Grooming Tomorrow’s Financial Experts

www.bschool.nus.edu.sg/CAMRI

About the CentreThe Centre for Asset Management Research & Investments (CAMRI) was established in 2009 at NUS Business School to improve the performance of stakeholders in Asian asset management through high-quality investment management education, applied research and practice. CAMRI achieves this by engaging in extensive quantitative, behavioural and fundamental analysis to develop high standards in all facets of asset management. It is anchored in Asia with close links to leading global asset managers and institutions, including Cornell University’s Parker Centre for Investment Research.

Areas of research and education at CAMRI include:

• Portfoliomanagementandselection(unittrusts,mutualfunds,hedge funds and private equity)

• Commodities,derivativesandassetpricing

• Financialmarketdesign,liquidityandtradingstrategies

•Marketefficiencyandbehaviouralfinance

Sinceretirementfinanceisanareaofgreatconcerntomany Asians, a recent area of interest has also been in consumer life-cycle savings and investing, including retirement planning and the design of inflation-indexed products for households.

CAMRI aims to develop business students into well-trained, high-performing asset managers and research analysts with astrongsenseofintegrity,ethicalawarenessandfiduciaryresponsibility. With asset management’s growing importance in Asia, CAMRI is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between theory and practice. As CAMRI prepares highly-skilled students for the industry, it also aims to forge close relationships between NUSBusinessSchoolandthefinancialindustry.

The Centre for Asset Management Research & Investments (CAMRI) is a world-class centre for the research, education and practice of asset management,usingstate-of-the-artfacilities,financialandhumanresources,data,andsoftwareapplications,specificallythoseinvolvingbestpracticesinthefieldofAsianfundmanagementandregulation.

To achieve these, CAMRI’s activities include:

Student Consulting Practicum Projects

UnderthesupervisionofCAMRIfinancefaculty,studentConsulting Practicum (CP) projects provide the platform for studentteamstoconductwell-definedresearchprojectsthataresponsoredandsupervisedbyfinancialindustryparticipants.CAMRIfacultysupervisesbetweenthreeandfivestudentCPprojects every semester, and involves the participation of asset management-relatedsovereignwealthfund(SWF),financialandgovernment bodies.

Student CP projects give students a meaningful hands-on experience at NUS Business School with hands-on and practical relevance. These projects allow students to apply concepts and theories to real situations, strengthen links with the industry and broaden course offerings in terms of pedagogical approaches.

Here are some examples of recent CP projects at CAMRI:

• Afive-weekbusinessresearchwithanSWFbodyfortwodifferent groups of MBA and BBA students. The teams analysed real investment-related problems posed by the fund.

• TwoinvestmentmanagementfirmssponsoredCPprojectsfor a pair of BBA honours student teams. One team analysed methodologies that could be applied in a portfolio asset allocation context. The other team investigated the role of key macroeconomic indicators to predict future relative returns on MSCI Emerging Market country indices.

CAMRI Investment Management & Trading Lab

The Investment Management & Trading Lab is the focal point of CAMRI’s teaching, training and educational activities. In line with its mission of conducting research and education in Asian fundmanagement,itfocusesheavilyonfinancialapplicationsand databases, particularly Asian securities. To enhance the portfolio management experience of students, the lab has 32 workstations equipped with Thomson Reuters applications, live data and ticker feeds, BARRA portfolio and risk management softwaremodules,FTSandImaginetradingsystems,aswellasvarious other investment management software applications. Theseallowourlabuserstogainfirst-handexperiencewiththesame sophisticated tools that investment professionals use, hence preparing them adequately for their future careers in the financialindustry.

CAMRI Inter-Semester Applied Financial Seminar Series

This seminar series is held annually at CAMRI’s Investment Management & Trading Lab during the summer break. Industry experts are invited to speak to students on various topics relatedtofinancialmarketsandassetmanagement.

NUS Asian MBA Stock Pitch Competition

The annual NUS Asian MBA Stock Pitch Competition, fully supportedbySingapore’sfinancialindustryandhostedbyCAMRI in partnership with Cornell University’s Parker Centre, sees top MBA students in Asia compete and showcase their equity research and stock-picking skills before a panel of distinguished judges from the Singapore investment management industry. Participants have access to a suite of world-class portfolio analytics and analysis tools provided by CAMRI’s Investment Management & Trading Lab. Generous cash prizes are awarded to the top two student teams.

Student Managed Fund

TheStudentManagedFund(SMF),launchedusingseedcapital from a supportive private donor, provides hands-on, team-based and experiential learning to prepare graduating studentsforthedemandsoftheinvestments,financialandwealthmanagementindustry.TheSMFisalow-risk,conservative equity fund that aims to hedge against adverse market movements. This means it is close to “market neutral”, while minimising downside risk. With the guidance of CAMRI faculty and experienced investment professionals, students get practical training and hands-on experience in fund managementbymanagingrealmoneyviatheSMF.

Public Talks and Forums

CAMRI regularly organises asset management-related public talks and applied research forums, which feature NUS faculty and world-renowned scholars and industry experts visiting CAMRI and NUS Business School. The topics covered at these talks and forums include:

• Regulatoryandassetmanagementissuesininstitutionalandpersonal investments (especially as a consequence of the turmoilinglobalfinancialmarkets)

• Retirementplanningandthenextgenerationoflife-cycleproducts

• Sovereignacquirers:anewforceinglobalcapitalmarkets

• Corporategovernance:AsianversusWesternperspective

•Executivecompensation,portfoliodesignandmanagement

•Investmentmanagement,creditsandderivativesintheNewWorldOrder(post-financialcrisis)

•Finance101revisited:liquidity,theLawofOnePriceandinvestment theory

•Thedollarandglobalinvestment

Motivation for our Research Activities

The volume and size of managed funds have skyrocketed over the last two decades. New investment instruments and burgeoning sovereign wealth and pension funds have increased investment opportunities and liquidity, thus driving growth. This has led to heightened investor activism with an increasing need for good managers and sound corporate governance.

These factors emphasise the importance of the investment, regulatory, governance, and managerial aspects of fund management,whichhavesignificantimpactonfinancialmarkets. They also highlight the knowledge gap between theory and practice with respect to the management, regulation and optimal performance of these funds. CAMRI believes this gap canbefilledbyconductingindustry-relevantappliedresearchandbysharingitsfindingstobenefitallstakeholders.

Benefits to the Financial Industry

CAMRItrainsstudentstobehighly-skilledfinancialprofessionalswhomaygoontobecomefutureleadersinthefieldofassetmanagement, particularly in Singapore and other Asian markets. CAMRI believes it is moving in the right direction by building financialintellectualcapacity.

CAMRI’s research focus and activities are aligned with the goal of becoming a centre of excellence in asset management in Asia through applied skills, knowledge and theory. Its function of developing well-taught and well-trained asset managers is importantinfulfillingSingapore’sroleasthegatewayforglobalinvestors to Asian markets.

Research Initiatives and Focus Areas

CAMRI’s research aims to enhance the understanding of management, regulation and performance of institutional investmentfundsandtheirimpactonfinancialmarkets.Emphasis will be placed on examining the issues – both current and potential – that Asia’s asset management industry faces.Theyincludefinancialcapitalmarketissues,investmentstrategies for traditional and alternative investment managers, portfolio measurement and risk management, attributes of a goodassetmanagementfirm,M&Aintheassetmanagementindustry, legal and compliance, and regulatory and corporate governanceissues.Specifictopicsforresearchandstudyevolve with CAMRI’s applied research programme. Such activities are further enhanced by industry-sponsored research. Forexample,theAppliedResearchGrantAwardsatCAMRIfunded by the Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS) is open to all in NUS Business School. More recent applied research at CAMRI includes life-cycle savings andinvesting,specificallyastheyrelatetoretirement-planningand inflation-hedging. CAMRI also conducts research in Asian portfolio management, liquidity and stock selection issues.

Centre for Asset Management Research & Investments (CAMRI)NUSBusinessSchool,15KentRidgeDrive,Level3,MochtarRiadyBuilding,Singapore119245Tel:(65)66011047|Fax:(65)67780390|Email:camri@nus.edu.sg|Web:www.bschool.nus.edu.sg/CAMRI

Equity Research Project

TheCAMRIMulti-FactorStockSelectionEquityResearchProject has developed quantitative multi-factor stock selection modelsfromcompany-levelfinancialandaccountinginformation. The models are deployed for both live and simulated fund management training at CAMRI’s Investment Management & Trading Lab. The objective is to develop a robust equity model for stock selection in Asian markets.

Industry Demand

Theuncertaintythatthefinancialindustryexperiencesfromtimetotimehasaffectedinvestorconfidence.Withmorethan600localandforeignfinancialinstitutionsinSingaporehavingaccess to a large pool of investors and opportunities, investors expect a high degree of integrity, excellent investment skills and sound knowledge from their asset managers. CAMRI’s role in developing such qualities and attributes in tomorrow’s asset management leaders will serve to meet this demand and supportSingapore’sreputationasamajorfinancialcentre.

Corporate Governance and Administration

In line with best practices of corporate governance, the Board ofDirectorsandtheAdvisoryCouncilprovideguidanceandsupport to CAMRI.

Board of DirectorsTheBoardischairedbytheDeanofNUSBusinessSchooland comprises senior members of the investment industry and governmentfinancialstatutoryboards.TheBoardprovidesguidance and support in developing and promoting CAMRI’s mission, objectives and strategic goals. The Board also provides oversight on governance issues, the adoption of corporate governance principles and ensuring best practices at CAMRI at all times.

Advisory CouncilThe Advisory Council brings together investments and financialindustryprofessionalstoprovideoperationalguidanceandsupporttoCAMRI’sFacultyDirectorandstaffin executing CAMRI’s research, training and educational activities. This is done in accordance with the direction establishedbytheBoardofDirectors.TheAdvisoryCouncil also serves to cement close ties between CAMRI, NUSBusinessSchoolandthefinancialindustry.