NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2006 — Over 600 pension plan executives and representatives, investment advisors, and other financial professionals set an Information Management Network (IMN) attendance record as they gathered at the Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona for the 11th annual Super Bowl of Indexing. Regarded as the industry’s most prestigious event, this invitation-only event ran December 3-6, 2006. The Super Bowl of Indexing gave attendees the chance to discuss current and future trends and to hear from indexing experts in the academic and practitioner communities.
On Monday, December 4, the conference kicked off with a keynote address by former U.S. Secretary of State, The Honorable Madeleine K. Albright. Following her speech, "Global Political Volatility and the War on Terrorism," the event segued into a series of educational speeches and interactive roundtables. The sessions were led by several of the world’s leading experts and academics in the fields of index derivatives, risk management, and investment management research.
On Tuesday, December 5, the premiere debate between top economists Burton Malkiel and Jeremy Siegel generated great excitement for attendees. On the subject of indexing, Malkiel spoke in favor of market capitalization weighing. Siegel, however, saw better ways than this, focusing his argument on stocks with high-dividend yields. This provided attendees with thought-provoking ways to view their passive investment allocations. For the benefit of investors not in attendance, Bloomberg Television recapped the event with a live interview.
The speeches and presentations were interspersed with opportunities for attendees to network with peers and the speaker faculty. One highlight presentation was the William F. Sharpe Indexing Achievement Awards luncheon. A team of experts and academics chose the winners, which included the Chicago Board Options’ volatility index (Most Innovative Index Derivative Product), Standard and Poor’s Case-Shiller House Prices (Most Innovative Benchmark Index) and Lifetime Achievement Award recipients Burton Malkiel and Ronald J. Ryan. IndexUniverse.com publisher Jim Wiandt linked these unique people and companies with the statement, "These innovators are shaping the course of the index industry, creating new tools and providing new insights for all investors."
For more information on featuring this event in your publication or on future events, please contact Erica Kirwan at 212-901-0546.
About IMN
Since 1994, IMN has presented executive-level conferences of the highest quality to the institutional finance and investment markets worldwide, each one a carefully packaged event combining excellent educational sessions with ideal networking opportunities. With approximately eighty conferences now held in over thirty cities across the globe, IMN has become a leading global provider of information. For more information, please visit http://www.imn.org/pr.
Contact: Erica Kirwan, 212-901-0546
