Understanding Emerging Markets - Columbia U. Lecture Series Highlights

With a career in finance spanning over two decades, Brian Lippey operates as the CEO of Greenwich, Connecticut-based Caledonia Partners, LLC. Drawing on his experience, Brian Lippey presented a lecture series for students at Columbia University in 2013. Below are some key highlights regarding emerging markets from that series.

Emerging markets, and a less developed subset of countries known as frontier markets, pose a unique assortment of challenges to investors. First, they tend to be less liquid than developed markets. Additionally, these regions commonly face volatile political climates and under-developed institutions. Investors might face problems when it comes to unloading their positions since many overseas buyers are risk averse and there are often few local buyers. Myanmar illustrates this problem, because the potential for profitable investment is significant, yet the government Institutions and polices are still evolving.

Despite these obstacles, emerging markets pose a number of advantages for savvy investors. They commonly boast a wealth of natural resources, strategic locations, and an underdeveloped infrastructure, all of which offer niche markets for financiers

Brian Lippey Hosted Three-Part Hedge Fund Series in 2013

A global capital market executive with more than two decades of experience, Brian Lippey is the founder of Caledonia Partners in Greenwich, Connecticut. Over the course of his career, Brian Lippey has hosted a number of seminars that cover a variety of financial topics. In April 2013, he launched the three-part Hedge Fund Lecture series for the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs.

The series consisted of three brown-bag-lunch discussions held once a month consecutively between February and April and attended by over 30 students with major concentrations in international finance and economic policy (IFEP). Each session focused on a different subject relevant to hedge funds. Students broke into small groups during the seminars in order to establish their own portfolios.

During the first lecture, students learned about global trends in the hedge fund industry and how to enhance their competitiveness. The second lecture featured an overview of emerging and frontier markets and included a lengthy discussion regarding research and risk-mitigation methods, in addition to other strategies for evaluating investments. Hedge fund consultant Owain D. Morgan joined the panel for the final seminar, which primarily involved discussion on risk assessment and the types of risks managers face throughout a fund’s lifetime.