The annual Sohn Hong Kong conference is set to take place on May 23, bringing together top investors in Asia to support women’s health issues. This year’s event marks the 12th annual Sohn Hong Kong Conference, where hedge fund managers will present their investment ideas to raise money for research, education, prevention, and treatment.
Some of the managers speaking at this year’s event include Aaron Stern of Converium Capital, Wendy Chen of Sigmoid Capital, and Seth Fischer of Oasis Management. Stern believes in capitalizing on distressed opportunities during times of crisis within companies or asset classes. By identifying mispriced securities due to specific events, Stern aims to design a portfolio that generates positive returns based on idiosyncratic events rather than market fluctuations.
Chen described Sigmoid Capital’s strategy as a pan-Asia long/short equity approach, focusing on understanding major industry themes and supply chains to form differentiated views on market inflections. The fund targets mid-sized Asian companies with the belief that they have more market inefficiencies, allowing for above-market returns in the long term. Fischer, on the other hand, focuses on engagement with companies to improve their operations and unlock latent potential, emphasizing long-term sustainable value creation for all stakeholders.
Chen highlighted China’s manufacturing overcapacity and the need for downsizing in the coming years due to the country’s investment-driven growth model. She discussed the implications of China’s manufacturing capacity reaching a peak and the potential challenges the rest of the world may face in accommodating such growth. Fischer focused on corporate governance improvements in Japan, noting the shift towards more independent boards and accountability measures to unlock the latent potential in Japanese companies.
While Chen and Fischer see opportunities in Asia, Stern is looking off the beaten path in Latin America and continental Europe for distressed credit opportunities. Stern mentioned finding compelling debt opportunities in Europe, Latin America, and Canada, particularly in companies with under $1 billion in debt and near-term overhangs. At a previous Sohn conference, Stern presented opportunities in El Salvador’s sovereign bonds after the country adopted bitcoin, which doubled in price. He plans to present another distressed opportunity in Latin America at this year’s conference.
