These days, though, hedge fund managers, credit analysts and investors ask hard questions, grilling experts for their own aha moment. At the SFVegas 2026 last week, the talk was about what other parts of the artificial intelligence, or AI, data centre ecosystem would be securitised next.
In the movie The Big Short, based on Michael Lewis’ eponymous book about the bursting of the US housing bubble that triggered the 2008 global financial crisis, the eureka moment comes when hedge fund manager Steve Eisman’s character learns that the market for insuring mortgage bonds, including synthetic collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) or bets in favour of the faulty mortgage bonds, is exponentially larger than the market for the mortgages themselves. At the annual Securitization Forum in Las Vegas, it suddenly dawns on him that the entire world economy could be on the verge of collapse.
The event, since renamed SFVegas, brings together over 10,000 investors, bankers, regulators, rating agencies, and technology providers. Back then, the conference was mostly a networking event and gabfest for derivative salesmen talking up exotic swaps or structured products.
