America’s Regatta Cup Networking Event

Exhibitor Setup

Conference Registration Desk Opens

Closed Door Pre-Conference Workshop and Luncheon (Investors ONLY)

Part 1: Emerging Markets – Who Knew? – The Sequel

Part 2: Is it Time to Look at Public Equities through a Different Lens?

Welcoming Remarks

State of the US Retirement System: What are the challenges pensions are facing and what does the future look like?

• DB plans need to be protected. What can we do differently to insure that they will be available to the next generation of workers?
• Unfunded liabilities have grown despite strong markets for bonds and equities. Why?
• Do you know what your promise (liabilities) looks like?
• Should the ROA or a plan’s liabilities drive asset allocation?
• Should plans with stronger funded ratios get more or less aggressive?
• The role of the Federal Gov’t. on the US pension systems.

Exploring How Gold Can Help Pension Funds Address Short and Long-Term Challenges

Keynote Presentation

CISA and the Cyber Threat to the Financial Sector

Refreshment Break

Opportunistic Alternative, Emerging and Niche Strategies – Diversification in a Late Market Cycle Environment

• Defining today’s niche strategies and how niche can become mainstream
• Investing early to build relationships for successor funds
• Finding scalable niche and emerging opportunities
• Seed and acceleration economics
• Underwriting newer firms, additional diligence steps: terms, team, track record, infrastructure
• Crypto Currencies
• Blockchain
• Cannabis / Hemp Stocks
• Accessing the Implied Volatility Risk Premium Through the Writing of Index Options
• Disruptive Technology
• Artificial Intelligence
• How do emerging managers play into your portfolio allocation? Benefits?

Risk Management: Key Considerations and Tools

• Overview of the Transformation from an Asset Allocation-Centered Process to a More Comprehensive Risk Allocation-Based Process
• Using technology to monitor your portfolio and manage risk
• Top Pension Risks we should be Most Wary of
• Risk Parity
• Tail Risk Hedging
• Risk – do you adjust depending on how well funded the plan?
• Drawdown Risk
• Transparency and Liquidity Risk – Basing it on a Cost/Benefit Evaluation
• What’s the Best Approach to Liquidity Risk as it applies to Meeting Future Cash Flow Obligations?
• Leverage Risk – what are the Best Approaches to keep these Risks within Acceptable Parameters?
• Derisking the liability of side of the balance sheet
• Managing political risks

Explaining Managed Custody Accounts (MCAs) & How to Use Them to Enhance Alignment of Interest and Performance

• What is an MCA?
• How does an MCA improve alignment of interest with an asset manager?
• How do MCAs impact fees and expenses?
• How does fee netting work?
• What is the governance structure for MCAs?
• How do plan fiduciaries get comfortable with MCAs?
• Do MCAs impact contracting costs?
• What is the impact of MCAs on MFN clauses?
• Do managers benefit from using MCAs?

Investment Officers’ Roundtable: A Conversation with Pension CEOs, CIOs and Executive Directors

• Are you considering changes to your plan’s asset allocation?
• If yes, what is driving that decision?
• Highlight your most successful and least successful investment decision.
• Do you use your plan’s funded status to make asset allocation changes?
• Discuss how your fund approaches ESG/Sustainability/Diverse manager investing

Cocktail Reception

Sponsored by: DuPont Capital Management

Breakfast in Exhibit Hall

Conference Registration Desk Opens

Welcoming Remarks

Equity Investing Strategies and Their Role in Today’s Pension Portfolio

• In looking at the current landscape for US and International Equities, what do you see as the greatest opportunity or threat? What should a plan sponsor do to take advantage of this insight?
• Does it make sense to invest by geographies or globally?
• Equity markets continuously move through cycles, such as growth/value, large /small, etc. What style(s) do you see leading the way forward?
• Factors (smart beta) used to be sources of alpha and now they are betas, do they have a role in a diversified equity portfolio, and if so, who should be responsible for their implementation?
• Are there opportunities to use ETFs within a diversified institutional portfolio?
• Active versus Passive
• If plan sponsors are skittish about using active managers because of recent underperformance, why not use performance-based fees instead of paying a manager full freight w/o a promise of delivery?

Finding Fixed Income Yield and Income Now that Rates have Plateaued/Stalled/Peaked

• Given where we are in this cycle (late), how should plan sponsors be thinking of structuring their fixed income and credit assets? Differentiated approaches like flexibility in duration.
• Where are the (risks and) opportunities over the next 24 months?
• Exploiting inefficiencies in the credit markets (where are they today?)
• The importance of manager flexibility (what are your asks?)
• Benefits of a long-term strategic allocation to the high yield asset class and EMD (Should entry today be delayed given where we are in the cycle?).
• How to De-Risk a Pension with bonds
• Liability Beta Portfolio as the core bond portfolio (pros and cons)
• Legislation for the rescue of multi-employer plans to reduce risk
• Is there room for illiquid debt in fixed income allocation buckets? If so, what kind and with what qualities? How should this be sized? If not, why not?
• How would you allocate to fixed income sectors today given full discretion and why? How would you structure the portfolio along the yield curve?
• Exploiting inefficiencies such as “explosions” in BBB issuance and covenant-lite – implications for plan sponsors. Impact on HY market?

How New Technologies Will Create Investment Winners and Losers in Every Sector

Refreshment Break

Real Estate Markets and your Pension System: What should you be looking for?

• In looking at the current landscape for Real Estate, what do you see as the greatest opportunity or threat? What should a plan sponsor do to take advantage of this insight?
• Where are we in the Real Estate Cycle
• Where can upside potential be found
• What are the biggest risks
• U.S. versus non-U.S.
• Technology and the commercial real estate landscape
• New administration effect on commercial real estate

Public Pensions in Puerto Rico’s Landmark Restructuring

Keynote Presentation

Navigating a Volatile World: How Public Policy Can Inform Your Investments

Networking Luncheon

Keynote Presentation

Funding Government Pensions and Risk Taking

Opportunities, Strategies, Risks & Rewards for Investing in Real Assets

• Assets: How do real assets fit into a pension fund’s portfolio?
• Risks involved
• Infrastructure
• Oil and Gas investing
• Natural Resources – Energy, Water, Timber
• Gold
• Direct vs. indirect investments
• Impact of oil prices and outlook for the year to come

Extracting Alpha with Private Equity and Venture Capital

• In looking at the current landscape for Private Markets, what do you see as the greatest opportunity or threat? What should a plan sponsor do to take advantage of this insight?
• There seems to be a lot of money chasing opportunities within private equity, how does this impact returns for these vintage years?
• Is bigger better or can you make money with smaller firms/asset bases?
• Do you need a robust IPO market to capture private equity returns?
• Are there opportunities in sectors outside of technology? If yes, provide examples.
• Do fund of funds make sense anymore?

Investing in Private Debt and Direct Lending (or Opportunities in Credit Investing)

• In looking at the current landscape for Private Debt, what do you see as the greatest opportunity or threat? What should a plan sponsor do to take advantage of this insight?
• Investment opportunities across the credit spectrum – BDCs, CLOs, Private Credit Funds, Mezz Funds, Broader Strategies
• Trends in the credit market
  • Regulated Banks, Non-Regulated Arrangers, Direct Lenders
  • Credit quality – structures, covenants, “Adjusted” EBITDA
  • Supply and Demand
• Risk Adjusted Returns for Credit vs PE, Mezz, Public Markets
• Macro Outlook
  • The broader economy – Impact on credit
  • The Credit Cycle – Where are we now?
  • Expected impact from Tax Reform & Interest Deductibility
  • Fat-tailed world – What are the current worries?

Role of Treasurers in State and Local Pensions

Summer Social Networking Bash

Thank you to our Sponsors!

• TerraCap Management, LLC
• World Gold Council

Breakfast in Exhibit Hall

Conference Registration Desk Opens

Welcoming Remarks

The Role of a Consultant – Past, Present, and Future

• Do they use the same approach for every asset class?
• Due diligence and attribution
• Consideration of fees
• How can considering Diversification and Risk Independently help Investors Build More Efficient Portfolios?
• Prognosis for markets, near and longer-term.
• Targeted asset allocation strategies moving forward: what asset classes are they looking at today and moving forward?
• Active vs. Passive Management
• Performance and Benchmarking
• How to measure success of your consultant
• Consultants role in finding the right managers
• Fiduciary roles consultants play
• How can managers get their foot in the door?

Learning from Actuaries: Actuarial Science and your Pension Plan

• How do actuaries decide on whether return and inflation assumptions are reasonable?
• What horizon should be used for investment return forecasts when setting the return assumption? Short-term (0-5 yrs), mid-term (10-20 yrs) or long-term (30+ yrs)
• What is the difference between the geometric expected mean and the arithmetic expected mean? Which is more appropriate for annual actuarial valuations?
• Which comes first: Return assumption or asset allocation?
• What can actuaries bring to the table on enterprise risk management?
• How will the new Actuarial Standard of Practice (No. 51) regarding risk disclosure affect public plan actuarial valuations?
• How does the current low inflation forecasts affect our expected return and salary increase assumptions?
• Generational mortality vs. static mortality tables
• Withdrawal liability
• Entry Age Normal – As a funding method
• What is the Pension Objective?
• Is the ROA a calculated number based on the funded status?
• If the plan earns the ROA, will it be fully funded?
• Since Assets and liabilities both use the ROA as the projected growth rate wouldn’t projected contributions grow at the
• ROA rate too?
• Should projected benefits be reduced by contributions in calculating the Funded Ratio?
• If interest rates go UP as a trend… would that enhance the Funded Ratio?

Non-Investment Challenges: 20+ questions facing pension plans and how to handle them

• What is a significant administrative challenge with managing Plan membership?
  • Specifically: New Members/ Beneficiary Designations/ Contact Information/
  • Breaks in Service/ Re-employment of Retirees/ Closed Plan Issues/
  • Changes in Departments/Bargaining Units
• How does your Plan service Retiree Payroll Issues – Direct Deposit?
• How does your Plan manage member and retiree “Life Changes” (e.g., Death, Divorce)?
• How does your Plan administer earnings limitations/offsets on disability pensions?
• What is the best way to provide information to your members (e.g. newsletters, webpage)?
• How do Plans treat the taxation of pension benefits?
• What types of retirement/financial planning sessions do Plans conduct for members?
• How do Plans protect the confidentiality of records?
• How do your various benefit plans (defined contribution plans, defined benefit plans, deferred compensation plans, health care plans, etc.) interact with respect to administration, investments, benefit coordination, etc.?
• What have Plans experienced with respect to psychiatric disabilities?
• Do many Plans have fiduciary liability insurance policies and who provides coverage?
• What types of audits do Plans conduct? Purpose? Scope? Frequency?
• What types of service credit purchases do Plans allow and how is it administered (cost, verification of prior employment, etc.)?
• Are there any computer programs or other technology which administrators find essential?
• How do Plans deal with retirees returning to employment?
• What problems have Plans experienced with disability re-exams?
• How do Plans handle tax levies, garnishments, income withholding orders, etc?
• What are the best methods of monitoring retiree data (beneficiary, address, death, etc.)?
• What experiences do Plans have on recouping overpayments to retirees/beneficiaries?
• Has anyone had any problems with trustee elections?
• Balancing the Pension Board vs Union Board relationship

Practical Tools to Improve Governance, Fiduciary Responsibility & Avoid Conflicts

• Db plan vs DC plan Responsivities
• Restrictions on food & drink and disclosure requirements
• Importance of process as a fiduciary
• Fundamental expectations for board meetings
• Importance of investment beliefs; facilitating board members to a shared set of beliefs
• Governance & Decision making “dashboards”: focus board on highest order tasks and decisions
• Risk Management approaches & frameworks
• Avoiding conflicts of interest (real & perceived): approaches?
• Board composition: “portfolio of viewpoints”, continuity vs. new perspectives
• Governance scorecards/benchmarking
• Freedom of Information
• Open Meetings statutes
• What is a Fiduciary and how do you monitor your board/committee?
• How often do you review the investment policy statement (IPS)?
• Do you regularly review your assets versus the plan’s liabilities (the promise)?
• Do you have a de-risking strategy in place?
• How do you monitor potential conflicts of interest?
• Education is paramount. How often do you provide educational opportunities for your

Concludes Concludes