CFA Society San Francisco Podcast CFA Society San Francisco

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Heidi Ridley, CFA, Co-Founder and CEO of Radiant Global Investors, on ESG 3.0 and its application to small cap investing. Radiant is a female-owned, independent asset management firm focused on active equity strategies and thematic listed-impact investment solutions for institutional and wealth management clients.

Prior to establishing Radiant, Heidi spent 18 years at AXA Investment Managers, rising to Global Chief Executive of Rosenberg Equities, and serving on the AXA Rosenberg Group and AXA IM Management Boards. Under her direction, Rosenberg Equities substantially added to its reputation by becoming the first ESG-integrated quantitative equity investor to be focused on the intersection of ESG insights and advanced factor solutions.

She is a member of the Advisory Council for the Center for Equity Gender and Leadership at the UC Berkeley HAAS School of Business, an Advisory Board member for DiversityQ, and a member of the Stewardship Council for the ACT Standard of Corporate Culture created by City Hive UK. Heidi is a champion of ESG investing and a two-time finalist for Woman of the Year in asset management.

Listen to the full interview, where Heidi discusses ESG 3.0 and the next evolution in investing.





This podcast is produced by CFA Society San Francisco, a not-for-profit professional association, providing professional learning and career resources to over 13,000 investment industry professionals worldwide. To learn more about CFA Society San Francisco, visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn.

The information contained in this podcast does not constitute financial or investment advice. Please consult your own financial advisor for information concerning your specific situation.

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Pooja Malik, CFA, Founding Partner and Managing Member at Nipun Capital. Nipun Capital is a specialized asset management firm that focuses on alpha extraction from Asia and emerging markets.

Pooja founded Nipun based on the outlook that Asia ex-Japan equity markets would double in size from 2010 to 2030 as a portion of global market cap. She is a strong advocate for sustainability and impact investing which she integrates into Nipun’s investment process with the goal of outperforming benchmarks and delivering above average market returns. She has over 20 years of asset management experience, with a focus on portfolio management and research.

Prior to Nipun, Pooja was a Managing Director at Barclays Global Investors (BGI)/BlackRock in the Active/Scientific Equities group, where she led teams that managed various long-only and long-short portfolios in excess of $100 billion for institutional investors. Pooja graduated from Delhi University and received an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and has earned the CFA Institute Certificate in ESG Investing.

Listen to the full interview, where Pooja discusses emerging markets.



This podcast is produced by CFA Society San Francisco, a not-for-profit professional association, providing professional learning and career resources to over 13,000 investment industry professionals worldwide. To learn more about CFA Society San Francisco, visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn.

The information contained in this podcast does not constitute financial or investment advice. Please consult your own financial advisor for information concerning your specific situation.

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Julian Vogel, Assistant Professor of Finance at San Jose State University.

Dr. Vogel earned his PhD in Business Administration, Finance from The University of Texas at El Paso, and has lived, studied, and worked in several countries and regions across Europe and the United States. In his research and teaching, he focuses on corporate finance - especially capital structure - corporate payout policy, diversity, and corporate governance, as well as investments, and capital markets and institutions.

Listen to the full interview, where Julian discusses new trends in financial research.




This podcast is produced by CFA Society San Francisco, a not-for-profit professional association, providing professional learning and career resources to over 13,000 investment industry professionals worldwide. To learn more about CFA Society San Francisco, visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn.

The information contained in this podcast does not constitute financial or investment advice. Please consult your own financial advisor for information concerning your specific situation.

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Nadia Patel, CFA, Executive Director at Pacific Alliance Group (PAG). PAG is an Asian investment firm that manages multiple asset classes, including private equity, private debt, real estate and hedge funds.

Prior to joining PAG, Nadia served as director and head of west coast distribution for BlackRock’s Financial Institutions Group, where she was responsible for overseeing the firm’s investment management relationships and activities with insurers. She serves as the Chair of Finance on the board for Pivotal, a Silicon Valley non-profit that supports foster youth to realize their educational and career goals and ensure their equitable access to opportunity.

Listen to the full interview, where Nadia discusses trends impacting insurance investment portfolios. 



This podcast is produced by CFA Society San Francisco, a not-for-profit professional association, providing professional learning and career resources to over 13,000 investment industry professionals worldwide. To learn more about CFA Society San Francisco, visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn.

The information contained in this podcast does not constitute financial or investment advice. Please consult your own financial advisor for information concerning your specific situation.

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Don Hejna, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Sr. Principal Data Scientist at Accenture and Managing Director at Stantum LLC. He specializes in quantitative finance, big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and portfolio optimization. 

He is an active member of CFA Society San Francisco and serves as co-chair on the Member Programming Advisory Council (MPAC).

Listen to the full interview, where Don discusses all things generative AI including large language models such as chatGPT and the impact of AI on careers.



This podcast is produced by CFA Society San Francisco, a not-for-profit professional association, providing professional learning and career resources to over 13,000 investment industry professionals worldwide. To learn more about CFA Society San Francisco, visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn.

The information contained in this podcast does not constitute financial or investment advice. Please consult your own financial advisor for information concerning your specific situation.

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Michael Firestone, CFA, Founder and Managing Partner at Fire Capital Management ("FCM"). FCM is a boutique investment management firm that provides High Net Worth private wealth management, Ultra High Net Worth multi-family office advisory, and private foundation investment & impact OCIO services.

In addition to his leadership and management responsibilities, Michael serves as lead Client Advisor, Portfolio Manager, and Investment Strategist. Prior to founding FCM, he served as Portfolio Manager and Managing Director at Fiduciary Trust International, a HNW wealth management and trust company. 
Listen to the full interview, where Michael discusses entrepreneurship and starting his own investment management firm.




This podcast is produced by CFA Society San Francisco, a not-for-profit professional association, providing professional learning and career resources to over 13,000 investment industry professionals worldwide. To learn more about CFA Society San Francisco, visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn.

The information contained in this podcast does not constitute financial or investment advice. Please consult your own financial advisor for information concerning your specific situation.