Events

Commodity Mania
"Are investors driving
commodity prices or is it
simple supply & demand?"

Some observers attribute the soaring commodity prices to institutional fund inflows into commodities, arguing that the surge of such funds, often called speculative or hot money, has led to large price jumps in everything from gasoline to gold jewelry to bread and clothing around the world. Others contend that financial contracts such as futures, options, swaps and ETFs enable farmers, producers, processors and merchants to hedge/manage much higher volatility in the commodities sector.

Our panel will discuss wherein lies the probable truth and will look to answer the questions and concerns that have resulted, including:

• Have the economic booms in India and China; the developing infrastructure in places like Dubai; and the rising popularity of biofuels produced by corn and other crops increased demand


• Have "hoarding" commodity exporting nations or other environmental factors, as well as panicking farmers, traders and consumers resulted in a decrease in supply?


• Will regulation come into play that will influence how investment in commodities takes place as well as who can invest in them?


• What are the potential remedies to price spikes and where can they be found


• Is there a valuation problem…are we getting valuations right?


• Is the securitization of commodities a contributing culprit to rising commodity prices?


• Is the commodity bubble an early warning for the commodity meltdown – should we expect that there will be a commodity financial crisis?

Opening Remarks:
Christopher Earley, Ph.D., Dean, School of Business, University of Connecticut

Moderator:
Dr. Shantaram Hegde, Finance Professor, University of Connecticut (our academic partner)

Panel:
Panos Ninios, Managing Director, Head of Energy Research, Plainfield Asset Management
Steve Matthews, Commodities Strategist, Tudor Investment Corporation
Virginia R. Parker, President, Parker Global Strategies
Menachem Sternberg, Chairman & CEO, Eagle Trading Systems, Inc.

Closing Remarks:
Benjamin (Ben) Allensworth, Senior Legal Counsel, Managed Funds Association (MFA)

Please reserve your place early to join the Connecticut Hedge Fund Association members and guests for this event on August 12th.

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