Speaker Spotlight

Kevin Zhu

Managing Director,
Head of Portfolio Construction Group
OPTrust

Kevin Zhu
Managing Director,
Head of Portfolio Construction Group
OPTrust

Kevin Zhu is Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Construction Group at OPTrust, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension funds with net assets of over C$23 billion.
Kevin has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, including both central banking and total portfolio investment framework and strategy design for large Canadian defined benefit pension plans.
Kevin joined OPTrust in 2016 where he currently leads Total Fund portfolio management functions, including portfolio construction research and innovation, capital and risk allocation across asset classes and strategies, and dynamic total portfolio management.
Prior to joining OPTrust, Kevin held the position of Director, Strategy & Asset Mix at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Prior to this appointment, Kevin was Senior Economist at the Bank of Canada focusing on monetary policy research and model development. He holds a MA in Economics from Carleton University and is a CFA Charterholder. In 2017, Kevin was named to Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute’s Public Investor 100.

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OPTrust's innovation journey, asset mix strategies and approach to address climate risk

OPTrust, with net assets of over C$23 billion, has been on the innovation journey to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Plan, and subsequently, its members’ retirement security. In advance of Portfolio Innovation and Resilience Forum this November, Institutional Connect interviews speaker Kevin Zhu, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Construction Group, OPTrust, who comments on the Plan’s approach to innovation, how it responds to inflation, manages risks and addresses climate risks in its total portfolio.

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Marc Gauthier

Treasurer
& Chief Investment Officer
Concordia University

Marc Gauthier
Treasurer & Chief Investment Officer at Concordia University

Mr. Gauthier is responsible for the oversight of the University’s and its related entities’ balance sheet, which are segregated through five distinct portfolios; Benefits (Pension Plan, Group Insurance Plans, Supplementary Retirement Plans and Post Retirement/Employment Benefits), Investments (Pension Fund and Foundations), Corporate Risks (Insurance, self-insurance and ERM programs), Capital Budget (Capital investments and Fixed Assets) and Financing. He has been employed by Concordia University for 30+ years; his responsibilities have also included such roles as Executive Director, Finance and Business Operations, Director of Finance and Restricted Funds and prior as a senior financial analyst and accountant. Mr. Gauthier obtained his CMA and graduated from Finance and Accounting at Concordia University as well as from Queen’s Executive Program in General Management.

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Concordia University’s Impact Investing, Governance and Innovation

Concordia University Foundation is a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment since 2018, which has made Concordia among the first universities to incorporate environmental, social and corporate governance factors into its investment decision-making. The University was also the first, among Canadian universities, to issue a sustainable bond to the capital market…

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From Past Forums

Jeanett Bergan

Head of Responsible Investments
KLP

JEANETT BERGAN - HEAD OF RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENTS AT KLP

Jeanett Bergan (43) is head for responsible investments in KLP. She has more than 20 years of experience working with corporate social responsibility, sustainability and investments. For a number of years, she has helped KLP develop its work as one of the leaders in responsible investment practices on a Norwegian and international scale. Previous employers include KPMG, PwC and Storebrand. Jeanett holds an Executive Master of Management from BI, is married and has three children aged 20, 17 and 13. She has combined a career in finance with part-time education and being the mother of three active children. She is also a training instructor and an active athlete with both Ironman and Norseman on the track record.

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Jeanett Bergan on KLP’s Responsible Investing

KLP, Norway’s largest pension company, with over US$81 billion in AuM, has conducted ethical filtering of its investments in securities since 2002. In 2019 KLP funds has gone coal free, oil sands-free, as well as divested from almost 90 alcohol & gambling companies. Jeanett Bergan, Head of Responsible Investments, KLP, answers questions on the fund’s approach towards its responsible investing goals…

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DEIRDRE COOPER

Co-Portfolio Manager, Global Environment Strategy
Ninety One

DEIRDRE COOPER - CO-PORTFOLIO MANAGER, GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY AT NINETY ONE

Deirdre Cooper is co-portfolio manager for Ninety One’s Global Environment Strategy in the Natural Resources team. The Global Environment Strategy aims to achieve long-term returns by investing in the equities of companies expected to benefit from the transition to a lower-carbon global economy, including renewable energy, resource efficiency and electrification.

Prior to joining Ninety One in 2018, Deirdre was a Partner, Portfolio Manager and Head of Research at Ecofin. Before that, Deirdre was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley where she headed their European Renewable Energy coverage effort and built an investment banking and principal investing franchise.

Deirdre earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar, and her BA with honors from University College Dublin in Actuarial and Financial Studies.  She is a busy mother of three children, aged 10, 8 and 6.

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Deirdre Cooper on Ninety One’s Approach to Sustainable Investing and Decarbonization

Decarbonization remains an urgent issue as the latest research warns that climate change will hit humanity “harder, wider and sooner than previously believed”. Many institutional investors in Canada and around the globe are committed to addressing global climate change. However, questions remain on how to reconcile this effort with fiduciary duties, and structural approaches towards investing in carbon reduction…
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Marc Gauthier

Treasurer & Chief Investment Officer
Concordia University

Marc Gauthier
Treasurer & Chief Investment Officer at Concordia University

Mr. Gauthier is responsible for the oversight of the University’s and its related entities’ balance sheet, which are segregated through five distinct portfolios; Benefits (Pension Plan, Group Insurance Plans, Supplementary Retirement Plans and Post Retirement/Employment Benefits), Investments (Pension Fund and Foundations), Corporate Risks (Insurance, self-insurance and ERM programs), Capital Budget (Capital investments and Fixed Assets) and Financing. He has been employed by Concordia University for 30 years; his responsibilities have also included such roles as Executive Director, Finance and Business Operations, Director of Finance and Restricted Funds and prior as a senior financial analyst and accountant. Mr. Gauthier obtained his CMA and graduated from Finance and Accounting at Concordia University as well as from Queen’s Executive Program in General Management.

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Concordia University’s Journey to Impact Investing

As University Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer, Marc Gauthier is responsible for the oversight of the University’s and its related entities’ balance sheet, which includes: investments (pension fund and foundations), corporate risks, capital budget and financing. He also oversees the governance and financial management of the University’s benefits which include the pension plan on the whole and group insurance plans…
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Andy Greene

Director, Investments
TTC Pension Fund Society

Andy Greene
Director, Investments at TTC Pension Fund Society

Andy has over 25 years of experience in the investment industry in Canada and US. He  serves as Director, Investments, overseeing the investment program for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Pension Fund Society, a $7.4 bln defined benefit plan. Prior to this Andy was at OPTrust as Director, Public Markets. Previously he was at Northern Trust, the University of Wisconsin Foundation and Willis Towers Watson. He holds an Master’s degree in Applied Economics from Binghamton University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Ithaca College. Andy is also on the Investment Committees for the United Church of Canada and York University.

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Q&A with Andy Greene

COVID-19 has triggered one of the quickest and deepest recessions in recent history. What are challenges and opportunities for a mid-sized pension fund? Andy Greene, Director, Investments, TTC Pension Funds Society, provides insights to questions ranging from challenges, risk management to investment trends.
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Winston Ma

CFA & Esq., NYU School of Law Adjunct Professor; former Managing Director of CIC

WINSTON WENYAN MA - CFA & ESQ. NYU SCHOOL OF LAW ADJUNCT PROFESSOR; FORMER MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CIC

Winston Ma is an investor, attorney, author, and adjunct professor in the global digital economy. He is one of a small number of native Chinese who have worked as investment professionals and practicing capital markets attorneys in both the United States and China. Most recently for 10 years, he was Managing Director and Head of North America Office for China Investment Corporation (CIC), China’s sovereign wealth fund. 

At CIC’s inception in 2007, he was among the first group of overseas hires by CIC, where he was a founding member of both CIC’s Private Equity Department and later the Special Investment Department for direct investing (Head of CIC North America office 2014-2015). He had leadership roles in global investments involving financial services, technology (TMT), energy and natural resources sectors, including the setup of West Summit (Huashan) Capital, a cross-border growth capital fund in Silicon Valley, which was CIC’s first overseas tech investment. 

Prior to that, Mr. Ma served as the deputy head of equity capital markets at Barclays Capital, a vice president at J.P. Morgan investment banking, and a corporate lawyer at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. Nationally certified Software Programmer as early as 1994, Mr. Ma is the book author of China's Mobile Economy (Wiley 2016, among “best 2016 business books for CIOs”), Digital Economy 2.0 (2017 Chinese), The Digital Silk Road (2018 German), China’s AI Big Bang (2019 Japanese), and Investing in China (Risk Books, 2006). His latest book “The Hunt for Unicorns: How Sovereign Funds Are Reshaping Investment in the Digital Economy” (Wiley publishing) will be released in October 2020 and the new book “China’s Digital Economy” is forthcoming December 2020. 

Mr. Ma has served on the boards of multinational listed and private companies. He was selected a 2013 Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum (WEF) and has been a member of the Council for Long-Term Investing and Council for Digital Economy and Society. He is a member of New York University (NYU) President’s Global Council since inception, and in 2014 he received the NYU Distinguished Alumni Award. 

Mr. Ma earned his MBA from the University of Michigan Ross Business School (Beta Gamma Sigma) and his master of comparative jurisprudence from the New York University School of Law (Hauser Global Scholar). He earned bachelor of science and bachelor of law degrees from Fudan University in Shanghai, China. He has served as adjunct professor at NYU School of Law (current course “Sovereign Investments & Regulations”), NYU Stern Business School and Tsinghua School of Economics and Management.

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Q&A with Winston Ma

The COVID-19 global pandemic has sent the global economy into a deep recession. Meanwhile, China and the U.S., the two powerhouses of digital economy, is accelerating the tech decoupling. Winston Wenyan Ma, author of The Hunt of Unicorns and former Managing Director, China Investment Corporation, answers questions on the role of asset owners in economic recovery to implications of China-U.S. decoupling.
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Eoin Ó hÓgáin

CEO / CIO
Power Corporation Investment Management

Eoin Ó hÓgáin - CEO / CIO, Power Corporation Investment Management

Mr. Ó hÓgáin is acting CEO/CIO of Power Pacific Investment Management since its inception in 2018. Prior to that, he held senior management positions at Power Corporation, Power Financial and State Street Global Advisors. He serves on the Boards of the Ireland-Canada Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Irish Studies Foundation.

Mr. Ó hÓgáin is a CFA charter holder and has a Master of Business Administration degree with High Distinction from the Harvard Business School.

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Eoin Ó hÓgáin on Investing in China

Slower growth in China.  China – U.S. decoupling.  Threat of deglobalization.  What’s the investment outlook of China for institutions?  Eoin Ó hÓgáin, acting CEO/CIO of Power Corporation Investment Management, answers questions on this theme.
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Aaron Peck

Managing Director and Portfolio Manager,
Monroe Capital,
Sub-advisor to Ninepoint-
Monroe U.S. Private Debt Fund

AARON PECK, MANAGING DIRECTOR AND PORTFOLIO MANAGER, MONROE CAPITAL, SUB-ADVISOR TO NINEPOINT- MONROE U.S. PRIVATE DEBT FUND

Mr. Peck is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of Monroe Capital, sub-advisor to the Ninepoint-Monroe U.S Private Debt Fund. He joined the firm in 2012 and is a member of Monroe’s Investment Committee. Mr. Peck has over 25 years of experience in credit, lending, high yield, distressed credit and public company operations and investor relations. Prior to Monroe, Mr. Peck was Chief Investment Officer at Deerfield Capital Management and was responsible for the investment teams at Deerfield including syndicated and middle market loan teams which managed over $5 billion in assets. Mr. Peck was also chief portfolio manager for Deerfield’s publicly traded specialty finance mortgage REIT and in that capacity, was the key point of contact for all institutional and retail investors, investment banking research analysts, lenders, and investment bankers. Prior to Deerfield, he worked in leveraged credit at several investment firms including AEG Investors, Black Diamond Capital, Salomon Smith Barney, and ESL Investments. Mr. Peck earned his M.B.A. with Honors from The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and his B.S. in Commerce from The University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce.

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Q&A with Aaron Peck

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted businesses of various sectors unequally. For institutional investors who look for yield in private debt sector, there are similarities and differences from investing in public companies. Aaron Peck, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Monroe Capital, Sub-advisor to Ninepoint-Monroe U.S. Private Debt Fund, comments on strategies with private debt sector.
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Robert Patzelt

Chair, Investment Committee
Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia

ROBERT PATZELT - CHAIR, INVESTMENT COMMITTEE, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BOARD OF NOVA SCOTIA

ROBERT PATZELT, QC, ICD.D is an executive and business lawyer with over 30 years of experience in organizational leadership, operations, mergers and acquisitions and business development. He is also a respected Board Director for multiple organizations and the leader of a number of major initiatives in corporate, not-for-profit and non-governmental agencies including some undergoing major transformational change. He is an award-winning business leader who has levered his degrees in business, economics and his Masters’ of law to serve many organizations including most recently as CEO of a publicly traded resource company leading it through the latest severe commodity cycle downturn and a proxy battle.

He is Chair of the Northwood Foundation and he is also Chair of the Friends of Hope Cottage. He has been awarded both the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals for his tremendous service to Canada. In 2010, he was named co-chair of the Premier’s Council on the Economy. Most recently he was appointed Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors for Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia and he is also the Chair of the Board’s Investment Committee and oversees its $1.9 billion portfolio.

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Q&A with Robert Patzelt

Small to medium sized pension funds often face challenges with resources and access to opportunities. How should funds of this range approach vetting investment models? What are the key elements of a good governance model? Robert Patzelt, Chair of Investment Committee, Workers Compensation Board of Nova Scotia, answers questions from their decision on OCIO to fund governance.
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Kate Roscoe

Managing Director, Infrastructure Equity
Manulife

KATE ROSCOE - MANAGING DIRECTOR, INFRASTRUCTURE EQUITY, MANULIFE

Kate Roscoe is a Managing Director on the infrastructure team at Manulife responsible for investing in infrastructure assets consisting of transportation, renewable power and other infrastructure.  The portfolio is comprised of funds, co-investments and direct minority equity positions to support the general account.  Kate joined Manulife in 2006 and has 15 years of experience in private investments.  Kate graduated from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and is a CFA Charterholder.  

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Q&A with Kate Roscoe

Many institutional investors in Canada, large or small, have allocations into private markets or real assets.  How has the halted travel environment, as a result of COVID-19, changed the way that institutions conduct due diligence for their real asset holdings?  Kate Roscoe, Managing Director, Infrastructure Equity, Manulife, answers questions on this plus diversity and inclusion initiatives.
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Christophe L’Ahelec

Senior Principal, Alternative Investments, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board

Christophe L’Ahelec - Senior Principal, Alternative Investments, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board

Christophe L'Ahelec is a Senior Principal in the Capital Markets department, at Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board where he is responsible for portfolio analytics, portfolio construction and risk management of the external manager portfolio. On top of these responsibilities, Christophe is also in charge of the risk reporting for the whole Capital Markets department.

Prior to that he was a quantitative analyst and assistant portfolio manager at Mignon Genève SA/Alpstar Asset Management, in Switzerland, where he took part in the creation and portfolio management of the Alpstar Equity Quantitative Strategies Fund, a European systematic equity market neutral fund. 

Christophe started his career in the Fixed Income trading room of BNP Paribas in Hong Kong where he was responsible for the support and development of front office applications. Christophe is a graduate engineer in Finance and Applied Mathematics from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Informatique et de Mathématiques Appliquées de Grenoble, France and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

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Christophe L’Ahelec on Risk Mitigation Strategies

The market volatility in recent months, as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, will have profound impacts on pension funds’ portfolios.  How do pension funds protect their assets from rapid market downturn?  What should institutional investors consider when incorporating risk mitigation into their portfolios?  Christophe L’Ahelec, Senior Principal, Alternative Investments, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, answers questions related to risk mitigation strategies.

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Ray Tanveer

Vice President, Interest Rates & Inflation
HOOPP

RAY TANVEER – VICE PRESIDENT, INTEREST RATES & INFLATION AT HOOPP

Ray joined HOOPP in 2007 and has been responsible for the active management of the Plan’s $55 Billion fixed income and inflation-linked bond portfolios ever since. He began his HOOPP career as Portfolio Manager, Derivatives & Fixed Income and progressed to his current position as Vice President, Interest Rates & Inflation. He helped expand the Fund’s trading capabilities into international fixed income, interest rate derivatives and inflation bond markets and has been a consistent generator of Alpha over the years.

Ray is also a member of the Asset Mix Committee and has been actively involved in all market-related transitions which successfully evolved the Plan into incorporating a dynamic Liability Driven Investing (LDI) approach for its total portfolio.

Prior to joining HOOPP, Ray was a bond and interest rate derivatives trader in the Capital Markets divisions of BMO Nesbitt Burns, TD Bank and National Bank Financial. He received his MBA and BA (Economics) from York University in Toronto.

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A Conversation with Ray Tanveer on Interest Rates and Inflation

For the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), investing in Fixed Income has been strategic in its LDI (Liability Driven Investing) approach.  “We have been a relatively unique outlier in the use of Fixed Income for pension planning”, says Ray Tanveer, Vice President, Interest Rates and Inflation, who joined HOOPP in mid 2007 as a PM after 15 years in proprietary bond and interest rate derivatives trading at some of the major banks…
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Marco Fontana

Director
OMERS Infrastructure

Marco Fontana
Director
OMERS Infrastructure

Marco Fontana is currently Director with the OMERS Infrastructure team in London, which he joined in January 2014. Marco is active in both origination and execution of transactions, as well as asset management. He served on the team that successfully completed the acquisition of a stake in Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos (CLH). He has been actively involved in the asset management of Associated British Ports and OMERS investment in HS1. Prior to joining OMERS Infrastructure, Marco worked as Investment Manager at EISER Infrastructure Partners, where he was responsible for the asset management of the fund's energy and waste sector assets in Italy, as well as energy and transport assets in the U.K. and Australia. Before that, Marco worked at Société Générale, both in Paris and London, as a member of the acquisition financing and principal investment teams. Marco holds M.Sc. degrees from Università Bocconi Milan and HEC Paris.

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Marco Fontana

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. Institutional investors in Canada and around the world are increasingly aligning their investments with transition to a lower-carbon future. Marco Fontana, Director, OMERS Infrastructure, comments on investment opportunities, role of investors to emerging trends in the energy transition…
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Tina Varughese

Diversity And Inclusion Expert

Tina Varughese
Diversity And Inclusion Expert

An Indo-Canadian daughter of first generation East Indian parents, Tina Varughese says her cultural background allows her to find “the best of both worlds” and shed light, knowledge, and, most importantly, universal humour into the changing workplace. Her highly entertaining, interactive, and practical keynotes leave attendees inspired to think, behave, act, and communicate with intention. For fifteen years Varughese worked with immigrants in her roles with the Province of Alberta’s immigration office. She also ran her own successful relocation and settlement firm. Varughese draws from her experiences as an entrepreneur, mother, daughter, wife, sister, and friend when delivering keynotes on diversity andinclusion — topics that resonate with her both professionally and personally. Varughese has been named one of “Canada’s Top 10 Notable Speakers” by Ignite Magazine for her ability to break down barriers and create a comfortable, inclusive, and fun space for attendees. She was the face of diversity, literally, having been chosen to participate in Dove’s campaign for Real Beauty, representing beauty in diversity. The past-president of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (Calgary), Varughese is a contributing writer for the Human Resource Institute of Alberta’s Network magazine, Calgary Real Estate News, and Home to Home magazine. She was also profiled in Alberta’s Venture Magazine.

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Tina Varughese

A culture of diversity and inclusion brings positivity, profits and purpose to an organization. In achieving that, business leaders and industry professionals need to understand what is unconscious bias and how it impacts on their work. Tina Varughese, Diversity and Inclusion Expert, closing keynote speaker at Private Markets Virtual Forum, answers questions on unconscious bias…
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Christine Campney And Lorelei Graye

Christine Campney And Lorelei Graye

Pension funds that invest in private markets are increasingly advocating cost transparency from GP community. Cost transparency brings benefits of cost savings, increased efficiency, and enhanced trust among LPs and GPs. The ADS (Adopting Data Standards) Initiative is focused on fostering a collaborative and conflict-free forum to build momentum in private capital for global data standards…
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Bernice Miedzinski, Jay A. Yoder and Andrea Gruza

Farmland As A Diversifying And Sustainable Asset Class​

Pension funds that invest in private markets are increasingly advocating cost transparency from GP community. Cost transparency brings benefits of cost savings, increased efficiency, and enhanced trust among LPs and GPs. The ADS (Adopting Data Standards) Initiative is focused on fostering a collaborative and conflict-free forum to build momentum in private capital for global data standards…
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Haakon Blakstad

Chief Commercial Officer
Validus

Haakon Blakstad
Chief Commercial Officer
Validus

Haakon is the Chief Commercial Officer at Validus, a leading independent financial services firm advising and providing solutions to LPs and GPs globally. Haakon held various capital markets and banking roles prior to joining Validus in 2014 and has since then been responsible for the continuing expansion of the firm, across geographies, services, and client sectors. He also works closely with clients, industry participants and academic institutions on thought leadership in the private capital space, with a specific focus on risk management.

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Haakon Blakstad

Institutional investors are increasingly embracing global strategies in their private market investments, to achieve desired return and diversify portfolios. How they choose to manage the resulting foreign exchange risk can be a key driver of performance. Institutional Connect had a conversation with Haakon Blakstad, Chief Commercial Officer at Validus Risk Management, about the “hidden” risk of FX exposure in private capital portfolios…
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JESSICA ZARZYCKI

Co-Portfolio Manager
Nuveen

JESSICA ZARZYCKI
Co-Portfolio Manager
Nuveen

Jessica is a co-portfolio manager and research analyst for Nuveen’s global fixed income team and member of the international and emerging markets debt sector team. She is an integral part of the fixed income responsible investing portfolio management team and co-portfolio manager on the Green Bond and Short Duration Impact strategies. Jessica is also responsible for covering sovereigns and local markets throughout Western Europe and Central Eastern Europe.
Prior to joining the firm in 2008, she worked at Citi Global Wealth Management (GWM) where she helped to manage the liquidity and risk of the GWM balance sheet. Most recently, she covered developed market sovereigns, agencies and agency MBS at TIAA Investments. Jessica graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from The Ohio State University. She holds the CFA® designation and is a member of the CFA Society New York and the CFA® Institute.
CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

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JESSICA ZARZYCKI

Institutional investors are increasingly embracing global strategies in their private market investments, to achieve desired return and diversify portfolios. How they choose to manage the resulting foreign exchange risk can be a key driver of performance. Institutional Connect had a conversation with Haakon Blakstad, Chief Commercial Officer at Validus Risk Management, about the “hidden” risk of FX exposure in private capital portfolios…
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