[Singapore, 5 December 2013 (Thursday)] – Amundi, a leading asset manager with over US$1 trillion of assets under management (AuM), together with its academic partners Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics at Singapore Management University (SMU), Université Paris-Dauphine, Committee on Global Thought - and Centre on Global Economic Governance at Columbia University, are co-organising the 4th Annual Sovereign Wealth Fund Conference (“the Conference”) in Singapore. The Conference will be held on the 5th and 6th December at the SMU campus.

Over 250 guests will be present to discuss long-term investing in a changing world. Thirty-five senior delegates from 25 sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and other long-term investors worldwide with more than US$5 trillion AuM in total, as well as well-respected academics, investment executives and policy makers from the United States, Europe, Asia and beyond will be sharing their views in this two-day Conference.

Mr Lim Boon Heng, Chairman of Temasek Holdings, will grace the occasion as the Guest-of-Honour and deliver the Opening Address, while SMU’s President, Professor Arnoud De Meyer will deliver the Welcome Address. The Conference has also drawn a stellar line-up of thought leaders and scholars to share their valuable insights. Among them are Nobel Laureate Professor Thomas Sargent from New York University, and Nobel Laureate Designate Professor Robert Shiller from Yale University.

The focus of this year’s conference is the approach and the sustainability of long-term investment processes. The emergence of large sovereign wealth funds has stirred the investment profession. Their common mandate which broadly commands – “Thou shalt invest for long term, for future generations” – is of global concern. Long-term investing is difficult, this is particularly so today in a fundamentally changing economic environment, and within which capital markets are ill-adapted as it stands, for attaining long-term performance objectives. The discussion topics include the market of investing in industry and in infrastructure, the strategic allocation of sovereign wealth, inflation-protected securities, and governance of sovereign wealth funds.

Pascal Blanqué, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Amundi, commented, “More than ever in turbulent times, the short-termism of financial markets creates a need for stability that can only come from long-term investors. By providing financial support to this Conference, Amundi will contribute to the creation of an academic network around this theme.”

Professor Arnoud De Meyer, President of SMU, said “We are delighted to host this Conference in Asia for the first time. As the local academic partner, we will be contributing to the Conference discussions through the impactful inter-disciplinary research we have done in the areas of economics, business and finance. One example would be the Singapore Inflation Expectations Index which was created in January 2012 by our Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics. The index is derived from an online survey of around 400 randomly selected individuals from Singapore households. The online survey helps researchers understand the behaviour and sentiments of decision makers in Singapore households. Long-term inflation expectations are naturally related to long-term investment, which is the main theme of this Conference.”

Amundi has been operating in Asia since 1982. With over 30 years of on-the-ground experience, Amundi has developed an extensive network among institutional investors in the region and a deep understanding of investors’ needs. Amundi’s presence and growing footprint in Asia demonstrate its long term commitment to investors in Asia-Pacific region, which is one of the fastest growing regions in the world. Most recently, Amundi has extended its product offering to retail investors in Singapore and Hong Kong.

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