Day 1 – 11th November

Day 1 – November 11th 2008

8.30 Registration and coffee

9.00 Chairman’s welcome address
Ramin Shayesteh, Director, Head of Middle East/North Africa (MENA) Sales, BARCLAYS CAPITAL

9.10 Keynote address: Macro-economic climate and Gulf-based investment opportunities

• Increasing influence of sovereign wealth funds
• The Middle East as a destination for alternative managers
• The Gulf’s vision as a global financial hub

H.E. Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa, Minister of Finance, KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN & Chairman, BAHRAIN MUMTALAKAT HOLDING COMPANY

9.50 Panel: The Al Safi Platform – A Shariah-compliant route for hedge fund investing

• Why has the Dubai government/DMCC taken a leadership role in Islamic Finance and a defining role in seeding the world’s first Shari’ah compliant fund of funds?
• Who are the key parties necessary to create an institutional offering?
• Why did DSAM chose the Al Safi platform and how does it differ from other offerings?

Moderator: Dr. Frank Gerhard, Head of Fund-linked Derivatives Product Strategy,
BARCLAYS CAPITAL
Shaykh Yusuf Talal De Lorenzo, Chief Shariah Officer, SHARIAH CAPITAL
Eric Meyer, President, CEO and Executive Chairman, SHARIAH CAPITAL
Dr. David Rutledge, CEO, DUBAI MULTI COMMODITIES CENTRE AUTHORITY

10.30 Overview of the hedge funds market and regulation in Bahrain

• A year on from CIU regulation allowing for ‘exempt’ funds, how has the market changed?
• How have hedge funds affected the trading volumes and liquidity in the region?
• Next steps for development in the region – derivatives, futures market, etc.

Abdul Rahman Al Baker, Executive Director, Financial Institutions Supervision, CENTRAL BANK OF BAHRAIN

11.10 Morning coffee and networking break

11.30 Market dislocation and uncorrelated strategies

• Asset classes affected by market dislocations
• State of the market
• Uncorrelated asset classes and uncorrelated strategies
• Risk management and convexity in managing money
• New investment methodologies is the challenge

Christophe Reech, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, REECH AiM Group SA

12.10 Panel: Challenges in the structuring of a Shariah compliant platform

- Why has Barclays taken a leadership role in the creation of a Shariah compliant fund platform?
- What are the key ingredients necessary to create a Shariah compliant fund platform?
- Overcoming key challenges Long-short issues, screening, uniformity of service providers, competitive fees, Shari’ah supervision/certification
- Can a Shariah compliant platform really be plug and play?
- What are the structured product opportunities of a Shariah platform?
- Prime brokerage considerations for Shariah compliance

Moderator: Harry Martin, Director, Market Solutions Group, MENA, BARCLAYS CAPITAL
Shaykh Yusuf Talal De Lorenzo, Chief Shariah Officer, SHARIAH CAPITAL
Dr. Frank Gerhard, Head of Fund-linked Derivatives Product Strategy, BARCLAYS CAPITAL

12.50 Lunch

13.50 Global Tactical Asset Allocation (“GTAA”)

- What is Global Tactical Asset Allocation (“GTAA”)?
- Benefits of a GTAA approach to investing
- Implementing GTAA

Gerry Grimes, Head of Global Distribution, RQSI

14.30 Hedge funds trading commodities

• Issues in Shariah-compliant hedge funds
• Classes of commodity-based funds
• Overview of hedge fund products offered by Dubai Shariah Asset Management

Dr. David Rutledge, CEO, DUBAI MULTI COMMODITIES CENTRE AUTHORITY

15.10 Hedging in Islamic Finance

- Conventional derivatives vs. Shariah compliant products
- Potential for Islamic hedging
- Salient features of conventional ISDA Master Agreement vs. ISDA/IIFM " Ta-Hawutt" (Hedging) Master Agreement

Ijlal Alvi, CEO, INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC FINANCIAL MARKET

15.50 Afternoon coffee and networking break

16.10 Credit crunch – crisis and opportunity

• The credit crisis in a historical context
• The implications of banking crisis and the breakdown of Basle 2
• How to make money from the credit crisis

Patrick Brennan, Head of Credit Investments, NEW FINANCE CAPITAL LLP

16.50 Panel: Hedge fund vs. private equity investing

• Liquidity and lock-ups
• Fees, taxation and legal landscape
• Impact for investors

Tarek J. Sakka, CEO, AJEEJ CAPITAL
Brian Luck, Head of Research, THE CAPITAL PARTNERSHIP
James Cunningham, Chief Investment Officer, WEALTH MANAGEMENT GROUP

17.30 Chairman’s closing address

17.40 Evening reception