Morgan Stanley Investment Management has chosen to endow EDHEC's research chair in financial engineering and global alternative portfolios for institutional investors. The chair represents a monetary investment over three years, and the projected research theme for the first year of the chair is "Alternative Investments for Institutional Investors - Risk Budgeting Techniques in Asset Management and Asset-Liability Management." 

There are 5 different EDHEC Risk research chairs, which involve a close partnership with a sponsor and a commitment from EDHEC over three years. This partnership leads to international academic publications, detailed summaries and position papers aimed at professionals, institutional investors and regulators.

 

The EDHEC research chairs include three types of actions:

Carrying out research 
Each year, the chair proposes to produce a major research study which will lead to both academic and professional publications. The themes are proposed by EDHEC and agreed with the sponsor.

Organising the dissemination of the research
The research work from the chair is widely promoted on the basis of:
"Features" in the EDHEC-Risk newsletter
The setting up of a section on the EDHEC-Risk website dedicated to the work of the chair
Distribution of the research to European institutional investors
Specific press actions with European financial newspapers and professional publications.

Presentation at conferences
Each of the chair's publications is presented at a conference organised by the sponsor(s) and aimed at the public of their choice (collaborators or clients) and also within the framework of the EDHEC Institutional Days or the EDHEC Alternative Investment Days, both of which bring together more than 800 European institutional investors and asset managers each year.

 

Governance

The research chair is managed by one of the directors of the EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre. The research topics and associated research plans are drawn up by EDHEC and validated by the sponsor. The marketing actions are validated and carried out by a steering committee comprising the marketing director of the EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre and a representative from the sponsor. Communication on the research chair is validated jointly by the sponsor and EDHEC.

Besides the new research chair with Morgan Stanley, the following 4 research chairs have been set up to date and are fully operational.

1) Asset-Liability Management and Institutional Investment Management
In partnership with BNP Paribas Asset Management

This research chair will be piloted by a joint BNP Paribas AM/EDHEC committee and is giving rise to a major three-year research programme. The EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre's research team, under the responsibility of the centre's scientific director, Lionel Martellini, will examine dynamic allocation strategies in asset-liability management in order to formulate an integrated ALM model.
In line with EDHEC's Research for Business philosophy, the results of the Asset-Liability Management and Institutional Investment Management research chair will be widely disseminated to finance professionals, notably through the EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre's specialised website, www.edhec-risk.com, and at the conferences organised by EDHEC.
The results of the initial research project, relating to dynamic allocation strategies in ALM and illustrated by case studies on life insurance, retirement schemes and pension funds in Europe, will be presented at the EDHEC Institutional Days at the CNIT in Paris on June 12 and 13, 2008

2) MiFID and Best Execution
In partnership with CACEIS, NYSE Euronext and SunGard

The CACEIS, NYSE Euronext and SunGard "MiFID & Best Execution Research Chair" is under the scientific responsibility of Jean-René Giraud, Director of Development at the EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre and Research Associate in charge of the "Best Execution and Operational Performance" research programme.
The MiFID & Best Execution Research Chair is supported jointly by CACEIS, NYSE Euronext and SunGard over a three-year period enabling the EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre to implement a long-term research strategy in this field. The themes of MiFID and Best Execution are thought to be among the most significant industry challenges for the near future, justifying the need for academic research to be carried out to support industry developments.

3) Regulation and Institutional Investment Research Chair
In partnership with AXA Investment Managers

The EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre has created a research chair in "Regulation and Institutional Investment", in partnership with AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM), which is under the scientific responsibility of Noël Amenc, Director of the EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre, and Samuel Sender, Research Associate.
The interaction between regulation and institutional investment management is a key issue for European institutional investors, and the aim of the chair is to carry out a joint operation on a European scale to highlight the challenges for institutional investment management of regulatory developments.
The theme for the first year of this three-year programme will be "The influence of the institutional and regulatory framework on the financial management of pension funds in Europe."

4) Structured Products and Derivative Instruments Research Chair
In partnership with the Fédération Bancaire Française

The Fédération Bancaire Française (FBF) "Structured Products and Derivatives" Research Chair is under the scientific responsibility of Lionel Martellini, Scientific Director of the EDHEC Risk and Asset Management Research Centre.
The objective of the FBF Structured Products and Derivatives Research Chair is to examine structured products with regard to clients' specific requirements.
The research chair focus on three research projects:

The FBF (French Banking Federation) support the research chair over a five year period. This research chair, which was awarded to EDHEC, was one of five high-level research chairs in the field of corporate and investment banking offered by the FBF to increase the competitiveness of the French financial market.