Scott Chan, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS)
Release Date: 12/22/2022
Marcie Frost, CEO, CalPERS, “A Role Model for the Investment Community”
AAAIM High ELI
Our guest for today’s podcast is Marcie Frost, Chief Executive Officer of CalPERS. Marcie joined CalPERS as CEO in October 2016. She is the ninth CEO and second woman to head America's largest pension fund. As CEO, Marcie oversees an annual budget of $1.8 billion, an experienced team of 2,800 professionals, and three lines of business for the fund: pensions, health benefits, and investments. CalPERS administers a defined benefit retirement system for more than 1.9 million California public sector workers and their families. It is the nation's second-largest purchaser of health care...
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Arun Assumall, Global Head, Cross Asset QIS & Commodity Investor Products, Macquarie Group, "My Path to Building a Global QIS Business at Macquarie”
AAAIM High ELI
Our guest for today’s podcast is Arun Assumall, Global Head of Cross Asset QIS and Commodity Investor Products at Macquarie Group. Since joining Macquarie in 2011, Arun has built an impressive global business within the bank by offering sophisticated investors access to beta and risk premia strategies commonly referred to as Quantitative Investment Strategies, QIS. In a recent article published by Bloomberg, they estimate that over $370 billion in investor assets are currently tied to QIS offered by investment banks. So what does it take to build a global business from...
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Andy Lee, Managing Partner, Parallaxes Capital, “Delivering the Holy Grail for Institutional Investors - Uncorrelated Returns”
AAAIM High ELI
Our guest for today’s podcast is Andy Lee, Managing Partner of Parallaxes Capital, an investment firm he founded in 2017 at the age of 26. Previously, Andy was with Lone Star Funds and, with Lone Star’s support, he spun off to form Parallaxes Capital to take advantage of an esoteric and growing asset class – Tax Receivable Agreements (TRAs). Andy is as smart and talented as they come, having entered college at 15 and earning his Bachelors in Finance and Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He went on to earn his Masters in Accountancy before...
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David Ng, Vice President, Avante Capital Partners, "Meet 2023 Norman Mineta Fellow and Rising Star: David Ng"
AAAIM High ELI
Our guest for today’s podcast is David Ng, who is a Vice President at Avante Capital Partners, a boutique private credit firm with approximately $1 bn in AUM that harnesses the power of diversity and challenges the status quo. David joined Avante in 2022 and is responsible for identifying, underwriting, executing and managing investment opportunities. David has over 10 years of middle-market debt and equity experience. Prior to Avante, David worked as a Vice President in Partners Group’s NYC office, where he was responsible for originating, underwriting, structuring, and...
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Sarah Hammer, Managing Director of the Center for Innovation in Finance and Senior Fellow of the Alternative Investments Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, “A Learning Mindset and the Importance of Learning Agility in Leade
AAAIM High ELI
Our guest for today’s podcast is Sarah Hammer, Managing Director of the Center for Innovation in Finance and Senior Fellow of the Alternative Investments Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and who most recently served as Acting Secretary of the Dept of Banking for Commonwealth of PA and has now returned to her love for private capital investing and financial technology. She is also Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, teaching a course on financial regulation and alternative investments. No stranger to public service,...
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Pedro Ramos, CEO, Somar Capital Management, “Starting a Long/Short Hedge Fund is Hard…. But my timeline is infinite…”
AAAIM High ELI
Our guest for today’s podcast is Pedro Ramos, CEO of Somar Capital Management, a consumer focused equity long/short hedge fund he started in 2015 after perfecting his craft as a portfolio manager at Tremblant Capital. Pedro combines strategy consulting, investment banking, entrepreneurial and buy-side public and private investing experience in multiple industries and countries. His investing activities have spanned multiple macro-economic and political scenarios (including the 1980s inflation, the 1990s dot.com bubble, the 2008 GFC, sovereign crisis, Brexit, and the 2020-2021 Covid-19...
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Damien Dwin, Founder and CEO, Lafayette Square, “Private Credit Investment With an Impact Lens”
AAAIM High ELI
Our guest for today’s podcast is Damien Dwin, Founder and CEO of Lafayette Square, a national investment platform he founded in November 2020. Lafayette Square aims to create investment opportunities in overlooked places and underserved markets. We invest across asset classes and seek to provide robust risk-adjusted returns to investors while positively supporting people and communities. By increasing access to economic opportunity, Lafayette Square is helping to build a more inclusive American economy. Previously, Damien served as Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Brightwood Capital Advisors...
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Chris Shen, Co-Founder and COO, Revere VC, “Building the Morningstar of Venture Capital”
AAAIM High ELI
Our guest for today’s podcast is Chris Shen, Co-Founder and COO of Revere VC, a start-up that he co-founded with Eric Woo, a veteran of the venture capital fund of fund business. Revere VC is looking to become “the Morningstar of Venture Capital” and is building the first rating system for evaluating early-stage venture capital firms. Chris’ professional work experience is deep and wide where he has spent time as an investor and lawyer for over 15 years in the US and Greater China across public and private investments, asset management, and financial products. Chris...
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Victor Hu, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Lumos Capital Group, "Growth Equity Investing to drive Human Flourishing through Education and Workforce Development"
AAAIM High ELI
Our guest for today’s podcast is Victor Hu, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Lumos Capital Group, an investment firm focused on growth companies in the human capital development and education technology sectors globally. Lumos partners with companies that are creating better outcomes for individuals and institutions in the learning, teaching and talent markets. Victor believes deeply in the power of education to transform society and help people reach their full potential. Growing up in Asia and Africa, he saw how a commitment to investing in human capital is the foundation for lifting...
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Jonathan Grabel, CIO, Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA), “Authenticity, Character, and Humility: CIO Superpowers”
AAAIM High ELI
Our guest for today’s podcast is Jon Grabel, CIO of the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association, also known as LACERA. In his role, Jon has the responsibility for managing over $70 billion in AUM on behalf of LACERA’s active and retired members. Prior to LACERA, Jon was the CIO for New Mexico PERA and the Montgomery County Public Schools. In total, Jon has served the important role of CIO for over 12 years in the second act of his highly accomplished career. Previously, Jon was a general partner at a private equity firm focused on growth-stage...
info_outlineOur guest for today’s podcast is Scott Chan, Deputy Chief Investment Officer of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (better known as CalSTRS). CalSTRS is the largest teachers’ retirement system and second largest public pension fund in the United States. A world-class financial services institution and state agency, CalSTRS is known for its unique organizational culture which emphasizes customer service, leadership and respect for its members and colleagues.
What a pleasure it was for me and fellow AAAIM Board member, Susan Soh, to hear Scott’s background and his path to becoming one of the most powerful people in finance. As Deputy CIO, Scott oversees CalSTRS’ investment division and is responsible for leading a diverse and growing team of over 200 investment professionals. He manages eight critical investment functions including investment strategy and risk, global equities, fixed income, real estate, private equity, risk mitigating strategies, inflation sensitive and sustainable investment and stewardship strategies. What a mouthful… And, he reports directly into the great Chris Ailman who is highly regarded to be one of the best CIOs in the business.
Direct investing; getting to net zero; embracing diversity, equity and inclusion – you want it, Scott delivers it… Without further ado, here is our conversation with Scott Chan.