Summary: China has posted impressive GDP growth for several decades and has emerged as one of the world's leading economic powers. Given its important contribution to global growth, the recent economic slowdown in the face of a major decennial transition of power has focused investors' attention on the risks and opportunities there. As China downshifts to a slower secular rate of growth, the inevitable bumps in that path are often mere interruptions ("soft landings") and occasionally more severe ("hard landings"). While not strictly defined, these terms imply a polarity of outcomes that may impede investors' ability to recognize the longer-term opportunity in China. Featured Speaker: Thomas M. McManus Managing Director, Portfolio Manager/Analyst Tom McManus is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager/Analyst on the Lazard Multi Strategy investment team, specializing in macroeconomic forecasting and asset allocation. He began working in the investment field in 1980. Prior to joining Lazard in 2010, Tom was Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Wells Fargo Advisors. Previously, Tom was Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist at Bank of America Securities LLC. Tom started his career at Morgan Stanley in 1980 in strategic planning and equity derivatives. From 1983 to 1991, he was a member of the Global Equity Derivatives department at Goldman Sachs. Tom has a BS in Operations Research from Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science, where he is a member of the advisory board for the program in Financial Engineering. He is also a non-voting member of the Lazard Capital Allocator Series ("LCAS") Advisory Board, as well as a member of the Speaker Retainer program at the CFA Institute.
