We are delighted to announce the second annual LSE SU Alternative Investments Research Conference (AIRC), an extension to the world’s largest student conference on hedge funds and private equity, the LSE SU Alternative Investments Conference (AIC).

The AIC has always attracted PhD students interested in the hedge fund and private equity industries and we felt that an additional space for a more specialised discussion was needed. Hence, the LSE SU Alternative Investments Research Conference will bring together top PhD students and their research in the fields of hedge funds and private equity.

Jointly organised by the LSE SU Alternative Investments Society and the LSE Financial Markets Group, the Conference will provide research students with a dynamic and engaging forum to present work and interact with other like-minded students, industry-leading professors and industry practitioners. The AIRC offers the opportunity for students to expand upon their insights of their chosen topics of presentation and utilize a critical eye to discuss the hedge fund and private equity industries.

The second annual LSE AIRC will be held on Saturday, 17 March 2012 at the London School of Economics and Political Science. The day will be comprised of a mixture of oral research paper presentations as well as keynote speeches with participation from industry practitioners and academics (please see the agenda for details).

The overarching theme of “Bridging the Gap between Academia and Industry” will aim to shape the discussion on the day to evolve around topics of the relationship between the two worlds and the mutually beneficial interdependence existing between them.

We are most grateful to all of our speakers and sponsors without whom the event would not be possible.

As Conference planning begins many months before the event itself, we would like to thank all of the team members for the long hours and enthusiasm put into the organising process. 

We hope that the Conference will provide all of you with valuable experience, that you will emerge from it with a sense of intellectual challenge. We also hope that you will gain a better understanding of the relationship and the interplay between the worlds of academia and the alternative investments industry.

We hope to see you at the Conference in March!