Institutional Connect West Forum 2024

June 17 - 19, 2024
Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Vancouver BC

The investment landscape has been reshaped by high inflation, geoeconomics and climate change. The developments of AI generate both opportunities and risks to institutional investors. This June, the Institutional Connect West Forum will gather institutional investors in western Canada for a series of discussions on the trends and how investors meet fiduciary responsibilities in the new investment regime.

Join us at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in downtown Vancouver, for forward-looking discussions and peer-to-peer networking.

Keynote Speaker

Dawn Jia

Dawn Jia

CFA

President & Chief Executive Officer

UBC Investment Management

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Advisory Board

Lauren Frosst

Lauren Frosst

CFA, MBA

Director, Investments

Calgary Foundation

View Bio
Brittany Jones

Brittany Jones

CAIA

Director, Investment Strategy

Government of Alberta | Department of Treasury Board and Finance

View Bio
Graham Sheppard

Graham Sheppard

CFA

Associate Director

UBC Investment Management

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Jacky Shen

Jacky Shen

CFA, MBA

Treasurer and Director of Investment

Simon Fraser University

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Jean David Tremblay Frenette 1

Jean David Tremblay-Frenette

M. Sc.

Chief Economist and Director, Investment Strategy Research

AIMCo

View Bio
Samir Ben Tekaya 1 1

Samir Ben Tekaya


Vice President & Head of Investment Risk

British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)

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Association Partner

CAIA

CAIA Association

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The Event Experience

Participate in peer-to-peer discussions addressing forward-looking topics facing institutional investors​

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Network with institutional investors and your peers through a series of breaks and roundtable exchange discussions

Hear from a vast array of industry experts through interactive discussions

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Extend connections at the off-site reception and dinner

Interact with speakers and make connections through use of an event app

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West Forum 2023 Event Highlight

Ways to Participate

Speak

Propose a speaker for a topic aligned with the conference theme

Attend

Complimentary passes available for qualified institutional investors

Sponsor

Limited sponsorship opportunities available for provider firms

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Dawn Jia

CFA

President & Chief Executive Officer

UBC Investment Management

As the President and CEO of UBC Investment Management Inc. (UBCIM), Dawn Jia is responsible for the overall investment activities and monitoring of the portfolios under UBCIM’s oversight. She also oversees UBCIM’s operations and provides strategic and operating objectives to the organization.

Prior to joining UBCIM, Dawn was a Senior Portfolio Manager at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). At CPPIB, Dawn and her team were responsible for ensuring that the total portfolio delivered on its overall mandate by rebalancing it to the desired systematic exposures. Before Dawn joined CPPIB in 2013, she was Vice President and Head of Active Equity for North America at State Street Global Advisors. She was also an equity portfolio manager at Barclays Global Investors and a quantitative strategist at CIBC World Markets.

Dawn is a Board Member of Vancouver Foundation and the Chair of its Investment Committee. She also serves on the Board of Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG). Previously, she served on the Investment Committee of the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA). Dawn is a founding member of the Advisory Board of Western University’s Master of Financial Economics Program.

Dawn received her MBA from the Ivey Business School and an MS in Engineering from Tianjin University in China. She is also a CFA charterholder.

About UBC Investment Management 

UBC Investment Management is a professional investment management company established in 2003 to provide comprehensive portfolio management and advisory services to The University of British Columbia (UBC). We are a wholly owned subsidiary UBC and in addition to other smaller funds within the UBC community, the primary funds we manage are: The UBC Endowment Fund, The UBC Staff Pension Plan and The UBC Working Capital Fund.

Lauren Frosst

CFA, MBA

Director, Investments

Calgary Foundation

Lauren Frosst is Director, Investments for Calgary Foundation. Lauren supports the Vice President, Chief Investment Officer with effective oversight of the Primary Endowment Portfolio and management of other financial assets. She conducts investment research, aids in asset allocation and risk management strategies, and supervises investment manager due diligence and monitoring processes. Lauren also developed the Calgary Foundation’s strategy for impact investing as well as processes for deal origination, underwriting, and monitoring of investments. Lauren has a BFA, Printmaking and MBA, Finance from the University of Calgary. She also studied international commerce at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Brittany Jones

CAIA

Director, Investment Strategy

Government of Alberta | Department of Treasury Board and Finance

Brittany Jones is Senior Manager of Portfolio Analytics and Research within the Capital Markets Branch of the Government of Alberta. Her branch is responsible for the oversight of more than $40 billion in investable assets, including Government specialty accounts, long-term disability management plans, defined benefit pensions, and endowments. Previously, she was a Trader on the debt and derivatives desk, where one of her main accomplishments was starting a U.S. Commercial Program and growing it to USD $6 billion. Prior to that, she worked in Client Management for a multi-client asset manager with roughly $130 billion in assets under management. Brittany has more than a decade of experience in institutional asset management and government financing. She is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and has a Bachelor of Business Administration, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.

Graham Sheppard

CFA

Associate Director

UBC Investment Management

Graham holds several key responsibilities at UBC Investment Management, chief among them being a primary relationship contact for our internal partners to ensure their priorities are well understood and being supported as well as leading our responsible investing priorities. Within the investment team, Graham oversees total portfolio asset allocation, including rebalancing and cash management activities, total portfolio strategy research and investment policy development, and leads oversight of public fixed income investments. Prior to joining UBC Investment Management, Graham was a Portfolio Manager within the Investments Division of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), managing the group’s macroeconomic, financial market, and fixed income research efforts for the company’s $20 billion insurance fund and $1.2 billion pension plan for management employees. Prior to joining ICBC, Graham was an Analyst at ERA Research, a boutique investment research firm specializing in equity and high yield investment opportunities in the global Forest Products sector. Graham is a CFA charterholder and a proud alumnus of the UBC Thunderbirds.

Jacky Shen

CFA, MBA

Treasurer and Director of Investment

Simon Fraser University

Jacky Shen is the Director of Treasury at Simon Fraser University, where he provides the treasury, investment and responsible investing leadership by supporting the university’s investment governance
duties, implementing investment decisions and responsible investing initiatives, as well as managing debt and operating cash flows.
Jacky has managed SFU’s endowment portfolio to consistently outperformed its benchmarks for all annualized period on a rolling 10-year basis, and to consistently ranked in the top decile for the ten-year
annualized return within the balanced manager universe, as well to consistently ranked among the top performing Canadian universities in the Canadian University Investment Survey. He also successfully
implemented the university’s investment decarbonization plan and guided the investment portfolios toward the university’s 2025 divestment commitment.
Jacky is a trustee of both SFU Academic Staff Pension Plan and SFU Administrative/Union Staff Pension Plan. He is also a Treasury and Investment Committee member of Canadian Association of University
Business Officers (CAUBO).
Jacky has accumulated more than 30 years of experience of investment management, corporate finance, credit analysis, marketing and product development for various organizations including
managerial roles in leading global firms such as HSBC and AIG. Jacky joined Simon Fraser University in 2007.
Jacky earned an MBA degree from University of Pittsburgh, a Master of Global Assets and Wealth Management from Simon Fraser University, and he is a CFA Charter holder. 

Jean David Tremblay-Frenette

M. Sc

Chief Economist and Director, Investment Strategy Research

AIMCo

Jean David joined AIMCo in December 2010 to lead the Global Tactical Asset Allocation investment activity. He has, since then, transitioned internally in a senior capacity to work on investment strategy research, asset allocation, quantitative research and macroeconomic analysis. He is currently Chief Economist and Director, Investment Strategy Research.

Prior experience includes macroeconomic analysis, tactical asset allocation and global macro portfolio management at Caisse dépôt et placement du Québec – CDPQ. He also worked in strategic investments for National Bank of Canada. Jean David began his career working in mergers and acquisitions at Credit Suisse in Toronto.

He holds an M.Sc. degree in finance from the Henley Business School – ICMA Centre at the University of Reading, United Kingdom and a BCom. – finance major, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada.

Samir Ben Tekaya

Vice President & Head of Investment Risk

British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)

Samir Ben Tekaya joined British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) in June 2016. As the Head of Investment Risk at BCI, Samir was instrumental in building the investment risk function from the ground up. He oversees the development of multiple frameworks to measure and manage BCI’s investment risks and to enable multiple investment initiatives.

Samir has more than 21 years of experience in investment risk management in both the banking and pension management industries. Prior to joining BCI, Samir was Director, Portfolio Valuations; and before that, Director, Fixed Income and Asset Allocation Risk Management at Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ). He also serves as a Director on the Board of Mount St. Mary Hospital in Victoria.

Samir holds a master’s degree in Financial Engineering, and a master’s degree in Applied Economics from HEC Montréal, as well as an engineering degree in Statistics from INSEA Morocco.

About CAIA Association

The CAIA Association, a global professional body, pioneers a new era in investment management. At the forefront of the shifting of alternative investment asset classes from ‘alternative’ to mainstream, CAIA embraces diverse expertise and interdisciplinary knowledge essential for responsible capital allocation and client stewardship. A Member-driven organization representing professionals in more than 100 countries, the organization seeks to prepare investors for a dynamic future, disrupting traditions, creating opportunities, and fostering long-term sustainability. To learn more about the CAIA Association and how to become part of a professional network that is shaping the future of investing, please visit https://caia.org/.

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