On Monday 6 December 2021, Regent’s Global Management Content Area (Finance group) and Student Union hosted their second Financial Innovation Conference in association with NextMarkets AG.
The theme this year was Financial Awakening: The Conscientious Movement of ESG Investments in the Era of Global Transitional Shifts. The conference is part of Regent’s Financial Innovation series.
The conference was widely attended by students, staff, and corporate guests, including Regent’s alumni Marcel Ricaud (panel member) and Karim Heinde (presenter). They discussed their experience, successes, and the key topics underpinning financial innovation.
Marcel Ricaud, who studied BA International Business Administration at Regent’s, has over 20 years of industry experience working in Europe’s leading financial service institutions (Citi Group, UniCredit, Standard Chartered). He has spent the past 5 years of his career pioneering Fintech and gave detailed insight into his experience in the Fintech industry, providing testimony to the major shifts he has witnessed in the world of finance.
The second presenter of the evening was former Student Union Vice President (Academia) and investment analyst, Karim Henide.
At the conference, Karim presented his recently published work on Green Bonds, Voluntary Disclosure and Adverse Selection. He highlighted the critical role of fixed income in investors’ toolbox on the road to Paris, helping to support credible transitioning in energy and beyond. He also shared his thoughts on why Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investments are the future in this transitional shift from a model which was previously already obsolete for long-term markets. Karim explained how much is yet to be gained in the ESG landscape, drawing on striking analytics of the fixed income market, and introduced the audience to ‘greenium’ and its role in the shift.
During his short but intense time in the financial sector, Karim has managed to imprint his mark on the professional community and has successfully published several pieces of his own work on Green Bonds. He recently presented his paper on Voluntary Disclosure and Adverse Selection: Bayesian Game-Theoretical Inferences for Green Bond Labelling Regimes at the Globally Sustainable Banking and Finance Conference. His latest's paper entitled ‘Green lemons: overcoming adverse selection in the green bond market’ is due to be published in the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development’s ‘Transnational Corporations Journal’ later this month.
Karim’s achievements highlight the hard work, rigour, and drive possessed and nurtured by students at Regent’s, commanding excellence and recognition in their respective fields.
The event concluded with reflections on the scope of financial investments and recovery post the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasising the need to shape and guide the design of financial instruments, structuring and reordering them to take greater account of sustainable outcomes.
A networking session was held later in the evening where students and key speakers came together to share thoughts, ideas, and strategies on the future of finance in the coming age.
Dr Elias Boukrami, Director (Content) Global Management, said: ‘The Financial Innovation Conference was a great example of collaboration between alumni, students, academic staff and professional services. A special thank you to the Student Union for successfully hosting the event, particularly Dion Zeka, Student Union Treasurer, and Grace Churchill, Academic Events Officer, for your efforts in serving our students.’
