The Future of Crypto
What’s been happening in the cryptocurrencies market? Is it all merely speculation or is crypto here to stay? What is the future of broader blockchain technologies? What could regulation mean for the world of decentralized finance (DeFi)? On February 24, 2022, Helen Joyce, Britain editor of the weekly magazine the Economist, posed questions to her colleagues: Alice Fulwood, Wall Street correspondent at the Economist, and Matthieu Favas, finance editor at the Economist, in order to explore the rise of cryptocurrency and its potential consequences. “Blockchain can be thought of as a database distributed across many nodes,” Alice Fulwood said, “one […]
Access to Alternatives
Alternative assets are an important part of modern portfolios—but how can you gain access to them? Do investors and investment advisors know what alternative investment options exist, and what platforms provide them? Do advisors know how to use modern investment platforms to differentiate their offering and provide unique opportunities? How can this type of access on the new platforms enhance the business asset managers? Four panellists convened on October 26, 2021, to discuss these aspects of alternative assets, in a webinar sponsored by the Canadian Association of Alternative Strategies & Assets (CAASA), a trade association representing alternative investment managers, service providers, and investors. The […]
Net-Zero Buildings
How do we build our homes and cities for a sustainable future? Climate change is such a huge, complex problem that tackling it can seem overwhelming. Fortunately, many organizations are addressing various parts of this colossal puzzle. One aspect is the “built environment.” Can existing buildings be modified to cope with climate change? Can buildings be redesigned to have net zero effect on the environment? On July 1, 2021, a panel of experts gave their thoughts on matters relating to climate change and buildings, as part of the New York Times Climate Hub series of webinars. This is the “Built […]
Future trends in science
After the pandemic, then what? What are the next breakthroughs in science and technology? “Science can save the world. As proof, look what is happening with the pandemic,” said Tom Standage, deputy editor and head of digital strategy at The Economist. “However, scientific breakthroughs can’t save us all on their own.” He was welcoming the audience and panellists to a webinar co-sponsored by The Economist and CIFAR (Canadian Institute for Advanced Research) held on May 18, 2021. Standage began by surveying the four panellists on what new scientific breakthroughs are on the horizon. There will be great strides forward in […]
Who’s Minding the Bots?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is being implemented in nearly all sectors of the economy at an increasing rate. A 2019 survey by Gartner showed that 37 percent of organizations had already implemented AI in some form. When it comes to integrating AI into your company, what are the risks? What are the opportunities? On March 12, 2021, the Industry Relations and Corporate Governance Committee of the CFA Society Toronto convened a panel of experts to look at how effectively a company’s corporate governance can provide proper oversight and avoid mistakes. In other words, “who and how we will mind the bots.” […]
Climate Risk Survey
Investors continue to ask for more investment strategies that target environment and sustainability. When it comes to capability to manage financial risks due to climate change, how far along are firms in addressing the issues? The second annual global survey of climate risk management at financial firms, sponsored by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), was presented in a webinar on September 22, 2020. The report is co-authored by Jo Paisley, Co-President, and Maxine Nelson, Senior Vice President at GARP. Paisley began by taking a quick poll of the audience, chiefly GARP members. “Why are you interested in the […]
ESG disclosures: apples vs oranges
When it comes to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funds, do you feel like we are still comparing apples with oranges? Isn’t it time for a global voluntary standard? “There’s been an explosion of interest in ESG investing, but the inconsistency in ESG-related disclosures could lead to an erosion of trust in the industry,” said Deborah Kidd, who is a director with the Global Industry Standards (GIPS). She was the first of two panelists who presented a consultation paper on “ESG Disclosure Standards for Investment Products” at a webinar titled “Improving Transparency and Comparability of Investment Products with ESG-related Features” […]
Investing in the greater good
Every day, more investors are converting their portfolios to socially responsible investing (SRI). But does being a socially responsible investor mean you will take a hit on performance? “Over the last five years, responsible investments have done at least as well as the traditional portfolio,” said Tim Nash, a fee-for-service financial planner who spoke at the webinar “Investing in the Greater Good” on August 18, 2020, sponsored by Questrade. Nash is the founder of Good Investing and blogs as The Sustainable Economist. He is also the lead researcher for Ethical Markets Green Transition Scoreboard research report, which details more than […]
Impact of Covid-19: Science
How is the world grappling with the Covid-19 Pandemic, especially in the realm of science? Much is happening and the world is hungry for information on these fronts, was the consensus of the panel convened by the magazine the Economist, which presented a webinar on July 30, 2020, titled “The Inside Story: The Impact of Covid-19.” Helen Joyce, executive editor for events at the Economist, interviewed two staffpersons, working on different aspects of the pandemic. She also ran a Q & A session with an audience of thousands via the Zoom platform. This is part one of a two-part summary. […]
Handling cloud data
A silver lining of any crisis is that experts get a data point… or many data points, depending on what that crisis is. The lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, as bitter and hard-won as they might be, will find a use. It is the event that will test in real life whether the infrastructure already put in place will respond well. “Covid 19 is a black swan event,” said Patrick McFadin, Apache Cassandra and Developer Relations at DataStax. He was the second speaker for the webinar, “Cloud Native Data: The Foundation of Modern Business,” presented through The Briefing Room on […]