Are we the only ones that are reminiscing of those warm, sunny Miami days as we bravely endure another winter snowstorm in the tundra of Chicago? It’s leaving us posting photo captions saying, “take us back.”
Miami Hedge Fund Week, as it has become unofficially known, happens the last week of January down in the Miami area with multiple hedge fund focused conferences overlapping that week – with iConnections, Context, MFA, BattleFin, and the Commodity Markets Council all having events.
We were asked by both investors and managers a few times leading up to the week of conferences whether it was worth it. Managers have to spend thousands to host booths, and even investors who can attend for free… need to navigate flights, hotels, and Miami prices (we’re looking at you, Faena Hotel with the $25 Avocado Toast)
The RCM team was there participating mainly at iConnections, meeting with current and prospective clients with diverse backgrounds and taking more than 40 manager meetings to learn about strategies new and old, from convertible arb to AI to trend following to crypto. And, although, the Omicron surge promoted extra safety protocols and precautions; it was great to be back in South Beach to network, live, and in person. Just take the word from our very own John Cummings:
Very much agreed, we enjoyed dinner with @Ksidiii and talking plainly about options, risk and how things work in the real world. Quality conversations with @cummingsjohnb and the @rcmAlts guys. Good times.
— Noel Smith (@NoelConvex) January 27, 2022
So was it worth it?
100%. The conferences do a great job with content, meals, and getting all these folks from Switzerland to NY to CA to Chicago in the same room. There’s also all the off schedule benefits. There’s an old saying that life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans, and the Miami Hedge Fund week corollary is the conference value is what happens between meetings. The person you meet waiting for an Uber, the connections made at the off-campus dinner, or the one breakfast meeting with the manager/investor who was registered for one of the other conferences.
RCM proudly co-sponsored the 6th annual premier ‘off campus’ event at The SOHO House where an impressive 450 allocators, managers, and vendors joined in on the fun.
A special thanks to Copper and AYU, who invited us to host a few meetings on the water across from the Fontainebleau and hosted a wonderful beach party (despite the rain). Speaking of Copper – there was a distinct Crypto feel to hedge fund week this year… although not enough to spoil it, if crypto’s not quite your thing. One thing’s for sure, thought, crypto appears here to stay in the hedge fund space for the foreseeable future, with dozens of groups attending who specialize in and around the space.
So go ahead and book Miami for next year. The nights are filled with making connections and client dinners, the days bring meaningful meetings and insight into what the brightest in the world are attacking these markets.
