Goldman's London conference offers insight and elegance

THE ALCHEMIST

Only Savile Row had more bespoke suits than Goldman Sachs' Fleet Street offices in London last week as the bank's asset management unit hosted its global strategies conference.

The City’s A-list jostled for space in the main auditorium, and spilled into an ante-room relaying the various presentations on TV. Some of the presenters noted how many billions of dollars were run by investors they had already spoken with this year, leaving you to wonder just how many billions were overseen by those assembled. The largest hedge funds, the most prominent of Europe’s banks and most senior bosses at asset managers were present. GSAM chairman Jim O’Neill began the day with a global overview. Although he coined the BRIC acronym, he was not afraid to note small cracks had...