Highlights include a crystal ball panel looking at the next 10 years in the exchange-traded fund market, a look at the evolution of the passive management landscape, a panel discussion on liquidity and, perhaps most excitingly, a conversation with ex-UK chancellor, now editor of London’s Evening Standard newspaper, the Rt Hon George Osborne.
We are intrigued. Has the over-employed Osborne, who now seems to devote himself full-time to bashing Theresa May in the pages of his newspaper, made time to become an expert on ETFs?
Brimming with opinions
In one of his many roles, George is also a well-paid adviser to BlackRock, which runs more than $1 trillion of assets in over 800 ETFs globally under its iShares brand. He must have picked something up.
As such he will be brimming with opinions on the threat that ETFs present to market volatility and the asset-liability mismatch they embody. Will he be announcing a new paint-and-wallpaper-futures backed ETF product?
Sadly, we are none the wiser. Shortly before the event the PR emails to explain rather sheepishly that unfortunately George’s talk will now be closed to media. That’s George, the editor of a leading newspaper. Does he know something about ETFs that we don’t? We think we should be told.