Headline Speakers include Hermes’ SakerNusseibeh and GMO Founder Jeremy Grantham

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced the agenda and speakers for its seventh annual Morningstar Institutional Conference Europe. Some 230 investment professionals from across Europe are expected to attend.

The Morningstar Institutional Conference, to be held at the Hotel Okura Amsterdam on 17 and 18 March 2017, will explore key themes relevant to long-term investors through a series of presentations and discussions led by leading investors, academics, and industry experts. The conference agenda offers delegates a holistic view of the current environment, with particular focus on valuation-driven opportunities and behavioural science. The event will also feature Morningstar’s latest thinking in asset allocation, securities research, manager research, and the inclusion of environment, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in portfolios.

“Long-term investing, valuation-based investing, inherent behavioural bias, and finding value in deeply challenged markets are themes we have distinctly chosen to deliberate at this year’s conference, in anticipation of a bumpy 2017 for investors”, Dan Kemp, Chief Investment Officer, EMEA, of Morningstar’s Investment Management group, said. “Each speaker offers profound insight on a key area of interest to investors. I look forward to welcoming delegates to Amsterdam for two days of market-leading discussion and debate.”

Headline speakers include Saker Nusseibeh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hermes Investment Management, who will deliver the conference opening keynote, “Building a Better Fund Management Industry,” addressing how reputational damage from press and regulator criticisms can discourage investors and impede their ability to reach investment goals. Jeremy Grantham, founder of GMO, will explore the investment implications of climate change in a live interview from Boston, Massachusetts. Attendees will also hear from Gerd Gigerenzer, Director, Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Harding Center for Risk Literacy, a recognised preeminent thought leader in the understanding and communication of risk.

Kunal Kapoor, CEO of Morningstar, Inc., and Daniel Needham, President and Chief Investment Officer of Morningstar’s Investment Management group, will discuss what it means to be a valuation-driven investor and how this principle is applied across Morningstar’s global investment management business. Michael Hasenstab Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Portfolio Manager, and Chief Investment Officer, Templeton, will discuss his valuation-driven approach to fixed-income investing.

Other presenters include:

• Christopher Davis, Chairman, Davis Advisors, on the best approach towards superior returns when seeking to invest for the long term in U.S. equities;
• Dan Kemp, Chief Investment Officer, EMEA, Morningstar’s Investment Management group, on the seven investment principles designed to help investors overcome behavioural biases and encourage good investor behaviour;
• Derek Stuart, Co-Founder and Fund Manager, Artemis Funds, on using a ‘special situation’ approach to investing and its application in the current Brexit environment to identify long-term investment opportunities;
• Hilde Jenssen, Lead Product Strategist, Skagen Funds, on how to uncover value in emerging-market equities, one of the cheapest asset classes in recent years, in an environment where value is hard to find;
• Isabel Levy, Managing Director – Chief Investment Officer and Founder, Metropole Gestion, on how to employ fundamental industrial analysis to avoid value traps and identify the fair value of European equities;
• Dr. MartijnCremers, Professor of Finance, The University of Notre Dame, on his research about active share portfolios and fund performance; and
• Mats Andersson, Vice Chair, Global Challenges Foundation, on why the inclusion of ESG criteria is an essential component of successful long-term investing and how these ideas can be applied by institutional investors in Europe.

During the conference, delegates can attend three breakout streams covering asset allocation, securities research, and manager selection. The sessions will include a discussion about the major factors influencing performance of financial services companies and the impact of the ‘behaviour gap’ on European investors.