Do index funds really outperform fund managers? Studies have shown that beating the market turns out to be even harder than we thought. As a result, the notion that investors are better off investing in market indexes instead of hiring fund managers to run their investment portfolios has gained much traction in recent years. With fund managers charging higher fees than index funds, the returns for active investors can be lower. Smart Beta is a new investment strategy that aims to capture return drivers through transparent and rule-based methodologies to produce better diversification and risk-adjusted returns. Learn more about these investment strategies and how they have affected investment trends in this master class by Dr Xu Peng, Associate Academic Director of ESSEC’s Master in Finance, which is ranked #5 in worldwide by Financial Times.

Date: Tuesday, April 16th, 2019
    Time: 10:00am - 11.30am
    Location: Room 418, School of Economics  Zhejiang University

 Speaker Profile    

     Dr. Xu Peng is the Associate Academic Director of the Master in Finance program at ESSEC Business School. A CFA charter holder, she specializes in Asset Pricing, Risk Management, and Corporate Financial Management. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Finance and Economics from the Joseph Rotman School of Management and Depart[1]ment of Economics, University of Toronto, Canada. Her research work is well-recog[1]nized and presented at internationally renowned conferences and journals. Recognized as the Top 10% Professors at the ESSEC Foundation Teaching Awards (2014), Dr. Xu is passionate about education and teaches Corporate Financial Manage[1]ment, Risk Management, Portfolio Management, Investment Analysis, and International Finance in Master’s and executive education programs at ESSEC Business School.

Please see complete brochure here.