Leighton Shantz

Head of Fixed Income
ERS State Pension Fund Texas

At the ERS State Pension Fund, Texas, Leighton serves on the trust’s Risk Committee & Internal Investment Committee for alternatives, and in his role he has undertaken new and innovative strategies to help his firm overcome the liquidity crisis. Leighton also executed the transformation of the $25+ billion retirement trust’s fixed income assets to divided Rates & Credit mandates.

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Leighton.

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Capitalising On Future Trends

Friday, March 6th, 2015

11:00 360° Perspective: Is the Bond Bubble about to burst? Which solutions can you adopt to combat the withdrawal of Quantitative Easing?

For years, the financial world has experienced a bull market in bonds. With the end of Quantitative Easing and rising interest rates for the first time in 11 years, the investment herd will be working in unfamiliar territory. This senior panel from across the industry will discuss:

- How has the end of QE impacted Fixed Income trading- Implications for buy side trading desks
- Opportunity or threats- What repercussions will the end of QE have on market volatility?
- How should you adapt your trading strategies to combat the end of QE?
- Will rates rise as much as the industry expects in response to the end of QE?

14:00 Case Study: What are the underlying factors around the lack of liquidity- and how can you overcome the drought?

Leighton serves on the trust's Risk Committee; Internal Investment Committee for alternatives, and in his role he has undertaken new and innovative strategies to help his firm overcome the liquidity crisis. Leighton also executed the transformation of the $25 billion retirement trusts fixed income assets to divided Rates & Credit mandates. Attend this session where Leighton will share:

- Determining the problem- Is the lack of liquidity solely down to dealer balance sheets or are there other factors at play?
- Can the buy side take on risk and market making roles beyond their current operations?
- How can you best overcome the volatility collapse in bond markets?
- What trading strategies can you undertake in a regime with more risk and less discretion?
- Will there be a fix to the liquidity drought or are you looking at a permanent scenario