More than 200 practitioners, academics and thought leaders met in Copenhagen for the second European Alternative Investments Conference, hosted by Finansforeningen, CFA Society Denmark and the CAIA Association. The day felt like the centre of Europe’s alternatives community, with a steady flow of practical insights across defence, private markets, hedge funds and climate economics.
Conference moderator Christoph Junge, CAIA set the scene in the opening remarks. Lars Froelund, Deep Tech Investment Expert and executive at the European Innovation Council, then opened with investing in defence, security and resilience. The focus was on how to mobilize capital for strategic technologies and supply chains while maintaining investability and governance standards.
A panel discussion one on how to use alternatives to crash proof a portfolio brought together Andrew Beer of Dynamic Beta, Mads Jensen of Jentzen & Partners, Roger Hilty of LGT Capital Partners and Martin Jost of Capital Fund Management. The conversation compared replication and manager selection, looked at liquidity terms that hold up in stress, and asked how large an allocation needs to be before it makes a difference.
A research session followed. Juha Joenväärä, Associate Professor at Aalto University School of Business, presented a bias free assessment of the hedge fund industry, revisiting total assets, alpha and the link between flows and performance once common dataset distortions are removed. Jeff Hooke, Senior Finance Lecturer at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, then reviewed private equity and private credit in 2025, separating headline claims from the drivers of realised returns and the effect of higher base rates.
The second panel examined the pros and cons of adding private markets to portfolios. On stage were Laurent Bademian, CAIA, CFA, Emeritus of Orano, Sandro Näf of Capital Four, Deborah Shire of AXA IM Alts and Jesper Rindboelof Nordea Asset Management. Capacity, pacing and governance were recurring themes, as was the role of semi liquid vehicles for teams that seek access without taking on a full drawdown program.
Direct lending moved to the forefront with Sina Timm, CFA, CIO Private Markets at the Oldendorff Family Office, who decomposed returns into base rates, spreads, fees, losses and optionality. The message was that underwriting choices and manager dispersion remain central.
The closing sessions turned to the energy transition. Brett Christophers, Professor at Uppsala University, argued that price signals alone will not deliver decarbonisation at scale. A closing panel with Christophers, Sarah O’Malley of Nuveen in energy infrastructure credit, Ruairi Revell of abrdn in economic infrastructure sustainability and Kristian Høeg Madsen of Schroders Greencoat in hydrogen investments tested where infrastructure credit and equity can deliver both returns and measurable progress and where public policy still needs to carry weight. Christoph Junge offered brief concluding remarks.
Copenhagen delivered a high energy, thought provoking day. The conversations will continue, but the message was clear. Allocators want clarity on where alternatives truly add resilience and where narrative still outruns evidence.
We were pleased to take part in a very well organised event, nicely giving insights into timely and timeless topics in the alternative investment space and plenty opportunity for some honest, old school networking and relationship building. Great to have this event on the schedule and we are much looking forward to be joining again next year.
