QUICK LINKS
ConsortiumEAST 2017 | Highlights
Thank you for joining us!
Education and Relationship Development
Balancing rich, engaging dialogue with opportunities for making new connections has long been what sets ConsortiumEAST apart. 2017 offered this-and more. New session formats, including a host of small group huddles, provided valuable exchanges.
Diversified Audience Mix
Energy and engagement were exceptional, driven in part by the audience mix. More than one-third of attendees were new to ConsortiumEAST. Our mix of allocators has never been greater, including a core group of Foundations, Endowments, Pension Plans, Family Offices, Fund of Funds, Manager of Managers and Consultants.
Rich Content + Interaction
Consortium went beyond traditional panel discussions and dove deep into the next generation and diverse manager issues that both managers and institutional investors are facing. In fact, it’s the diversity and mix in the room that drives the dialogue. By gathering teams with different perspectives, we’re able to dig in and examine issues differently, carefully analyze and challenge assumptions and refine current thinking. This is the defining difference of ConsortiumEAST.
As part of your input, we also gathered ideas for 2018:
* More one-on-one meetings-these continue to be one of the most highly valued components of the event
* More structured networking
* Huddles or small group conversations spark stronger engagement; increase these opportunities
AUDIENCE HIGHLIGHTS: By the Numbers
Our 14th annual gathering drew our broadest mix of managers and institutional investors to date. More than 300 participated in our general sessions and small group discussions, with more than 30% of participants and speakers new to ConsortiumEAST.
One-on-Ones.
More than 250 meetings were orchestrated during the 120-minute VIPConnect session-many first-time meetings with institutional investors and managers starting dialogues.
Day One Kickoff - Wednesday, June 14
ConsortiumEAST Master of Ceremonies: Ramsey Jay, Jr. – Ramsey Jay, Jr. and Associates, Inc.
FIRESIDE CHAT
DOING AWAY WITH GROUP THINK: Strategies to Improve D&I Practices and Reap Big Benefits
With Northern Trust Corp. serving as a case study, Dick Ingram, Executive Director of Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, and Micheal O’Grady, President of Northern Trust explored the core tenets and benefits a culture of inclusion brings. Michael O’Grady discussed his eight “Ps” as the framework for greater diversity and inclusion. It starts with Philosophy and People, plus Partners, Programs, Purchasing, Philanthropy, Performance and Percentage. Sharing insights into how a large asset management fund is navigating ahead proved to be the perfect springboard for the remaining discussions. Don’t just examine basic demographics / ownership when looking for diverse perspectives. Ownership is important, but so is the firm’s role in the community. It’s about the team, purchasing, and more. Diversity in all ways is a strong indicator of firms headed in the right direction.
Host: Dick Ingram, Executive Director – Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois
Special Guest: Michael O’Grady, President – Northern Trust Corporation
Mighty Moves
Bold Changes in the Alternative Investment Arena
Facilitated by Zoltan Kerekes of PIPV Capital,
Ellen Shuman, Edgehill Endowment Partners, opened our Might Moves session by dispelling long-held beliefs about the Yale Model. It’s not about putting your investments in alternatives-it’s about looking for missed pricing opportunities.
Robert Manilla, Kresge Foundation, shared how he hired generalists vs specialists to get a different view of world. How do each identify and evaluate new/alpha managers? They embrace new ideas, new managers-but first, they look for great people who will do the right thing when times are tough. Communicate your SPECIFIC edge. If you don’t know what it is-it’s likely you don’t have one (and need to hone one.)
Speakers:
Zoltan Kerekes, Managing Partner – PIPV Capital (moderator)
Ellen Shuman, Managing Director – Edgehill Endowment Partners
Robert J. Manilla, CIO – The Kresge Foundation
EVOLVED EM MODELS
New Frameworks for Investing with Next Generation and Diverse Managers
A candid look from the allocator mindset regarding what’s worked, what’s been (or being retooled), where investments are focused moving forward. Whether it’s from the ground up or a rework of an existing and entrenched model, hearing the range of approaches-and how to position programs in the eyes of trustees-proved beneficial.
Speakers:
James Mitchell, Jr., Managing Director – Rock Creek (moderator)
Michael Miller, Chief Investment Officer – Colonial Consulting, LLC
Douglas Brown, CIO – Exelon Corporation Pension Fund
Thomas Henley, Senior Managing Director – UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust
LP TRACK | Institutional Investor Intensive
ADVANCED MASTER CLASS: Strategy + Performance + Talent = Success
CIO/CEO REAL TALK: Keeping EM + Diverse Manager Initiatives Top of Mind as the World Changes
Robert Raben opened noting three types of constituents in a campaign. The YES camp. The HELL NO camp. The middle ground camp, which can be the most complicated and challenging to reach. These are valuable insights into DAMI’s efforts to drive engagement between LPs and diverse managers. The focus now is on those who are believers and naysayers. When you can get the non-believers believing, progress in the middle can happen. The recently issued seven step guide is designed for trustees to help more become advocates and allocators to women and underrepresented minority managers. More LP to LP advice from the field included the need to formalize your process. A plan is great-and needed. Goals are needed. But if you want to move forward, you need to work to formalize your process for investing with next generation and diverse managers through policy and governance.
(Speakers)
Runa Alam, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer – Development Partners International (moderator)
Alex Doñé, Deputy CIO, Private Markets – New York City Office of the Comptroller – Bureau of Asset Management
Dick Ingram, Executive Director – Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois
Robert Raben, President – The Raben Group
Diversity in Investment Managers – Is there any? Why not?
Juan F. Martinez, Treasurer, and Jon Sotsky, Director of Strategy and Assessment for the John and James Knight Foundation presented findings on Knight Foundation commissioned report analyzing MWBE firms in the U.S. asset management industry. A key take-away focused on real (none) and perceived risk. One of the challenges that continues is that the number of diverse managers remains small, so metrics and other performance related areas becomes challenging to quantify. Current data underscores that diverse manager performance is on par with established, large-scale funds. Given the parity, understanding and realizing other benefits of working with smaller teams, new funds, diverse managers is key-including the ability to make decisions faster, a different lens and approach to analyzing opportunities, different deal sourcing and more.
How Does Your EM Performance Stack Up?
Sharmila Chatterjee Kassam, Deputy CIO for the Employees Retirement System of Texas led an interactive dialogue on the importance of emerging and diverse manager reporting, performance sharing, and manager due diligence collaboration. Never heard before peer-to-peer performance information was shared highlighting out performance successes of many emerging manager initiatives.
SHOW ME THE TALENT
Manager Collaborations and Club Deal Concepts
In small huddles, LP and consultants exchanged notes on high conviction next generation and diverse managers per asset class. Which managers are they funding and why? How can they better collaborate to help their managers more successful raise capital? How can information best be shared with the LP community? Jason Lamin of Lenox Park Solutions provided technology based ideas on effective LP collaborations.
Round Table Facilitators:
HEDGE FUND MANAGERS
Patrick Adelsbach, Head of Credit Strategies – Aksia, LLC
Kirk Sims, Investment Officer, Public Pension – Teachers Retirement System of Illinois
PRIVATE EQUITY | VENTURE | PRIVATE CREDIT MANAGERS
Andrew Palmer, Chief Investment Officer – Maryland State Retirement and Pension System
Dana Johns, Senior Portfolio Manager- Maryland State Retirement and Pension System
Kristin R. Finney-Cooke, CAIA, Senior Consultant – NEPC, LLC
PUBLIC EQUITY | FIXED INCOME
Lauren Mathias, Senior Vice President – Callan Associates
Cherrise Cederqvist, Vice President – Prudential Investments
REAL ESTATE MANAGERS
Peter Braffman, Managing Director – GCM Grosvenor
Rosa Vasquez, Investment Officer, Emerging Manager Program – Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund
FUND OF FUNDS | MANAGER OF MANAGERS
Sylvia Bell, Director of Emerging Manager – Teacher Retirement System of Texas
GP Track – NEXT GENERATION AND ALPHA MANAGER INTENSIVE
ADVANCED MASTER CLASS – New Rules of the Game
This year’s GP Track was a roll up your sleeves style-all designed to impart practical, actionable advice on the new and next gen managers in the room.
THE NAKED TRUTH – The Importance of Clear and Transparent LP and Consultant Feedback
Candor is critical-on both sides of the table. While no allocator enjoys bad news, what they fear even more are surprises. Open dialogue is the foundation for long and sustaining relationships, LP to consultant, consultant to GP and GP to allocator. In fact, it’s often the conversations in downtimes that strengthen the relationship.
David Dickson, Chief Financial Officer – Cortland Partners (moderator)
Elizabeth M. Hewitt, Chief Investment Officer and Senior Vice President – Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Angela Matheny, Head of Diverse Manager Equity – Colonial Consulting
Natalie Jenkins Sorrell, Deputy CIO – Dallas Employees Retirement Fund
Philip Alphonse, Partner – The Vistria Group
BOOTCAMP COACHING SESSIONS
Small group huddles proved beneficial on the GP side. These coaching sessions allow GPs to glean timely info and best practices for addressing real-world issues. With the range of topics and open group sharing of key takeaways, managers walked away recharged and focused.
Are you a Master Sushi chef? A Discussion on Excellence, Process, and Differentiation
Rendel Solomon, Principal – Muller & Monroe Asset Management, LLC
Avoiding the Consultant Red Flag
Angela Matheny, Head of Diverse Manager Equity – Colonial Consulting
Creating an Effective Marketing Strategy
Maura Reilly Kennedy, Principal – Neuberger Berman Private Equity
Successful Presentations: Emphasizing Positives and Avoiding Pitfalls
Deborah Christie, Managing Director – Cambridge Associates
Predecessor Investment Track Records and Portability – Know when the Numbers Count
Tracy Harris, Managing Director – StepStone
Pros and Cons of Programmatic JV Structures
Maria Stamolis, Co-Head of Real Estate Investments & Director of Asset Management – Canyon Partners Real Estate LLC
Edson Edwards, Actuary, Senior Investment Associate – Federal Reserve Office of Employee Benefits
Tackling the F & E Landscape
Alex Christine Douglas, Senior Investment Analyst – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The 1st and 2nd Fund Conundrum – What it Takes to Break Through
Meredith Jones, Partner – Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting
Transition Programs – How Do Managers Get In?
Diego Carrillo, Investment Manager – California Public Employees’ Retirement System
Working with a Fund of Funds Partner – Passing Muster
Margret Duvall, Senior Vice President – Northern Trust
Operational Due Diligence – Putting Your Best Foot Forward
Medina Jett, President – Integrated Compliance Solutions Group
Optimizing LP/ GP Alignment for Long-Term Partnership
Christopher Farrington, Managing Director – Pavilion Alternatives Group
Day 2 - Thursday, June 15th
GENERAL SESSION
Leading Women LPs Discuss Market Trends, Portfolio Strategies + Opportunities Ahead
We’re more alike than different was the opening premise. Sharing best practices and approaches for weathering market volatility via opportunistic and diversified strategies is key. The ultimate goal: Deep, long-term relationships. Advice to managers: Specialize. Find clear compelling ways to articulate your point of difference. That requires managers to think deeply not only about their own strategies, team and approaches but also others in their space. Don’t meet in a vacuum-understand who else the allocators are meeting with and considering within your space.
Dive into an active transaction as part of your pitch-don’t always rely on the past pipeline. Exploring active deals-how they were sourced, analyzed and structured. It’s daring and few managers will do it, but its one of the best ways to showcase your difference and your thinking.
Speakers:
Patricia Miller Zollar, Managing Director – Neuberger Berman (moderator)
Sharmila Chatterjee Kassam – Deputy Chief Investment Officer – Employees Retirement System of Texas
Patricia Gerrick, CIO – Progress Investment Management Company
Sophia Tsai – Managing Director, Co-Head of Hedge Funds – State Street Global Advisors
Sylvia Bell, Chief Operating Officer – Teacher Retirement System of Texas
REAL TALK | Where LPs are Investing Now + 12-months Out
In discussions, it’s often our disagreements where we can learn the most. Laureen Costa of JPMorgan Asset Management navigated the issue of leverage – and more — with three top allocators. Each shared differing viewpoints and insights into how their funds navigate the terrain. The bottom line: It’s complicated and worthy of a candid dialogue, both peer to peer and LP to GP.
Speakers:
Laureen Costa, Portfolio Manager – JPMorgan Asset Management (moderator)
Clark Cheng, CIO – Merrimac Family Office
Sean Crawford, Chief Investment Officer – Metropolitan Transportation Authority
William Lee, CIO – New York-Presbyterian Hospital
REAL TALK | Adopting a Product-Driven Mindset: What GPs Need to Know to Thrive
Just like other businesses, there are one-hit wonders in asset management. Finding ways to ensure sustainable, multi-fund success will be our Real Talk focus. Some teams adopt a product development focus right from the start, to the envy of many. It’s the teams that demonstrate a rare appreciation of how to forge a point of difference among LPs by continually developing, launching and managing offerings that meet real market needs. What are proven ways for GPs to stay ahead of new market trends (like the sudden rise of passive funds) and deliver a suite of choices that allocators find enticing.
Speakers:
Victor Hymes, CEO & CIO – Legato Capital Management (moderator)
Degas Wright, CEO & CIO – Decatur Capital Management Inc.
Donna Sims Wilson, President – Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors
POWER NETWORKING LUNCH
Always an honor-and a highlight-to welcome the Honorable Scott M. Stringer, New York City Comptroller back to the stage. It’s clear, his team’s commitment to diverse managers starts at the top. He views the focus as a fiduciary mandate-and delivers on that.
LP LED ACTIVE LEARNING SESSION
When the crowd drives the conversation, the result is a rich array of solutions to key challenges. We grouped the challenges into four core areas-LP Landscape/Manager Consolidation; Allocations: Too Small to Fail; Risk Management: Perception + Reality; and GP Governance: Operations, Fees and More. Team huddles and discussions generated a range of discussions-evidence that when individuals with differing points of view gather, the solutions identified are robust. The RG + Associates team looks forward to sharing the core themes and proposed solutions as the year unfolds.
Active Learning Session Facilitators:
Lead Facilitator: Ramsey Jay – Ramsey Jay, Jr. and Associates, Inc.
Matt Mullarkey, Head of Advisory, Americas – Aksia, LLC
Jacob Walthour, Jr., Chief Executive Officer – Blueprint Capital Advisors LLC
Kelli Washington, Managing Director of Research & Investment Strategy – Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Angela Matheny, Head of Diverse Manager Equity – Colonial Consulting
Caroline Greer, Managing Director – CommonFund
Eric Golberg, Trustee – ELCA Endowment Fund
Michele Chow-Tai, Director, Head of Business Development – Fairview Capital
Craig Fowler, Managing Director – HarbourVest Horizon
Marquette Chester, Managing Director – Invesco Private Capital
Frederick Nolde, Director of Public Investments – Investure, LLC
Warren Stein, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Analyst – Lazard Asset Management
Dana Johns, Senior Portfolio Manager – Maryland State Retirement and Pension System
Mary Mustard, Principal – Meketa Consulting
Jessica Hart, Retirement Practice Lead, Multi Manager Solutions – Northern Trust Corporation
Jose Guzman, Investment Officer – Private Equity, Bureau of Asset Management – Office of New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer
Bryan Lewis, CIO – Pennsylvania State Employees
Cherrise Cederqvist, Vice President – Prudential Investments
Lisa Hinds-Salmon, Investment Committee Chair – The Riverside Church
Sylvia Bell, Chief Operating Officer – Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Ishika Bansal, Vice President – Townsend Group
Thomas Henley, Senior Managing Director – UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust
Andrew Junkin, President – Wilshire Consulting
ASSET CLASS WORKSHOPS – LET’S TALK STRATEGY AND OPPORTUNITY
A new ‘news talk-show’ format provided a platform for allocators and managers to exchange ideas, and for participants to listen in. By focusing on asset class-specific issues—from time horizons and fees to appetites for first time funds and changing strategies—we were able to cover more territory than ever before.
PRIVATE EQUITY | VENTURE CAPITAL
Host: Ronald Schmitz, CIO – Virginia Retirement System
Co-Host: Edson Edwards, Actuary, Senior Investment Associate – Federal Reserve Office of Employee Benefits
Co-Host: Rendel Solomon, Principal – Muller & Monroe Asset Management, LLC
Strategy Experts:
Behdad Eghbali, Managing Partner – Clearlake Capital Group
Melvin D. Lindsey, Managing Partner & CEO – Nile Capital Group LLC
Lisa Gray, Co-Founder and Managing Partner – PIPV Capital
HEDGE FUND | OPPORTUNISTIC
Host: Von Hughes, Managing Director – PAAMCO
Co-Host: Tarik Dalton, Director of Multi-Strategy, North Carolina State Treasurer
Co-Host: Nav Patel, Senior Investment Officer – NYS Common Retirement Fund
Strategy Experts:
DeWayne Louis, Founding Partner, Investor Relations – ARP Investments
Paul Singh, Managing Partner, Portfolio Manager – Fort Warren Capital
Ajai Thomas, Head of Investor Relations – Hollis Park Partners
REAL ESTATE | REAL ASSETS
Host: Gina Chambers, Principal – Artemis Real Estate Partners
Co-Host: Yvonne Nelson, Head of Real Estate – New York City Office of the Comptroller
Co-Host: Ishika Bansal, Vice President – Townsend Group
Strategy Experts:
Tammy K. Jones, President – Basis Investment Group
Ned Stiker, Senior Managing Director-Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets – Cortland Partners
Govan D. White, Managing Partner and Co-Founder – Covenant Capital Group
Nate Paul, President & CEO – World Class Capital Group
GLOBAL EQUITY | FIXED INCOME
Host: Bryan Lewis, CIO – Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System
Co-Host: Bryan Fujita, Chief Operating Officer – Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System
Co-Host: Andrew Palmer, CIO – Maryland State Retirement and Pension System
Strategy Experts:
David Hulme, Managing Director – Advent Capital Management
Mark Lin, Senior Partner and CIO – Applied Research Investments
Gary Rozier, Senior Vice President – Ariel Investments
Silas A. Myers, CFO, co-Founder – Mar Vista Investment Partners
About RG + Associates
Since its launch in 2001, RG + Associates has been in the forefront of helping high-level institutional investors, federal, state and local government agencies, corporations, and non-profits with effective strategies and tools attract and diversify their business partners through client and signature educational meetings and events and consulting services.
www.rgassociates.org