SmartMoney’s “Investors’ Academy” in New Format
This year, SmartMoney will expand and develop its successful "Investors' Academy" project that it launched in spring 2008. The academy held five conferences in 2008 with 297 participants. In the opinion of the academy's participants and expert speakers, the project was particularly valuable due to the practical focus on questions related to private investments in Russian and foreign markets.
The question of choosing the right investment strategy has taken on greater urgency in the context of the global financial crisis. Seven conferences are planned for the academy in 2009 and up to 500 participants are expected to attend, including private investors, company directors and market regulators.
As a result of following market trends and the readership's expectations, SmartMoney updated the academy's format. Now each session will consist of two parts: The first will be a roundtable of experts discussing current market conditions and macroeconomic processes; the second will be a Q&A session, a practical seminar for making optimal investment decisions in the current market environment.
The academy's speakers will include government representatives, leading experts, company and bank directors and independent financial consultants.
The first conference of the year will be held on March 27 at the Ararat Park Hyatt Hotel. The theme will be "The Ruble Exchange Rate and the National Economy: Determining the Best Currency for Savings and Investment."
The themes of this year's six other conferences are:
II. "Oil and market capital: Is there life after $30?"
April 24, 2009, Ararat Park Hyatt Hotel, Moscow
III. "Economic cycles: The logic of crises and peacetime tools for protecting private investment."
May 22, 2009, Ararat Park Hyatt Hotel, Moscow
IV. "Real estate reload. Is Vietnam still better than Ostozhenka Street?"
June 19, 2009, Ararat Park Hyatt Hotel, Moscow
V. "Gold. The eternal value of commodities in investment portfolios."
September 18, 2009, Ararat Park Hyatt Hotel, Moscow
VI. "Hedge funds on the global financial markets - investments not for the weak-hearted."
October 23, 2009, Ararat Park Hyatt Hotel, Moscow
VII. "Macroeconomic forecast for 2010: The best investment strategies."
December 3, 2009, Ararat Park Hyatt Hotel, Moscow
More information on the “Investors’ Academy” can be found at
Background information:
"Investors' Academy" is a SmartMoney project aimed at developing private investment in Russia. The main participants are actual and potential investors - people with high social status and large personal incomes. Their goal is to receive unbiased information to choose their investment strategies. The academy's first conference was held on May 23, 2008.
SmartMoney's "Investors' Academy" is a unique project with three basic characteristics:
Impartiality. In contrast to presentations and seminars conducted by investment companies and banks, the "Investors' Academy" is an unbiased venue where leading market players present their views on the optimal investment strategies. The academy also invites independent experts who offer critical analyses of investment proposals, evaluate the pros and cons of available investment products, their limitations, hidden costs and the potential losses in the event of a market downturn.
Global approach. Russia is a part of the global market. Experts therefore analyze global economic trends and their influence on the Russian market. They also discuss opportunities available to private Russian investors on the international capital market.
Innovativeness. In addition to traditional investment tools, the academy presents new products available to private investors as well as new strategies. For example, entering international markets and personally forming your own investment products - the pros and cons of taking your investments into your own hands.
