Third Joint Conference of the EFC European Foundation Financial Investment Officers Group (EFFIO) & US Foundation Financial Officers Group (FFOG)
The third joint conference of the EFC European Foundation Financial Investment Officers Group (EFFIO) & US Foundation Financial Officers Group (FFOG) took place from 4-6 April 2018 at the Fondazione Cariplo Congress Centre in Milan, Italy.
Under the title ”Foundation Endowments: Navigating through a World of Risk”, the conference brought together 101 Chief Finance and Investment Officers from around 70 of the largest endowments from Europe and North America, representing a collective asset base worth in the region of €360 billion. The conference provided delegates with a forum for networking, information exchange, and learning on investing in an increasingly complex global marketplace – in an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidentiality.
The conference programme explored the risk landscape and global trends foundations as institutional investors face today and set out a suite of strategies, insights, and foresight – a compass – to better navigate a world of uncertainty and risk.
Some of the key questions raised included:
- What are the main risks bringing forth challenges for institutional investors? Are these risks interconnected?
- How is climate change building up financial risk in the system?
- What does the return of geopolitics and great power rivalries mean for investors?
- What are the lessons to learn from financial history on risks and returns?
- Does the emergence of connected assets and digital transformation fuelled by the Internet of Things have implications for investing?
- What are the main criteria’s informing impact investing? Are there differences between US – EU approaches and broader impact investing culture?
- How worried should investors be about inflation?