30am-5.45pm Wednesday 03 May 2023

Joining us in the live studio?

• Come to:  Roundhouse, University of New South Wales, Anzac Parade, Kensington, Sydney. Comprehensive instructions are available at https://www.arc.unsw.edu.au/roundhouse/about/getting-here
• Arrive:  AEST 7.15am-8.00am to check-in (come early to avoid the queue)
• Take your seat:  AEST 8.10am and enjoy the pre-opening from 8.10am
• Starts:  AEST 8.30am sharp
• Ends:  AEST 5.45pm sharp
• Followed by:  An informal Networking Reception to AEDT 7.00pm

Attending at a live site or via live stream?

• Come to:  Right here on portfolioconstructionforum.edu.au - whether you’re attending at a live site with a group or via live stream at your desk, we’ll send you a link that’s unique to you. (If you’re attending at a live site, you’ll still need this link to join the elective sessions, and also to use the program App to vote, chat and ask questions of our Faculty.)
• Arrive online:  AEST 8.00am-8.10am and enjoy the pre-opening scene setter
• Starts:  AEST 8.30am sharp
• Ends:  AEST 5.45pm sharp

Aim:   Explore the human factors - beliefs, behaviours and principles - in portfolio construction

Finology Summit will help grow your knowledge and understanding of the “human factors” – beliefs, behaviours and principles – that influence portfolio construction, to help you build better quality investor portfolios.

Most suited to:   All Institutional and wholesale portfolio construction practitioners

Finology Summit is relevant to all investment and wealth management practitioners involved in designing, building and/or advising on multi-asset, multi-manager portfolios, using (but not necessarily limited to) managed funds from a range of firms, and who work in a financial advisory, fund research, investment consulting, family office, funds management, superannuation, private fund, endowment fund or investment platform business including:

• investment advisers giving investment advice on multi-manager, multi-asset funds to individual investors;
• fund researchers;
• investment consultants consulting on multi-asset, multi-manager portfolios;
• portfolio managers designing, building and managing multi-manager investment portfolios; and/or,
• members of investment committees that oversee multi-asset, multi-manager portfolios and/or funds.

We also recognise and respect the invaluable role of Advocates and welcome them attending, too.

CE/CPD Accreditation:   7 to 11 hours

By attending the live program (at our live studio, a live site or via live stream) in full, you earn 7.0 CE hours - and after the program, you can earn a further 4.0 CE hours by “attending” (online on-demand) the Special Interests Forum (elective) sessions you didn’t catch at the live program.

CE hours earned can be used to help meet the CE/CPD requirements of 20 governing bodies (regulators, associations and institutes - including ASIC, APRA, Legislated (was FASEA), AFA, FPA, FMA and CIMA^® CE/CPD requirements, to name just a few.

Cost (Practitioners):   Live studio A$495+GST / Live stream A$245+GST

Finology Summit is exceptional value for money for Practitioners, as defined below. Of course, the registration fee differs depending on whether you join us in the live studio or via live stream.

• Live studio:  A$495+GST  Register below
  Attend the full program in person - mix and network face-to-face with Faculty and fellow delegates at our live studio at the University of New South Wales campus (Sydney).
• Live stream:  A$245+GST  Register below
  Attend the program via live stream at your desk.

We also welcome Advocates attending and have a range of registration options available. For more information, please contact us.

Established in 2016, Finology Summit is THE behavioural finance, investor psychology and investment philosophy program of the year.

The program is designed and curated by our specialist, experienced and independent team and features an exceptional Faculty of experts from around the world, each offering a high conviction perspective on a facet of the “human factors” - beliefs, behaviours and principles - that influence portfolio construction, to help you build better quality investor portfolios.

Knowledge Domain:   Finology & Philosophy

The Forum’s subject matter focus is on five Knowledge Domains – Philosophy, Markets, Strategies, Investing and Finology. Finology Summit is focused primarily on our “Finology” and “Philosophy” knowledge domains.

Finology - understanding and managing beliefs and behaviours in portfolio construction
The finology domain is critical to a whole-brain approach to portfolio construction, facilitating clarity and trust in decision-making. Conventional finance and the notion of economic rationality, although helpful for modelling and evaluating decision alternatives, lacks “real world” psychological and sociological realism. Finology brings together conventional finance and all the “ologies”, encompassing beliefs and behaviours in portfolio construction - particularly those grounded in biases (e.g. values and ethical beliefs, cultural, cognitive and emotional biases, and personality traits) and principal-agent dynamics – behavioural finance, psychology, and numerous applied social sciences. Finology continuing education helps practitioners better understand their own portfolio construction beliefs and behaviours – as well as those of their colleagues and clients – and how investor behaviour in aggregate creates market anomalies and investment opportunities, to help build better quality investor portfolios.

Philosophy - developing a coherent set of principles to guide portfolio construction
A philosophical way of thinking – grounded in reflectiveness, self-awareness, rigorous critical reasoning, and open-mindedness – facilitates organised points of view, which in turn help ensure that the set of theoretical and practical principles applied to portfolio construction are robust and defensible. A coherent set of portfolio construction principles results in more precise thinking and communication and increases the quality of decision-making by serving as a “rudder” for navigating Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity – our VUCA world – and better enables a VUCA Prime mindset – a blend of Vision, Understanding, Clarity and Agility – to help build better quality investor portfolios.

Program structure

Like all our continuing education programs, Finology Summit is an integrated learning program with preparation, participation and review.

Before - Prepare

To maximise learning, you are provided with pre-reading aimed at boosting your knowledge and getting you thinking about the issues to be addressed in the program. The preparation is assumed prior knowledge.

During - Participate

The one-day program is designed and curated by our specialist, experienced and independent team. It is comprised of the 5-hour Critical Issues Forum (plenary) program and 2-hour Special Interests Forum (elective) program. In these, our Faculty of 20+ leading investment thinkers from around the world – noted academics, independent consultants, and investment professionals facilitated by our Faculty Partners (quality funds management firms) – offer their best high conviction ideas on the program theme.

It’s not just a talk-fest. You are challenged to decide whether you agree or disagree with each high conviction thesis presented, which ones you’ll investigate further, and which you’ll put into practice when building investor portfolios.

The full program will be available in mid April. Meanwhile, check out Finology Summit 2021 on demand.

After - Review

After the live program, your learning continues. Videos of all presentations are available within a few hours of them live streaming for delegates to view on-demand. The full microsite for each session - a page per presentation featuring sync’d video and slides, podcast, presentation slides and paper(s) and CE quiz - are available within four weeks. So you can revisit the sessions you attended, “attend” the sessions you didn’t catch at the live program (and earn further CE hours), and review your key takeouts and implications to determine actions to take to build better quality investor portfolios.

By registering for Portfolio Construction Forum Finology Summit 2023 (the “Program”), you agree you have read, understood and agree to be bound by our Portfolio Construction Forum Program Terms and Conditions and the following registration inclusions:

• Live Studio registration includes:  one individual attending the Program on AEST Wednesday 03 May 2023 as part of the main studio audience at UNSW, including morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and networking drinks in the Cafe with all delegates, as well as access to the on-demand video within an hour or two of a session being live streamed. Any costs related to attending the program including but not limited to travel, accommodation, and parking are not included. The registration fee is A$ ex-GST per person.

• Live stream registration includes:  one individual attending the Program live online on AEST Wednesday 03 May 2023 via the live stream, as well as access to the on-demand video within an hour or two of a session being live streamed. Any costs related to attending the Program, including but not limited to an adequate internet connection to watch the live stream are not included. The registration fee is A$ ex-GST per person.

Practitioner registration

Before registering using these links, please check whether you meet our Practitioner definition below.

• Live studio:   A$495+GST   Register now
  Mix and network face-to-face with Faculty and fellow delegates by joining us at our studio at the University of New South Wales campus.
• Live stream:   A$245+GST   Register now
  Attend via live stream at your desk.

Advocate registration options

We also welcome Advocates attending and have a range of registration options available. For more information, please contact us.

Are you a Practitioner or Advocate?

Practitioners

Practitioners are those whose primary day-to-day role is focused within the spectrum of issues involved in designing and building multi-asset, multi-manager investment portfolios (i.e. using but not necessarily limited to managed funds from a range of firms), AND who work a financial advisory, fund research, investment consulting, family office, funds management, superannuation, private fund, endowment fund or investment platform business including:

• investment advisers giving investment advice on multi-manager, multi-asset funds to individual investors;
• fund researchers;
• investment consultants consulting on multi-asset, multi-manager portfolios;
• portfolio managers designing, building and managing multi-manager investment portfolios; and/or,
• members of investment committees that oversee multi-asset, multi-manager portfolios and/or funds.

Advocates

If our Practitioner definition (above) doesn’t describe your primary day-to-day role, then you’re an Advocate. Advocates include business and non-investment professionals from any firm. We recognise and respect the invaluable role of Advocates and welcome them attending, too. However to retain a primary focus on Practitioners, we tightly manage to a 5:1 ratio of Practitioners to Advocates attending the program.