The Allocators Playbook

Markets Group
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The Allocators’ Playbook by Markets Group is a podcast for asset allocators navigating asset allocation, manager selection and the next market cycle. Please visit us online at www.marketsgroup.org

  1. 28 Oct

    Two Stints as Interim CIO: Howard Hodel on Risk, Rebalancing and Reassuring the Board

    Howard Hodel spent nearly a decade at the Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii, rising to deputy CIO and chief risk officer. Twice, in 2018 and again in 2022, the fund turned to him as interim CIO when the top job came open. In this episode of the Allocators Playbook, he explains how the two stretches differed: the first, a period of friction and uncertainty between the CIO, executive director and board, and the second, a smooth handover after Elizabeth Burton’s departure, when he ran consultant and custodian searches. Hodel also talks about how the fund’s portfolio was built to stay on its path to full funding, with roughly two-thirds in growth assets and a highly liquid diversifying strategies sleeve that allowed daily rebalancing in the 2018 selloff, the COVID crash and the 2022 downturn. He shares what worked (systematic global macro, early moves into private credit and illiquid diversifiers) and what didn’t (alternative risk premia), and describes the debate-driven but collegial investment committee culture under Burton. 00:00 – Introduction to Howard Hodel 01:23 – Leading Hawaii's Pension Fund Through CIO Transitions 05:15 – Managing Change as Interim CIO 08:23 – Investment Processes and Leadership Decisions 09:32 – Communicating with Trustees During Market Volatility 10:58 – Building a Resilient Pension Portfolio 13:37 – Investment Decisions and Risk Management 16:26 – Lessons from Underperforming Strategies 19:15 – Investment Team Culture and Decision-Making 21:24 – Closing the Skills Gap for Institutional Allocators 23:25 – Questions Every CIO Should Be Asking Today 25:14 – Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks #MarketsGroupPodcast

    Two Stints as Interim CIO: Howard Hodel on Risk, Rebalancing and Reassuring the Board

  2. 14 Oct

    Stefan Beiner on Repo, Resilience, and Why Governance Beats Prediction in Pension Investing

    Former Publica CIO Stefan Beiner joins host Muskan to unpack repo as a liquidity tool, why geopolitical risk sharpens diversification questions rather than driving big allocation shifts, and the governance discipline behind long-term pension investing.00:00 – Intro00:24 – Introduction to Stefan Beiner00:47 – Building on PUBLICA’s Investment Strategy02:52 – Expanding into Private Markets05:27 – Managing Geopolitical Risk07:47 – How Repo Transactions Work09:52 – Introducing Repo for Pension Funds10:41 – Defense Investing & Exclusion Policies12:50 – Currency Risk & Regional Diversification15:53 – Swiss Pension Reform & Asset Allocation17:59 – What Stefan Would Do Differently as CIO20:04 – Closing Thoughts#MarketsGroupPodcast

    Stefan Beiner on Repo, Resilience, and Why Governance Beats Prediction in Pension Investing

  3. 30 Sept

    Inside PMRS’ Playbook: Owning Debt, Skipping Equity and Building AI Fluency

    Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System CEO and CIO Tim Reese discusses the investment philosophy behind the pension system's evolving portfolio, including his approach to emerging managers, why he favors lower- and middle-market private credit over private equity, how a total fund view has reshaped the system's fixed income portfolio and why PMRS is building AI fluency from the top down before deploying the technology across its investment operations.00:12 Introducing Tim Reese and PMRS01:09 Investment culture and supporting emerging managers05:02 How experience shapes manager selection and governance09:34 A total fund view versus a TPA approach11:52 Rethinking the 60/40 portfolio after 202213:59 Market concentration and signals to watch16:04 Private equity, private credit and infrastructure20:24 Measuring risk across the whole portfolio22:39 Volatility, AI and diversification27:14 How institutional portfolios may change29:09 Bringing AI into the investment office34:37 Leadership and institutional memory36:06 The book that shaped Tim’s investment thinking#MarketsGroupPodcast

    Inside PMRS’ Playbook: Owning Debt, Skipping Equity and Building AI Fluency

  4. 16 Sept

    West Virginia CIO Craig Slaughter: Four decades, $4.8 billion in outperformance and one rule — don’t get whipsawed by politics

    After nearly four decades overseeing investments for the West Virginia Investment Management Board, Craig Slaughter has learned that staying independent means avoiding being “whipsawed by politics.” The longtime CEO and CIO discusses why public funds stumble when governance breaks down, how history helps investors keep their cool in turbulent markets and why he prefers to hire people smarter than himself — an approach that has helped the fund generate $4.8 billion more than the median public pension fund over 25 years. 00:00 - Intro 00:12 - Introduction to Craig Slaughter and His Achievements 01:24 - Proud Moments and Organizational Integrity 03:23 - The Influence of History on Investment Philosophy 05:35 - Navigating Market Challenges with Historical Insight 06:57 - Maintaining Investment Philosophy in Emotional Markets 08:15 - Concerns About the Economy and Political Landscape 10:47 - Divesting from China: Strategy and Implications 15:27 - Future Investment Opportunities and Strategies 17:48 - Reflections on Market Changes 21:03 - Building a Strong Organizational Culture 26:24 - Leadership Philosophy and Influences 30:37 - The Importance of Governance 33:55 - Maintaining Confidence in Volatile Markets 37:06 - Common Mistakes in Institutional Investing

    West Virginia CIO Craig Slaughter: Four decades, $4.8 billion in outperformance and one rule — don’t get whipsawed by politics

  5. 2 Sept

    MPK's CIO on Buying Gold, Dumping Tech and Waiting for Real Estate to Bottom

    Migros Pension Plan CIO Stephan Bereuter joins Allocators Playbook to break down how the CHF 30bn Swiss fund turned a 2023 insurance-linked securities trade into one of its best contrarian bets — bought when everyone else was selling — and why he's not chasing the next "ILS moment." He also talks through where MPK is hunting for opportunities now: cooling conviction on data centers despite being early movers, a cautious re-entry into international real estate, and selective deals in student housing and logistics — plus why the fund just pushed gold to 3% as a liquidity hedge. 00:12 - Introduction to MPK and Stephan Bereuter 01:05 - The Benefits of In-House Management 03:34 - Tactical Allocation & ILS Opportunities 08:40 - Why ILS Remains Attractive 09:54 - Equity Allocation & Diversification 12:40 - Gold as a Liquidity Hedge 14:50 - International Real Estate Opportunities 16:34 - Data Centers & Market Dynamics 21:44 - Managing a Concentrated Swiss Real Estate Portfolio 23:41 - Defense Investments & Ethical Considerations 25:02 - Closing Thoughts

    MPK's CIO on Buying Gold, Dumping Tech and Waiting for Real Estate to Bottom

  6. 19 Aug

    Is this a bubble? CIO Matt Clark on investing for crashes, expensive markets & September volatility

    With September and October typically times of market volatility, this episode will give tips on preparing a strategic portfolio in time for defensive and opportunistic investments. State Investment Officer Matt Clark, a self-described contrarian, is storing cash and waiting to invest at the bottom of the market. According to his team’s research, only a few times in history have markets been this expensive, and those times were right before a crash. Learn how he navigates the pain of pulling out early in order to wait for the perfect opportunity. The $21.5 billion South Dakota Investment Council plan is now 100% funded, and he and his investment team navigate risk and reaps larger rewards by buying at the bottom of the markets to give his pensioners the best Cost of Living Adjustments that they can.

    Is this a bubble? CIO Matt Clark on investing for crashes, expensive markets & September volatility

  7. 5 Aug

    Why UBC Investment Management CEO Dawn Jia says portfolios need nutrients, not asset-class labels

    How should institutional investors think about portfolio construction in an era of market concentration? Dawn Jia, president and CEO of UBC Investment Management, joins The Allocators Playbook with an unusual answer: stop investing by the label. Just as a diet isn't really about meat, carbs and vegetables but about protein and vitamins, Jia argues portfolio construction should look past asset class labels to the economic exposures underneath — a lens that lets UBCIM spot a valuation gap between public REITs and private real assets and, she says, pocket a 30% return in twelve months. In conversation with Markets Group Deputy Editor Lauren Bailey, Jia explains why index concentration has become a structural ceiling on active management — beat a top-heavy benchmark and you'd have to be more concentrated than the benchmark itself — and where she's hunting for uncorrelated alpha as de-globalization regionalizes the opportunity set. She also details why UBCIM redesigned a quant manager's strategy around a climate-aware benchmark instead of dropping the manager over weak proxy voting, and why social risk is t

    Why UBC Investment Management CEO Dawn Jia says portfolios need nutrients, not asset-class labels

  8. 22 Jul

    Sampension CIO bets on RA, VC to hedge inflation era

    Henrik Olejasz Larsen, the chief investment officer at €47B Sampension is rebuilding the portfolio for a world where falling rates are no longer a given,

    Sampension CIO bets on RA, VC to hedge inflation era
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About

The Allocators’ Playbook by Markets Group is a podcast for asset allocators navigating asset allocation, manager selection and the next market cycle. Please visit us online at www.marketsgroup.org

Information

  • Creator
    Markets Group
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    64
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Markets Group
  • Show Website
    The Allocators Playbook

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