Capital Decanted John Bowman and Christie Hamilton

One of the key doctrines of modern investment management is diversification, and yet it is remarkably absent from team construction across all spectrums of the investment profession.  Countless studies have shown that there is a diversity premium for organizational performance, capital allocation and indeed, investment outcomes and yet we seem trapped in mid teen representation of women.  More concerningly, progress seems to have stagnated in recent years.  In this episode we lament the lack of impact but more importantly delicately attempt to unearth the root causes of this flattening of the curve, namely the pipeline, COVID, and the DEI movement.  Join us for this earnest and honest assessment of what works, what doesn’t, and how a more mature discourse is needed on this generationally important topic.



Guests:

Nicole Musicco, Former Chief Investment Officer of CalPERS and angel investor

Ron O’Hanley, Chairman and CEO, State Street 

Episode Sources

Private Credit has risen from obscurity within the private equity financing world to a greater than $2T asset class in just over a decade.  In this episode, we examine the conditions (M&A, debankification, regulation, staying private longer) that accelerated post the GFC that created a torrent of issuance and demand for private credit across direct lending, asset backed credit, structured credit, and innovative special situations.  And more importantly, we debate whether we’ve come a little too far, too fast, and if some rationalization and refining is needed before this exciting space continues its upward trajectory.

Guests:

Katie Koch, CEO, TCW

Kipp DeVeer, Partner and Head of Credit, Ares Management


Episode Sources

Permanent Capital or GP Stakes structures aim to take further advantage of long-dated patient capital in private markets. Furthermore, they allow the LP to participate in additional cash flow streams with the GP that are elusive in a traditional fund structure. In other words, it allows LPs to get exposure to a variety of alternative asset managers as minority owners in the GPs themselves. But does this provide a purer incentive alignment of investors and GPs or simply split allegiance and attention between multiple masters?  In this episode, with the help of the largest GP Stakes participant, Blue Owl, and a large LP in their fund, USAA, we examine the evolution of the approach, its idiosyncratic and multi-faceted return stream, and try to honestly assess some of the myths that haunt the space.



Guests:


Sean Ward, Senior Managing Director, GP Strategic Capital Platform, Blue Owl
Shawn Ury, CAIA, Executive Director and Head of Alts, USAA

Episode Sources

Since the arrival of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) in the early 1950’s by the legendary Harry Markowitz, the industry has been sturdily anchored to this philosophy and all of it’s artifacts when constructing portfolios. In recent years, however, an enterprising handful of large institutional asset owners have begun challenging the common wisdom of a strategic asset allocation approach given it tends to breed silo behavior, unhealthy competition for resources and attention, unrecognized duplication or disjointed risk exposure across the portfolio, and difficulty in managing the capital pool holistically around a view of the future. This is the story of how CAIA convened some of the most reputable and largest asset owners in the world to amplify the benefits of TPA and perhaps, the beginning of a new era.



Guests:


Ben Samild, Chief Investment Officer, Future Fund


Jayne Bok, CFA, CAIA, Head of Investments, Asia, Willis Towers Watson



Episode Sources

The Outsourced Chief Investment Officer—once a last resort option for sub-scale capital pools looking to avoid the hassle and cost of building their own investment office to today, a multi-trillion dollar subset of the asset management profession and arguably the hottest structural trend in the industry. Take a listen while we examine:


What insights and opportunities led to the creation of this segment of organizations and why has that exploded in the ensuing four decades? 
What defines a successful OCIO? And why has that trajectory and evolution seemingly reached an inflection point—hyperdrive really-- in the last five years that has redefined the space and encouraged newer, larger entrants?



Guests:


Mark Anson, CAIA, CFA;  CEO, President and CIO, Commonfund


Sarah Samuels, CAIA, CFA: Partner, NEPC



Episode Sources

After a four decade relative period of global stability, the world order has fractured and grown more unpredictable. The new multi-polar reality poses a major problem for leaders and investors as our traditional guardrails, narratives, and structures seem less useful. How should an investor integrate geopolitical trends into their investment thesis and what pitfalls and common mistakes should we watch out for?

Guests:

Anastasia Titarchuk, CIO, New York State Common Retirement Fund

Marko Papic, Partner, Clocktower Group