This year's guest is American boxer Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight world champion who is known for once having bitten a chunk out of an opponent's ear-a man who more recently has starred in a one-man Broadway show and engineered a movie career through comedy films such as 'The Hangover.' Mr. Tyson also has a troubled past, including a history of drug addiction and a 1992 rape conviction that landed him in jail and has previously complicated his efforts to travel overseas.

CLSA's annual investor forums are traditionally star-studded affairs, attracting headliners from Sarah Palin to George Clooney.

'It's really our flagship event,' says Edmund Bradley, CLSA's group head of research. 'Our clients are obviously interested in hearing from remarkable people who've had a role in shaping culture-people who can offer something unique and memorable.'

On Thursday afternoon, news that Mr. Tyson would be attending the conference in Hong Kong-which some 1,500 investors from more than 30 countries are expected to attend-attracted a mixed response.

'It's a letdown. I don't think I'll learn anything from him,' said one local portfolio manager, who still intends to attend the forum, which runs from Sept. 10-14 and will include 40 other keynote and specialist speakers, including Acumen Fund founder Jacqueline Novogratz and Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary-general of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development.

'I guess it'd be comical the drunker I got,' said Jeb Altonaga, who heads Northern Trust Hedge Fund Services. 'If he was in a celebrity boxing match, that'd be better, especially if they'd have one of their managing directors jump in the ring with him.'

It wouldn't be the first time something outlandish happened at a CLSA forum: in 2000, CLSA sent fund managers invitations to attend a performance by heartthrob Welsh singer Tom Jones. Each invitation contained a pair of women's underwear, which the guests were invited to toss at Mr. Jones as he performed onstage.

Since retiring from boxing, Mr. Tyson-once nicknamed 'Iron' Mike and known as 'the Baddest Man on the Planet'-has turned vegan and lives a more placid, domestic life in a Las Vegas suburb with his wife and children. However, remnants of his earlier bad-boy days remain: a distinctive black, swirled tattoo still covers the left side of his face.

While Mr. Tyson's star power might not match that of Alan Greenspan or Bill Clinton-two of the names who have attended CLSA's forum in the past-CLSA says it tries to keep its speaker mix diverse.

'Mike Tyson is an astonishing athlete with a big personality. You don't want to have a senior political figure every year, nor do you want an actor every year,' said Mr. Bradley. 'I think it's good to have a change.'

Mr. Tyson's 1992 conviction for raping a beauty-pageant contestant has in the past led residents from Australia to the United Kingdom to protest his travel overseas. While Hong Kong has previously barred people from entering the city on the basis of their criminal records, a spokesman for the city's immigration department said Thursday its visa screening process is 'quite fair and doesn't involve any discrimination regarding whether or not they have a criminal record.' Cases such as Mr. Tyson's would be considered on an individual basis, the spokesman added.