Michael Ashmore

Michael Ashmore is CEO of Rondeivu, a fintech platform reimagining how institutional investors source, diligence, transact and monitor investments across private markets. Michael is also chair of the finance and investment committee at the University of Waterloo, leading the committee overseeing C$800 million in endowment assets since 2022.

Michael was previously director of the external managers program at OMERS, the C$134 billion Canadian pension plan. While at OMERS, Michael was selected as a member of the OMERS Future Leaders program. Prior to OMERS, Michael was a vice president at the Carlyle Group – DGAM, and from 2010 to 2012, Michael was an investment analyst at PGGM, the 240-billion-euro Dutch pension plan.

CIO: What do you think will be the biggest innovation in the institutional asset allocation industry in the next 10 years?

ASHMORE: I expect three primary innovations to change the industry meaningfully in the next decade, namely:

1. The continued expansion of total portfolio approach in concert with increasingly sophisticated liquidity monitoring for manager and deal selection across asset classes;
2. The tokenization of financial asset transactions, especially in private market assets, to drive significant cost savings and the ability for more efficient and liquid secondary markets; and
3. Comprehensive cloud-based technology that, when combined with more data and artificial intelligence, unshackles the investment processes from three plus decades of dependency on Microsoft Office.

CIO: What actionable thing have you learned over the course of your career that has proven itself this year?

ASHMORE: “Beware the investment activity that produces applause; the great moves are usually greeted by yawns.” – Warren Buffett. I have this quote on a Post-It note beside my computer because it’s a fantastic reminder to avoid chasing hype and applies in all markets. In 2025, with the prevailing macro environment likely punctuated by higher levels of uncertainty and volatility, now is a good time to find the “boring” stable cash flow profile investments with a focus on being more senior in the cap stack, especially in asset-backed floating rate private credit in inflation-linked underlying assets.

CIO: What asset classes (specific securities or sectors) look good to you now? Why?

ASHMORE: The three most exciting areas I’m actively evaluating opportunities in are:

1. New economy infrastructure, specifically in sectors such as power for data centers and innovation around smart cities—this is massively scalable global investment opportunity, which, in an era of deglobalization, will likely be funded by public-private partnerships;
2. Asset-backed private credit, given expectations for higher-for-longer interest rates, second-spike inflation risks and strong collateral profile—this is the best risk-adjusted return opportunity today with attractive DPI/duration profile; and
3. Sports private equity and credit, with amateur and collegiate sports being the most attractive opportunity—the NCAA generates $1.4 billion of direct revenue annually, with a much broader investible market footprint. An example is IMG Academy in Florida, which sold in 2023 to BPEA EQT [now EQT Private Capital Asia) for $1.25 billion on $700 million of revenues.