2020 Chief Investment Officer Summit

Opening Remarks and
State of the Union of Pensions by CIO of the Year Ash Williams, CIO, Florida SBA and chair, Council of Institutional Investors.

Lessons Learned—Liquidity, Leverage, Alpha vs. Beta
During COVID-19’s dips and surges, liquidity and agility created golden opportunities. LPs faced an increase in capital calls. We’re still learning the effects of coronavirus-related shutdowns on the health of outstanding funding, and allocators learned hard lessons regarding alpha vs beta. COVID-19 is changing the world forever, and with U.S. elections looming, it’s due to get even more interesting.
Moderator: Sam Masoudi, CIO, Wyoming Retirement System
Panelists:
Brandon Gill, Senior Portfolio Manager, Capital Markets Group, External Public Investments and Credit, OPTrust
James H. Grossman, Jr., CPA, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Public School Employees’ Retirement System
Clint Coghill, CEO, Backstop Solutions Group

Refreshment Break

Managing Institutional Portfolios in 2020 – The Importance of ETFs
COVID-19 market volatility has spurred an unprecedented amount of first time institutional ETF users and innovative use cases for indexed products more broadly. Hear from industry experts and practitioners first hand on how they have used ETFs & indexed products to manage liquidity and tactical rebalancing, for income diversification in a challenged rate environment and to implement views with precision in a post COVID fragmented economy.
Moderator: Christopher J. Ailman, Chief Investment Officer, CalSTRS
Panelists:
Del Stafford, CFA, Head of iShares Portfolio Consulting, BlackRock
Stephen Laipply, Managing Director, U.S. Head of iShares Fixed Income ETFs, BlackRock
Marina Mets, Head of Americas, Fixed Income & Multi Asset Product  Management, FTSE Russell

Sponsored by iShares and FTSE Russell

Lunch

Value in Extremis
Today’s definition of Value and whether the long-held central tenet, Book Value, is outdated.
The polarization of valuations to levels not seen since the dotcom era.
The detachment of the growth premium from earnings reality.
Moderator: David Holmgren, Chief Investment Officer, Hartford HealthCare
Panelists: 
Barry Glavin, Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, State Street Global Advisors
Gary Draghi, Chief Investment Officer, City of Hartford MERF
Molly Murphy, Chief Investment Officer, Orange County Employees Retirement System

Sponsor by State Street Global Advisors

Opening Remarks and ESG Debate—Shareholder Engagement vs. Divestment
Shareholder engagement  can influence a corporation’s behavior by voicing concerns as partial owners. Divestment can hedge a portfolio with a goal to avoid risks of the future and to effectively enhance a mission. What’s more effective? Audience members will be polled at the beginning and end of this active debate.
Moderator: Christine Giordano, Managing Editor, Chief Investment Officer
Panelists:
Mark Fawcett, Chief Investment Officer, Nest Corp.
Christopher J. Ailman, Chief Investment Officer, CalSTRS

Refreshment Break

Don’t Bet on a V-shape—Looking to Alternatives for Opportunities
Are there investment opportunities across the hedge fund landscape as we emerge from the Covid-19 shutdown. How are institutional investors thinking about diversifying exposures? Should we still consider tail hedges or other risk mitigating strategies?
Moderator: Walter Kress, Chief Investment Officer, E&Y 
Speaker: 
Darren Wolf, Global Head of Investments, Alternative Investment Strategies, Aberdeen Standard Investments

Sponsored by Aberdeen Standard Investments

Lunch

Headhunters Speak
Following a dramatic year, insiders say there may be a 10% turnover in CIO posts by January. What is driving hiring, firing, and retiring? This panel, featuring some of the top CIO recruiters in the industry, will share the top traits headhunters are seeking in public and private plans, foundations, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices and discuss what CIOs need to know in order to stay ahead of the curve. With Q&A from the audience.
Moderator: Tony Waskiewicz, Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Investment Office Resources, LLC
Panelists:
Renee Neri, Head of Asset Management, Americas, Heidrick & Struggles
David Barrett, Founder, David Barrett Partners
Deb Brown, Managing Director, Asset and Wealth Management Recruiting Practice, Russell Reynolds Associates

Opening Remarks and Bull vs. Bear—Why Have Emerging Markets Underperformed in the Past 10 Years?  
The MSCI EM index rose about 18% in 2019 and was off about 5% by mid-July 2020, behind the S&P 500. Yet investors might revisit the asset class upon seeing strength in developing world equities. What is presenting a buying opportunity? What does the future hold for this high-growth category? Should portfolios be re-assessed for US vs. China allocations?Moderator: Chris Tauber, Partner, Mercer Investment Consulting
Panelists:
David Holmgren, Chief investment officer, Hartford HealthCare
Sanjay Chawla, Senior Vice President, Investments and Chief Investment Officer, FM Global

Refreshment Break

Global Market Views: Perspectives, Challenges and Opportunities
Our investment experts share thoughtful and timely global economic macro, and secular event research, highlighting the path forward for economies and markets alike. Their views will provide actionable insights and perspectives on portfolio positioning for institutional investors as we head into 2021.
Moderator: Christine Giordano, Managing Editor, Chief Investment Officer 
Speaker: 
Todd Jablonski, Chief Investment Officer, Principal Global Asset Allocation
Seema Shah, Chief Strategist , Principal Global Investors

Sponsored by Principal Global Investors

Lunch

Models for Strategic Investment Partnerships, Including Co-investments
Are these alliances worth the money? How transparent are the fees? Seldom do LPs have a say in selecting or structuring a deal. Is that a problem? What are best practices for vetting strategic investments and co-investments? How does one test new partnerships in 2020? This panel will feature success stories on mutually beneficial relationships with top investors and allocators.
Moderator: Sylvia Owens, Managing Director, Global Private Credit and Real Assets Strategist, Aksia 
Panelists:
Robin Diamonte, Corporate Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Raytheon Technologies
Marcus Frampton, CIO of APFC
Anne-Marie Fink, Managing Director, Private Markets Funds Alpha, State of Wisconsin Investment Board

Opening Remarks and Restructuring a Fund
What are key elements to creating a successful restructuring? Where does a CIO start? With three leading CIOs, this not-to-miss panel will discuss establishing goals and responsibilities, recruiting, matching skills to needs, lessons learned, managing change and the impact of Covid-19.
Moderator: Cliff Moore, Portfolio Manager and Chief Investment Officer – Defined Benefits, Michelin, North America
Panelists:
Brian Pellegrino, CIO, Georgia Tech Foundation
Douglas J. Brown, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Exelon Corporation

Refreshment Break

Increasing Diversity among Asset Allocators and Managers
Statics show that more diverse teams outperform. They can infuse portfolios with new perspectives, provide wider coverage of the marketplace, look around corners, find new opportunities, and prepare investments for a better future. What does it take to build a diverse team? What can the industry do to increase the diversity pipeline? What’s the key to choosing diverse managers who outperform? This panel will include peer-to-peer success stories on what has worked.
Moderator: Joel R. Wittenberg, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Panelists:
Charmel Maynard, Associate Vice President, Chief Investment Officer & University Treasurer, University of Miami
Juan Martinez, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer, John S. & James L. Knight Foundation
Kelli P. Washington, Managing Director, Cleveland Clinic Investment Office

Lunch

The Intersection of Finance and Health Care
It’s almost impossible to speculate about the science and trajectory of cures for our pandemic. Until that is known, finance is reacting to the patient, and the Federal Reserve is propping up the economy, which is not a long-term solution. Gene therapy, biosimilars, the emergence of new technology, and hundreds of thousands of researchers are reliant on venture capitalists, who are now seeing an unpredictable future and are treading more carefully. This conversation will  explore our new reality, from healthcare and R&D, to the role institutional investors can play.
Moderator: Nolan Bean, Head of Institutional Investments, FEG Investment Advisors
Presenter:
Kush M Parmar, M.D., Ph.D., Managing Partner, 5AM Ventures