Public Funds Summit Virtual 2021
Virtual
February 10, 2021 - February 11, 2021
Virtual conferences are playing a crucial role in this time of remote work and digital business by allowing organizations to adapt in a world going through new challenges. These changes are not only altering the way we do business now but will alter the way we do business in the future.
At Opal Group, our goal is to become a valued partner to the financial investment world by providing options for companies and individuals to connect with one another in their efforts to share information, deal flow, and foster relationships that fuel your efforts to reach your target market. Today, Opal Group is proud to offer customized live virtual conferences that combine market timely ideas and industry specific topics – produced to connect like-minded individuals and companies. This new digital offering can help expand your brand’s reach, position speakers as thought leaders, and connect with potential prospects amidst the world’s current climate.
Opal is proud to launch our Public Funds Summit (virtual) taking place on February 10-11, 2020. This event will address what has happened in the current financial investment marketplace since the outbreak of COVID-19 as it pertains to Public Pension plans and plan sponsors. We will look at issues that are critical to the investment success of senior public pension fund officers and trustees in the new millennium. Concerns of funding liabilities for beneficiaries in a world of declining returns yet maintaining a balance between the risk/reward paradigms is center in the mind of many trustees and representatives of pension plans around the country. Beyond the investment sphere we also address legal issues facing pension plans, ethic regulations and the importance of on-going education for plan sponsors and their fiduciaries.
Please join us on this journey to navigate the financial future of the pension world by attending and sharing thoughts on best practices and directions of what needs to be accomplished to secure the stability of pension’s present and future.
For additional information, please email info@opalgroup.net for a copy of our Preliminary Agenda.
To request our current agenda, participant list and sponsors
Current as of
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(Schedule Times are in EST) |
|
| 9:00am |
Conference Opens |
| 9:55am |
Opening Remarks |
| 10:00am |
A Global Macroeconomic and Geopolitical Outlook: State of the Global Economy and International Affairs
Moderator
Constance Everson, Investment Committee, Mass PRIM
Panelists
Chester Spatt, Pamela R. and Kenneth B. Dunn Professor of Finance, Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon Jonathan Ward, Founder, Atlas Organization; Author China's Vision of Victory Julapa Jagtiani, Special Advisor, Supervision Regulation and Credit, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Stacey Dion, Managing Director & Global Head of Government Affairs, The Carlyle Group |
| 10:40am |
Networking Break |
| 10:50am |
Alternative Ideas for Alternative Thinkers: Emerging, Niche, & Non-Correlated Alternative Strategies for Pension Plans
Moderator
Guy Pinkman, Trustee, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation / Lincoln Fire & Police Retirement System
Panelists
Tom Bratkovich, Senior Vice President, Wilshire Associates John Butler, Head - U.S. Insurance Asset Management Platform and Global ILS Program Cohen & Company, Inc. Avi Kalichstein, Chief Executive Officer, Hunter Point Capital Howard Shams, Chief Executive Officer, Parabellum Capital |
| 11:30am |
Networking Break |
| 11:40am |
Necessity Retail Real Estate: How American Finance Trust (Nasdaq: AFIN) Creates Value for Investors with a Misunderstood Asset Class Michael Weil, Chief Executive Officer, American Finance Trust
Interviewed by
Brad Cohen, Managing Partner, ICR Strategic Communications & Advisory |
| 12:00pm |
Networking Break |
| 12:10pm |
ESG in HY – Why you can have the best of both worlds Roman Rjanikov, Portfolio Manager & Director of Research, DDJ Capital Management, LLC
Interviewed by
Erika Kennedy, Director, Business Development, DDJ Capital Management LLC |
| 12:30pm |
Transition Break |
| 12:32pm |
Your Hunt for Yield starts In Africa
Presented by
Paul Robinson, Portfolio Manager, Laurium Capital |
| 12:52pm |
Transition Break |
| 12:55pm |
Sourcing Opportunities, Portfolio Risk & Due Diligence in Today’s Market
Moderator
Eric Newman CPA, CGMA, Treasury Manager, City of Stamford - Connecticut
Panelist
Bernard Robertson III, CCO/Senior Investment Consultant/Principal, The Hackett Robertson Tobe Group (HRTG) Chris Solarz, Managing Director, Cliffwater LLC |
| 1:25pm |
Networking Break |
| 1:30pm |
Keynote Presentation
Existential Threats and Concerns
Presented by
Patrick M. Hughes, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army (Retired) |
| 1:50pm |
Networking Break |
| 1:55pm |
Keynote Presentation
Extraterrestrial Life: Are We the Sharpest Cookies in the Jar?
Presented by
Avi Loeb, Ph.D., Professor of Science, Harvard University |
| 2:25pm |
Networking Break |
| 2:30pm |
Track A: Extracting Alpha with Private Equity and Venture Capital
Moderator
Tom Latzke, Consultant, VP, Marquette Associates
Panelists
David Simpson, Investment Officer - Private Equity, Los Angeles County Employees' Retirement Association (LACERA) Reginald D. Tucker, Managing Director – Investments, Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) Bruno Zaremba, Partner Head of Private Equity, Vinci Partners |
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Track B: Examining the Real Estate Market Opportunities amid the COVID -19 Fallout
Moderator
Jay Morgan, Partner, StepStone Group
Panelists
Glenn Mueller, Professor, University of Denver - Director Family Office Real Estate Institute Michael Weil, Chief Executive Officer, American Finance Trust Steve Hagenbuckle, Founder and Managing Partner, TerraCap Management, LLC |
|
| 3:10pm |
Networking Break |
| 3:20pm |
Track A: Opportunities in Private Debt and Direct Lending vs the Fixed Income Marketplace for Pension Investments
Moderator
Don Stracke, Consultant, NEPC, LLC
Panelists
Brandon Zureick, CFA, Director, Portfolio Manager, Principal, Johnson Asset Management Josh Green, Founder, CIO and President, Raven Capital Management |
|
Track B: Investing in Real Assets: Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure
Moderator
Francesca Lorenzini, Vice Consul, Capital Investment, U.K. Department for International Trade
Panelists
Edward Shanklin, Private Consultant Nathan Kaehler, Senior Portfolio Manager, Ceres Partners Rakeshh Gupta, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, SayeNvest Capital Advisory Limited |
|
| 4:00pm |
Networking Break |
| 4:10pm |
Does Pension Reform Work? Is Your Pension Plan in Trouble?
Moderator
Suzanne Taylor, Ph.D. Adjunct Professor, Schmidt Labor Research Center University of Rhode Island
Panelist
Leonard Gilroy, Senior Managing Director, Pension Integrity Project, Reason Foundation Ernest Liebre, Senior Vice President & Financial Advisor, Captrust |
| 4:50pm |
Networking Break |
| 5:00pm |
LP Pension Investor Roundtable: A Conversation with Pension Executives
Moderator
Steven Swanson, Executive Director, Chicago Firemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund
Panelists
Elizabeth Burton, Chief Investment Officer, Hawaii Employees’ Retirement System James Grossman, Chief Investment Officer, Pennsylvania Public School Employees Retirement Derek Dobson, Chief Executive Officer & Plan Manager, CAAT Pension Plan |
| 5:40pm |
Virtual Networking Happy Hour & Breakout Sessions |
| 7:00pm |
DAY 1 CONFERENCE CONCLUDES |
|
(Schedule Times are in EST) |
|
| 10:00am |
Conference Opens |
| 10:55am |
Opening Remarks |
| 11:00am |
Consultant Roundtable
Moderator
Safia Mehta, CFA, Senior Vice President, Manager Analysis Services, LLC
Panelists
Marcia Peters, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio Evaluations Eileen Neill, CFA, Managing Director, Senior Consultant, Verus Investments |
| 11:40am |
Networking Break |
| 12:00pm |
ESG Investment Strategies Across Asset Classes
Moderator
Guy Hopgood, Director, bfinance US
Panelists
Roman Rjanikov, Portfolio Manager & Director of Research, DDJ Capital Management, LLC Lily Sullivan, ESG Analyst, Brahman Capital |
| 12:40pm |
Networking Break |
| 12:50pm |
Risk Planning for the Next Market Crisis
Presented by
Eric Dyer, SVP Strategy and Operations, Solovis |
| 1:10pm |
Transition Break |
| 1:15pm |
The Changing Opportunity in Japanese Equities John Trammell, Managing Director, Symphony Financial Partners |
| 1:35pm |
Transition Break |
| 1:40pm |
SPACs 2021: What Will Happen Behind the Curtain This Year
Presented by
Daniel G. Cohen , Chairman, Cohen & Company |
| 2:00pm |
Transition Break |
| 2:05pm |
Learning from Actuaries: Actuarial Science and your Pension Plan
Moderator
Greg Knoll, Executive Director, Illinois Professional Firefighters Association
Panelists
William (Flick) Fornia, FSA, President, Pension Trustee Advisors Steve Nelsen, Executive Director, Washington State Law Enforcement Officers' and Fire Fighters' (LEOFF) |
| 2:30pm |
Networking Break |
| 2:40pm |
Best Practices for Securities Litigation & Portfolio Monitoring for Public Pensions
Moderator
Chase Rankin, Executive Director, Oklahoma Firefighters Pension & Retirement System
Panelists
Eduard Korsinsky, Managing Partner, Attorney, Levi & Korsinsky LLP Irwin Schwartz, President, DIVIDEX Management, LLC |
| 3:20pm |
Networking Break |
| 3:25pm |
Equity Investing Strategies and Their Role in Today’s Pension Portfolio
Moderator
Joseph Matthews, CFA, Alternative Investments Director, First Vice President, Senior Investment Management Consultant – Financial Advisor, Morgan Stanley Consulting Group & Institutional Services
Panelists
Ali Akay, Chief Investment Officer, Carrhae Capital, LLP Rayna Lesser Hannaway, Portfolio Manager, Polen Capital Kevin Gioia, Investment Research Analyst & Principal, Fenimore Asset Management, Inc. |
| 4:05pm |
Networking Break |
| 4:10pm |
Value and Resilience: A Discussion of Mission-Critical Industrial and Office Real Estate with Global Net Lease’s Executive Team
Presented by
James Nelson, CEO, Global Net Lease Chris Masterson, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary, Global Net Lease Brad Cohen, Managing Partner, ICR Strategic Communications & Advisory |
| 4:30pm |
Networking Break |
| 4:35pm |
Pension Plans Investing in Diversity through Manager Selection & Senior Leadership
Moderator
Scott Schaefer, Senior Investment Officer, Office of Investment and Innovation | SBA
Panelists
Wendy Garcia, Chief Diversity Officer, Office of New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer Toni Antrum, Principal, Sr. Consultant, The Hackett Robertson Tobe Group (HRTG) |
| 5:05pm |
Networking Break |
| 5:10pm |
Practical Tools to Improve Governance, Fiduciary Responsibility & Avoid Conflicts
Moderator
Jeffrey Johnson, Trustee, Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago
Panelists
Jeffrey Weiler, Executive Director, Fairfax County Retirement Systems Karen Mazza, Deputy Executive Director, NYCERS Julian M. Regan, Senior Vice President, Public Sector Market Leader, Segal Marco Advisors |
| 5:50pm |
Closing Remarks |
| 6:00pm |
Virtual Networking Happy Hour & Breakout Sessions |
| 7:00pm |
Conference Concludes |
Registration Pricing
| 1 user/pass | |
|---|---|
| GP Fund Managers / Service Providers | $295 |
| Plan Sponsors, Pension Trustee & Staff, Non-Discretionary Consultants, Actuarial Firms, Endowments, and Foundations can be verified for complimentary access* (must be LP allocators to 3rd party fund managers) | Complimentary* |
| Discounted pricing on multiple passes available. Please contact your Opal Representative or info@opalgroup.net for additional details. |
*Subject to Opal Group’s verification and approval. Only individuals who are solely investing on their own behalf can be verified for a complimentary pass. Solution Providers, Fund Providers as well as Business Development, Sales and Marketing Managers to 3rd parties will not be able to receive complimentary access. As investment portfolios/strategies are constantly changing, we reserve the right to re-verify past delegates for future complimentary passes.
- Overview of the Real Estate Economy
- Regulatory/Tax Issues: What Are The Realized Effects Of The New Tax Laws?
- Opportunity Zones 201
- Value-Add and Opportunistic vs. Core and Core Plus Investments
- Real Estate Debt and Alternative Financing Strategies
- Analyzing Direct vs. Co-Investment vs. Commingled Funds
- Finding Deal Flow, Acquisitions & Acquisition Due Diligence
- Real Estate Disrupters 2020: The Future Culprits?
- Family Office Discussion: What Are You Looking For In This Cycle?
1on1 and group meeting capabilities
Live Video Keynote Speakers and Panels Presentations with Q&A
Exhibit Hall with branded interactive booths
Collateral Information sharing
Ability to connect and share contact details with one another
Live Chatting Options in sessions, private rooms & Lounge areas for peer to peer or group networking via live chat or video chat
Custom 1:1 Meeting Rooms with video conferencing (pre-arranged meetings between LPs/Allocators and Sponsor Managers)
- Accountants
- Actuarial firms
- Alternative Investments
- Attorneys
- Benefit Companies
- Commodities
- Consultants
- Corporate Pension Plans – Trustee, Administrators, Commissioners, Staff
- Directors of Investments
- Directors of Manager Selection
- Economists
- Emerging and Frontier Markets
- Emerging Managers
- Equity Managers
- Fixed Income
- Fund of Funds
- Geopolitical Analysts
- Hedge Funds
- Infrastructure Based Fund Managers
- Insurance Companies
- International Markets
- Investment Banks
- Investment Research
- Mutual Funds and ETF Funds
- Non-correlated Investments
- Placement Agents
- Portfolio Analysts
- Portfolio Managers
- Private Debt/ Credit
- Private Equity
- Public Pension Plans/ Plan Sponsors – Trustee, Administrators, Commissioners, Staff
- Public Service Administrative Providers
- Real Estate Managers
- Security Lenders
- Software Providers
- Sovereign Wealth Funds
- Taft Hartley Reps – Trustee, Administrators, Commissioners, Staff
- Venture Capitalists
