CONFERENCES

The OEE regularly organises seminars and conferences where researchers and academics present and discuss the results of their research. The aim of these events is to encourage debate and exchange not only within the academic world but also between academics and professionals alike.

Presentations that were made during our conferences have been classified according to the three following themes:

• Savings & Indebtedness Behaviours

• Savings Products

• Regulation, Tax Systems & Intermedition

Events that the OEE has participated in have also been included.

March 14, 2012:

"What place for structured products in private savings?"

The availability of structured products to European savers has diversified considerably in the last 15 years and the engineering of certain products is highly sophisticated.

How can we accommodate the complexity, protection, transparency and pricing of these products? Philippe Bertrand and Jean-Luc Prigent conducted a study for the OEE that evaluated the price of products offered to savers in relation to the guarantees made available.

Research by Claire Célérier and Boris Vallée sheds light on the "industrial economy" of structured products. Topics covered included whether complexity and innovation cater more to the exposure and protection of savers or to their behaviour, or whether they are result of intermediaries responding to the sophistication of some of their clientele.

Pierre Bollon then opened the discussion by raising questions concerning the role of intermediaries, including the contributions made by financial experts, exposure to risks (and protecting clients from them) and the adequacy of information and/or advice.

At the close of the conference, Jacques de Larosière used the example of structured products to speak about the place of banks today, which is currently under scrutiny in the US following the Volcker rule, the UK by the Vickers report and in Europe. He believes it is necessary to re-evaluate which operations banks can and should carry out, including those for private accounts, so that the client is put first.

November 15, 2011

Algorithmic Trading: Issues, Evidence and Implications for Investors

Thierry Foucault presented the findings of research on the impact of algo trading on price discovery, liquidity and volatility. He argued that more research is needed on the “macro” implications of algorithmic trading, in particular, the implications for systematic risk, long-run investors and the real side of the economy (e.g. investment decisions by firms).

His presentation was followed by a discussion led by Charles-Albert Lehalle, global head of quantitative research at Cheuvreux, who examined the results of this briefing paper. His analysis of the impact of algorithmic trading for investors focused on three topics:

• Liquidity
• Price formation and volatility
• The structure of markets