Welcome to the European Investor Summit!

On behalf of Societe Generale Securities Services, it is a great honour for me to introduce the first edition of the European Investor Summit magazine. This magazine is the illustration of and main communication material for our inaugural “European Investor Summit” event, which will take place in Paris-La Défense on November 21, 2019. Through this Summit, SGSS is aiming to create a point of reference for the investment industry in Europe. Our ambition is to set up a leading platform to explore and debate the challenges and opportunities facing our industry, as well as to provide a unique networking opportunity for investment professionals coming from all over Europe.

2019 has been rich in terms of events affecting the investment landscape. Market volatility, recession risks, trade war and monetary policies have put pressure on asset allocation, performance and fees. The months ahead will no doubt bring new challenges: economic slowdown in the EU and US, limited growth of emerging markets, recession risks in Europe, geopolitical and global trade tensions and further uncertainty associated with Brexit. Within the ongoing low-yield environment, our industry will need to continue its shift towards new asset classes and capitalise on a very innovative and disruptive environment. Private equity & debt, real estate, ESG and a new paradigm between active and passive management will be at the heart of asset allocation in 2020.

The European Investor Summit 2019 addresses these asset allocation challenges and opportunities through financial professionals’ points of view. I am very proud of the impressive line-up of experts who will share their vision of investment trends within the current environment at this event. I would like to sincerely thank our speakers for their support for and trust in this first edition of the Summit.

In this magazine, we also want to give you insights about the topics that wille be covered during the day: expert views covering economic trends, as well as ESG, active management, real assets and innovation’s challenges. We also include an article presenting CARE - the charity that we actively supported for this forum - and its actions to promote Women’s Economic Empowerment.

I would like to sincerely thank all those who attended the European Investor Summit, and trust that you will enjoy the conference. As a reader, I hope you will appreciate and be inspired by the selection of articles in this magazine.