Investment Management Operations

Emi Larson, COO – UCLA Investment Company (EP.46) Jan 14, 2025

Emi Larson is the COO of UCLA‘s endowment.

Emi shares what it’s like going from an ops role at an emerging market manager to a hedge fund of funds and how it led to a COO role of a well-known university.

We cover how to make that leap from Director of Operations to the COO seat and the key skills needed for that position. We tackle how non-profits keep up with growing business complexity, the challenges with West Coast hiring and how overbuilding select parts of your tech stack can help you scale.

I would like to note that we recorded this not long before the fires engulfed Los Angeles. With UCLA being is in the heart of LA, our hearts are with the folks out there.

Here is a link to donate to the LAFD Foundation.

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Eric Wortman, COO & CCO – Stable (EP.45) Dec 31, 2024

Eric Wortman is the COO and CCO of Stable, a GP stakes firm with over $4.5B in assets.

If you are an emerging manager or thinking about spinning out, this is the episode for you. As people will tell you, building your own firm and team is vastly different than managing a portfolio.

We cover the fuzzy topic of what it means to be “institutional”, how to select the right service providers, critical tech, talent acquisition and other foundational areas of launching a firm.

We then tackle best practices on designing a repeatable sales process, the importance of branding and common areas that slow down early-stage managers.

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Mike Peltier, COO – VCIMCO (EP.44) Dec 17, 2024

Mike Peltier is the COO of VCU Investment Management Company, supporting Virginia Commonwealth University and its related entities in Richmond, Virginia. Virginia Commonwealth University is pioneering what it means to be a public research university while remaining focused on innovation, diversity, and access in the Commonwealth and beyond.

Mike shares lessons learned from his audit and tax background helped him lead the operations of the investment office.

We discuss the key pillars of the tech stack and some unique ways to leverage common technology to create efficiency. Mike discusses AI use cases you can use today that reduces the friction with investment and operations teams of all sizes.

We then turn to outsourcing service providers and the importance of building personal networks to stay on top of an ever-changing industry.

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Ron Landen, CAO & GC – HighVista Strategies (EP.43) Dec 03, 2024

Ron Lanen is a Partner, Chief Administrative Officer, and General Counsel at HighVista Strategies, an alternative asset manager with approximately $11 billion in assets.

Given the uptick in M&A activity, I was interested in getting Ron’s input following their acquisition of abrdn’s US private markets business.

Ron’s background makes him uniquely positioned to share best practices with acquiring another investment firm. He shares how the organization effectively doubled in headcount and assets and the implications on legal, IR and operations.

We also talk about the importance of culture, integration, hiring for range and the “knock on” effects of managing new service providers.

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Troy Pospisil, CEO – Ontra (EP.42) Nov 19, 2024

This Sponsored Insight features Troy Pospisil, CEO of Ontra, a legaltech firm created for the private markets industry.

It was great sitting down with Troy to talk about the evolution of how legal and compliance workflows are going digital.

We cover his career from management consulting to the investment team at H.I.G. Capital where he saw a glaring need for better solutions with doing deals and raising funds.

We discuss product development opportunities and challenges, multi-stakeholder engagements and how digital-native leaders are embracing software to speed up fund closings at a lower cost and compliance risk.

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Richey Reneberg, Co-Head of Investor Relations – Taconic Capital (EP.41) Nov 05, 2024

Richey Reneberg is the Global Co-Head of Investor Relations and Marketing at Taconic Capital, a global event driven alternatives manager founded in 1999 by former Goldman Sachs Partners, Frank Brosens and Ken Brody.

Richey’s career path into the industry is atypical so I was excited to share his story.

Prior to joining Taconic in 2000, Richey spent thirteen years competing on the professional tennis circuit reaching a career high of #20 in the world in singles and #1 in the world in doubles. He was a five-time member of the US Davis Cup Team and represented the United States in the 1996 Olympics.

Richey shares how personal connections created an opportunity into the investment industry and how skills learned on the court transferred to the business world.

We then uncover some best practices through the lens of an IR person. Whether you are engaging with a GP on ODD or monitoring a manager in your portfolio, Richey provides some insights from his 20 years in the business on how to create strong GP and LP relationships.

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Neal Pawar, COO – Enfusion (EP.40) Oct 22, 2024

This Sponsored Insight features Neal Pawar, the COO of Enfusion, a SaaS platform that combines front, middle and back office in a unified trading system.

We cover Neal’s time at some of the world’s top hedge funds and how it informed his decision to build technology for the industry.

We talk about the tradeoffs of working for both big and small firms and how decisions on your tech stack changes as your firm grows.

We then discuss the evolution of trade order management systems and how the golden copy of data is crucial for building end to end collaboration platforms bringing together portfolio management, operations and client service

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Kevin Moran, COO – AlTi Tiedemann Global (EP.39) Oct 08, 2024

Kevin Moran is the COO of AlTi Tiedemann Global, a publicly traded multi-family office and alternatives firm with over $72B in assets.

Kevin shares his insights on how AlTi has grown over time creating a UHNW service offering to meet the growing and evolving needs of its clients.

He shares his thoughts on M&A as a function of organic growth, unique investment strategies, and strategic succession planning.

We also cover the sales process for the UHNW space and how to apply client service on a global basis with a local touch.

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Dan Ricci, Head of Information Systems – Prime Buchholz (EP.38) Sep 24, 2024

Dan Ricci is the Head of Information Systems at Prime Buchholz, an independent investment consultant and OCIO founded in 1988.

If you are building or buying software, this is the episode. Dan shares how they built Prime Plus, an investment analytics tool that is used by their investment consultants and their clients.

Dan shares his thoughts on a wide range of topics with regard to fintech. We cover going digital with investment committee reporting and when to leverage channel partners to bolt on third party SaaS to your native applications.

We then discuss the future of investment statistics and why he likes being an early adopter of SaaS but also sees good use cases with later stage and mature technology solutions.

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Hal Liebes, COO – Alger (EP.37) Sep 10, 2024

Hal Liebes is the COO of Alger, an investment firm known for its bottom-up fundamental research process that was founded in 1964. Hal joined Alger in 2005 as they were rebuilding the firm after losing 35 of its 55 employees on 9/11.

Hal shares how curiosity and knowing how you work is crucial for finding the right type of role for career happiness.

We talk about the role of the COO and the myriad of issues he faces on a daily basis: how to build consensus, selecting new service providers, and best practices on the common challenges with merging and managing people-based businesses.

We then turn to how Alger has evolved over time with a number of strategic efforts across products, acquisitions and a global eye towards distribution.

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Jim La Creta, CTO – Brandeis University (EP.36) Aug 27, 2024

Jim La Creta is the Chief Technology and Information Officer for Brandeis University.

Jim shares a fascinating and different perspective on technology for an investment office and university broadly. We discuss his career path at Brandeis which started at the help desk 21 years ago to the CTO seat. He shares how he partners with the investment committee and the CIO to assess risk with new technology and information security for its investment office. We also discussed common challenges and how to partner with technology teams for better outcomes when selecting technology.

In addition to being a CTO, Jim is an adjunct professor in organizational leadership at Brandeis. I found this interesting because there is no playbook for leadership, but Jim shares his lessons learned about leading teams today, the impact of going hybrid and creating teams built for flexibility.

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Adam Weinstein, COO & CFO – New Mountain Capital (EP.35) Aug 13, 2024

Adam Weinstein is a Managing Director, COO, and CFO of New Mountain Capital, a $50 billion private equity firm focused on middle market buyout, credit, and net lease strategies.

I really enjoyed this conversation because we focused on two critical elements of building investment firms: people and process.

Adam discusses their investment committee governance process that seeks to foster broad input from the team to mitigate errors and promote consistency. We also uncover some of the challenges in group decision making and why New Mountain is opposed to the term “back office.”

We then dig into how inclusiveness drives performance reviews, compensation structures and how to develop a mentor program.

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Steven Schwab, GC and CCO – Thoma Bravo (EP.34) Jul 30, 2024

Steven Schwab is the GC and CCO for Thoma Bravo, a $142 billion private equity firm that invests in growing software and technology companies.

Prior to joining Thoma Bravo in 2015, Steven practiced law at Winston and Strawn and Katten Munchin.

Steven shares how to make best use of your legal resources. He shares his thoughts on when to bring legal in-house, how to get the most out of your outside counsel, and why they opted to combine the GC and CCO roles. We also discuss the current state of fundraising and how LPs are interacting with GPs.

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Nicole Adrien, Chief Product Officer & Global Head of Client Relations – Oaktree Capital Management (EP.33) Jul 02, 2024

Nicole Adrien is the Chief Product Officer and Global Head of Client Relations at Oaktree Capital.

If you work directly with clients and prospects, this is the conversation for you.

Nicole discusses her career path beginnings at Goldman Sachs, and how she turned a summer internship during business school into a career at Oaktree.

Working with clients today is all about transparency, speed, and accuracy. We discuss how exogenous factors from the GFC have shaped client demands and how Oaktree transformed its business to meet these new requirements.

We discuss the continuous demand of portfolio and company information and the “multiplier effect” from the increasing level of sophistication within the industry.

We close with how Oaktree builds new products today, what a good prospect meeting looks like, and how Oaktree hires and instills culture and values.

It's worth noting - this year, Nicole was named to 50/50 Women on Boards’ second annual 50 Women to Watch for Boards list, which highlights exceptionally qualified women leaders from various sectors across North America.

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Taimur Hyat, COO – PGIM (EP.32) Jun 18, 2024

Taimur Hyat is the Chief Operating Officer for PGIM. PGIM manages over 1.3 trillion in equity, fixed income, real estate, alternatives, and multi-asset solutions.

Being a “strategic COO” is the wave of the future, and Taimur provides some great insight on how he does it.

He shares his evolution from doing development economic research to consulting at McKinsey before landing in asset management with stints at Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse Asset Management.

Taimur shares his thoughts on understanding the moving parts of the big picture being just as important as the “hard ops” that happen on the front lines.

PGIM’s size and scale creates an opportunity to uncover around-the-corner ideas they call MegaTrends.

Taimur shares the importance of how different cultures, markets and regulators work together and what it takes to bring a global mindset to your work. There is a lot here on what it takes to be “COO version 2.0” so take a listen.

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Hank Boughner, CEO – Dynamo Software (EP.31) Jun 13, 2024

This Sponsored Insight features Hank Boughner, the CEO of Dynamo Software – an end-to-end platform for the alternative investment industry.

Hank has been the CEO of Dynamo Software since 2017. His unique career path as an engineer, investment banker, and private equity investor gives him a unique perspective on what the future holds for investment technology.

Hank shares his insights on why software verticals are consolidating, single point versus platform solutions, and why he believes that platforms will win over time. We also discuss the importance of brand awareness, advice on user adoption, and his thoughts on the implications for incumbents versus new entrants with M&A activity.

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Darshan Desai, COO – Beach Point Capital Management (EP.30) Jun 04, 2024

Darshan Desai is the COO and Head of Risk at Beach Point Capital, a $15 billion credit shop based in Santa Monica, CA.

Darshan and I discuss his career path, which began at York Capital, his move to Kansas City to works for BATS, and then finding his way to Beach Point in 2010. Darshan shares his experience and learnings from seeing two firms ramp up assets and people.

I was curious to speak to Darshan as he is also the Head of Risk, making for a unique opportunity to talk about data/analytics, how to be a risk-oriented COO, and why they outsourced their entire middle office.

We close with the importance of IQ and EQ when building teams and how Covid changed the way he manages others.

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Amy Knapp, COO – Corsair Capital (EP.29) May 21, 2024

Amy Knapp is the COO of Corsair Capital, a private equity firm that is focused on buyouts and infrastructure.

When we started the podcast, the goal was to share best practices among investment operations professionals, and my conversation with Amy fires on all cylinders.

Amy discusses her career path from public accounting to an unexpected opportunity to be a CFO early in her career, eventually becoming the COO.

We then cover an array of topics from the operational challenges with having multiple strategies, a deep dive on ESG/DEI, and how to make the shift from being a controller to a strategic CFO/COO. The team at Corsair practices what they preach, so there are some great take-aways.

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Nasdaq Solovis at Verger Capital (EP.28) May 16, 2024

This Sponsored Insight highlights Nasdaq’s Solovis, a multi-asset class portfolio, data, and risk management system for asset owners.

We spoke with Jeff Manning of Verger Capital Management, a $2.8 billion OCIO that was created out of the Wake Forest University Office of Investments. Verger’s CIO, Jim Dunn, was an early guest on Capital Allocators, and that conversation is replayed in the feed.

Jeff oversees all financial operations at Verger including the team, reporting, and strategic decisions. He provides a detailed case study on how Verger enhanced its operational capabilities as it scaled and how a partnership with Solovis helped drive efficiency.

We are grateful for Nasdaq Solovis’s sponsorship of Investment Management Operations and are eager to highlight their contributions to the asset owner community.

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[REPLAY] Jim Dunn – Protect, Perform, Provide (Capital Allocators, EP.24) May 16, 2024

Jim Dunn is the CEO and CIO of Verger Capital Management, an Outsourced CIO business whose anchor client is Wake Forest University. Prior to forming Verger, he served as CIO of Wake Forest for five years. That transition from a sole client to an OCIO business, is a fascinating part of our conversation. Before joining Wake, Jim traveled the world as CIO of Wilshire Associates, where among other things he experienced the best story of a manager getting their foot in the door that I’ve ever heard. He got his start in the business trading death spiral convertible bonds at a now defunct hedge fund and got introduced to manager selection at Investorforce.

Our conversation starts with Jim’s career path, and covers a full range issues in allocating capital. We discuss defining risk tolerance, a factor-based approach to asset allocation, separating talent from luck in manager selection, the politics of endowment management, challenges using internal management, and culture. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear a few one-liners. Jim is chock full of gems and life lessons.

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Karl Sprules, COO – AllianceBernstein (EP.27) May 07, 2024

Karl Sprules is the COO at Alliance Bernstein, a global asset manager with $725 billion in assets and over 4,700 employees.

I really enjoyed speaking with Karl as he shows how you can be nimble at scale. We cover a lot of territory from his beginnings at Alliance Capital in the technology group, navigating the merger that created AB, and his evolution into the COO seat.

Karl shares how AB has evolved over time and the rationale behind the bold decision to move their headquarters from Manhattan to Nashville creating a new investment management hub and recalibrating work life balance for many people. We then turned to how AB is expanding into Asia, India, and their current thoughts on AI.

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Michael Lukasek, Managing Director – University of Pennsylvania (EP.26) Apr 23, 2024

Mike Lukasek is a Managing Director and the COO for the University of Pennsylvania’s Office of Investments.

Mike has been the COO of Penn’s Endowment for over 14 years. Prior to that, he was a VP at Goldman Sachs for their private equity fund of funds business and a VP of Finance at Summit Partners.

Given his tenure at Penn, Mike brings perspective on the evolution of an endowment office. He talks about how Penn’s operations and technology has evolved overtime and shares his insights on what is coming down the road. We talk about how to assess what you have versus what you really need, common triggers for change, the future of fund admins and custody banks and the changing role of investment data.

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Lawrence Miller, CTO – Wilshire (EP.25) Apr 09, 2024

Lawrence Miller is the CTO of Wilshire, an independent investment management firm that offers consulting services, analytical products, and manages funds for a global client base.

For many of us owning and understanding technology is critical for our business. However, many of us have come up through the ranks without hands-on training. This is where Lawrence lends a hand.

We cover Lawrence’s start as a quant at JP Morgan, lessons learned launching a startup, and how his time as a technology consultant landed him the CTO role following a ransomware attack.

While these cyber-related issues are often discussed at a high level one rarely get into the weeds on actual events. We cover how to respond to a ransomware attack, the current state of disaster recovery and what makes a good penetration test. We then turn to onboarding a new service provider, better tech focused due diligence questions for allocators and why taking a python class can help you be a better operational leader or IR person.

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Kenneth Onorio, CFO/COO – Eagle Point Credit Company (EP.24) Mar 26, 2024

Ken Onorio is the Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer of Eagle Point Credit, a $9 billion credit-oriented investment firm.

At some level, this is an interview about the softer skills in our space. Having spent time in hedge funds and a tour in fund administration, Ken shares his unique perspective with some key takeaways.

Ken then discusses his career path and lessons learned while at JP Morgan, Amaranth Advisors and Sailfish Capital to create a firm and culture built for the long haul. We cover the operational complexities of running credit funds, what is takes to run a publicly listed fund on the NYSE, and how to take a partnership approach to hiring third-party service providers as an extension of your office.

We discuss how to build culture, employee empowerment and how Eagle Point promotes from within and the impact of hiring for attitude, not aptitude.

All data included herein is as of February 29, 2024.

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Terry Thompson, COO – Berkshire Partners (EP.23) Mar 12, 2024

Terry Thompson is the Chief Operating Officer of Berkshire Partners, Boston-based private equity firm started in the 1980s before adding public equity capabilities in 2007.

Terry shares how his background across 8 different industries helped him land the role at Berkshire. We talk about how to quickly transition into a new industry, how to assess a career opportunity with limited information, and building rapport with long-tenured team members.

We cover Berkshire’s unique governance structure that focuses on stewardship, communication and transparency using a “team of teams” approach. We turn to his thoughts on industry trends with regulations, fundraising and what people doing right now with AI.

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Jason Ment, COO - StepStone Group (EP.22) Feb 27, 2024

Jason Ment is the president and Co-COO of StepStone Group, a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions, advisory and data services on behalf of clients representing $659B.

I really enjoyed this wide-ranging discussion on what is just around the corner in private markets. We cover his career path from law school to his time at Citigroup, which eventually becomes part of StepStone during the great financial crisis. We then cover the growth of StepStone and how to keep your firm culture and transparency on point when scaling from 35 to 1,000 employees. We also discuss how private markets are coming to the high-net-worth channel, the impact of his role as a publicly traded company and the near-term opportunities with AI.

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Intelligo at Stonehaven Partners (EP.21) Feb 22, 2024

Today Sponsored Insight highlights Intelligo, a risk intelligence and background check platform that blends human analysis with cutting-edge AI to uncover facts in a fraction of the time.

I sat down with Brian Gaffney of Stonehaven Partners to discuss the common challenges with background checks and how Intelligo helps his team streamline and scale their due diligence process. We then turn to the unique screens Brian uses for assessing risk, dealing with yellow and red “flags” and how the networks effect of our “digital exhaust” allow background checks to be completed faster so you can get your deal completed on schedule.

We are grateful for Intelligo’s partnership and eager to highlight their value to the investment community.

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Stephen Baranowski, Head of Client Ops – Adams Street Partners (EP.20) Feb 13, 2024

Steve Baranowski is a Partner and Head of Client Operations at Adams Street Partners, a private investment manager with $58B in assets.

Steve discusses his early career in public accounting and the nuances of transitioning to a client. He then shares what makes Adams Street unique and how their operations has evolved over time while striving to keep the culture intact. He shares his perspective on what it takes to be self-administered, as well as knowing when to outsource as the business evolves. We close with LPs are interacting with GPs today with a focus on tax structuring, fund expenses, and cash controls.

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Stephanie Withers, Senior Manager Investment Operations – W.K. Kellogg Foundation (EP.19) Jan 30, 2024

Stephanie Withers is the Head of Investment Operations at the WK Kellogg Foundation Investment Office, an $8 billion private foundation.

I really enjoyed Stephanie’s authenticity to make the world and her investment office a better place. We cover their initiatives on DEI in what they call their Expanding Equity Program. This program is unique in that others can access it at no cost. We then to turn to their tech stack, the importance of business process mapping, and how their annual operations survey identifies and prioritizes change management in full partnership with the investment team.

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Beth Gilje, Founder – Union Park Consulting (EP.18) Jan 16, 2024

Today’s Sponsored Insight features Beth Gilje, the founder of Union Park Consulting, a leading investment operations consulting firm that provides operational and technical consulting to some of the world’s leading institutions and family offices. Prior to founding Union Park, Beth worked at the investment office of the University of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2020. Prior to Penn, Beth spent time at Partners Capital before beginning her career at Lehman Brothers.

As we all know upgrading your investment operations is a complex matter. Beth provides great insight on the common, yet often overlooked challenges for investment institutions. We spend time uncovering how to enhance performance data, finalize performance reporting faster, and best practices on managing service providers. I also enjoyed talking about technology selection as a function of one’s operational strengths and weaknesses. Whether you are running lean or have a deep bench, there are tons of helpful takeaways.

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Shaun Ng, COO – Cleveland Clinic Investment Office (EP.17) Jan 02, 2024

Shaun Ng is the Managing Director of Risk, Analytics, and Investment Operations at the Cleveland Clinic Investment Office.

Shaun joined Cleveland Clinic in 2016 after working over 10 years at the World Bank. He shares how they created their investment office from scratch after the board opted to insource their investments from an OCIO. We later turn to how they partner with the hospital’s data and analytics team to build more than 200 dashboards of dynamic data sets for the investment team.

Shaun has been quite busy at Cleveland Clinic and does a few things differently that operational professionals should observe. Maybe, this is why he and his team have won the Allocator Prize for Best Investment Operations of the Year.

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Frank Perez, MD, Head of ODD – Makena Capital (EP.16) Dec 19, 2023

Frank Perez is a Managing Director and Head of Operational Due Diligence at Makena Capital, an OCIO whose roots emanate from Stanford’s Endowment.

Prior to joining Makena in 2015, Frank was engaged in ODD efforts at Saguenay Strathmore Capital, Morgan Stanley and UBP where he focused on private equity, real estate, and hedge fund investments. Frank’s background is unique given his risk management experience within several investment banks where he was responsible for conducting due diligence on hedge fund trading counterparties.

Frank goes deep on the ins and outs of ODD, the 5 pillars he follows when assessing a manager, the differences to consider with emerging and mature managers, and common deal breakers. What is an ODD talk without hearing some stories of when things go a little sideways with a potential manager? I think you will learn a thing or two here. As they say, ODD is not where you win a mandate but you can certainly lose it.

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Dan Houlihan, CEO – STP Investment Services (EP.15) Dec 07, 2023

Today’s Sponsored Insight features Dan Houlihan, the CEO of STP Investment Services, a global investment operations firm that provides complete front, middle, and back office services for investment managers.

Dan joined STP in August 2022 after spending 11 years at Northern Trust as the EVP and Head of Asset Servicing. Prior to Northern Trust he was President of Citisoft, a management consulting group to the investment industry.

If you are currently outsourcing operations or exploring the subject, this is a master class. Dan shares some key insights on the trends and considerations of operational outsourcing, the common triggers to begin the conversation, what to look for in an outsourcer and how outsourcing can potentially launch products faster and enter new markets.

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Ashok Raju, COO – VR Capital Group (EP.14) Dec 05, 2023

Ashok Raju is the Chief Operating Officer of VR Group, an alternative asset manager focused on distressed securities and special situations investments in emerging markets.

Ashok joined VR Group in 2010 initially to create the firm’s client facing efforts before becoming the COO, where he now oversees operations, analytics, and business development. Ashok began his career in equity research at Deutsche Bank and spent time at a multi-family office where he covered hedge fund and public equity investments.

I really enjoyed my conversation with Ashok. He’s the first guest on the podcast to oversee both internal operations at VR and client relationships. This perspective is an interesting and common one for small-to-medium organizations, and his insights are valuable for anyone beginning client facing efforts or overseeing fund operations. Or both! . . . He’s also a wealth of information for younger professionals navigating their own careers in financial services, and I especially love his concept of “frientors.”

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Danielle Roseman, COO – Lazard Family Office Services (EP.13) Nov 21, 2023

Danielle Roseman is a Managing Director and Co-Head of Lazard Family Office Services, a multifamily office that started managing capital for some of the world’s most sophisticated families over 175 years ago.

Danielle started her career at Goldman Sachs where she worked on the mortgage desk during the Great Financial Crisis. Danielle joined Lazard following the acquisition of Truuvo Partners.

If you work with family offices or want to learn more about it, this is the episode.

Danielle goes deep on how to provide operational value to families, the power of operational support as a skill set and how the next generation is changing the client service engagement model. Danielle riffs on their tech stack, data consumption trends, family governance, and the complexity of tracking documentation of family assets.

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Bryan Corbett, CEO – Managed Funds Association (EP.12) Nov 07, 2023

Bryan Corbett is the president and CEO of the Managed Funds Association, which represents the global alternative asset management industry. With offices in Washington DC, New York, Brussels, and London, MFA has over 170 members, including hedge funds, credit funds, and crossover funds that collectively manage over 3 trillion in AUM.

Bryan joined the MFA in January of 2020 after spending 11 years in private equity at The Carlyle Group. Before Carlyle, Bryan worked on Capitol Hill for the US Treasury Department and as a special assistant to President George W. Bush.

If you want to know where the puck is going in the industry, this is the interview. Bryan’s unique experience as a private equity lawyer with Capitol Hill experience puts him in the poll position.

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Maarika Paul, CFO & COO – CDPQ (EP.11) Oct 24, 2023

Maarika Paul is the Chief Financial & Operations Officer at CDPQ, a global investment firm that manages Quebec’s pension and insurance assets overseeing $424b billion Canadian in AUM. Prior to joining CDPQ in 2011, Maarika worked for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) for almost two decades overseeing various functions across investor relations, M&A, and corporate development.

Maarika discusses her career leading up to CDPQ, her current responsibilities and what makes CDPQ unique. We touch on team structure, technology, tax, ESG, and advice for operations professionals.

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Gordon Barnes, EVP Portfolio Strategies – Bain Capital (EP.10) Oct 10, 2023

Gordon Barnes is the Executive Vice President and the Head of Portfolio Group on the Bain Capital Partnership Strategies team, a group that manages assets primarily for Bain Capital’s partners in strategies that diversify away from the equity-orientation of the firm’s core. Colin Campbell, the group’s co-head, was a previous guest on Capital Allocators, and that conversation is replayed in the feed for context on the group’s approach to investing in esoteric assets.

Prior to Bain Capital, Gordon was a Managing Director and Global Head of Operational Due Diligence at Cambridge Associates where he helped build the firms ODD practices.

Our conversation covers Gordon’s perspective on ODD from his time at Cambridge, becoming knowledgeable in uncommon fund strategies, some case studies from his work with managers, and what makes his role one of a kind.

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[REPLAY] Colin Campbell – The Case for Environmental Markets (Climate Solutions EP.3, Capital Allocators EP.302) Oct 10, 2023

Colin Campbell is a Partner at Bain Capital and co-head of the Partnership Strategies team that manages assets primarily for Bain Capital’s partners in strategies that diversify away from the equity-orientation of the firm’s core. In its search for attractive, uncorrelated assets, the Partnership Strategies team became an early mover in environmental markets.

Both Tom Steyer and Bill Orum cited carbon credits and offsets as a necessary and important near-term component to effect climate transition. Colin’s deep engagement in the space provides a wonderful primer for those interested.

Our conversation dives into Colin’s background and investment approach that led to the discovery of the opportunity in environmental markets. We then turn to his investment thesis, sourcing, description and nuance of compliance and voluntary markets, and implementation.

For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here.

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Sean Arp, COO – University of Wisconsin Foundation (EP.09) Sep 26, 2023

Sean Arp is the Chief Operating Officer of the University of Wisconsin Foundation. He oversees all investment operations, analytics, reporting, technology, personnel, and strategic initiatives. Prior to joining UWF in 2022, Sean spent eight years at Washington University in St. Louis Investment Management Company (WUIMC) where he served as Chief Operating Officer. Before WUIMC he was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Temujin Fund Management and a Director at Thales Fund Management.

Our conversation details how investment operations work at an endowment from Sean’s time at WashU and Wisconsin Foundation. We discuss collaboration with the investment office, ODD, technology, the importance of networks, and governance.

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Byron Pavano, Fund Strategy and Counsel – Audax Group (EP.08) Sep 12, 2023

Byron Pavano is a Managing Director of Fund Strategy and Counsel for Audax Group, one of the most active private equity firms in North America with $36B in assets under management.

Our conversation covers Byron’s path from outside counsel for private funds to inside counsel at Audax, insourcing vs outsourcing, the regulatory landscape across countries, and managing communications. We discuss AI disruption and use cases, the Audax deal process, and the operational interplay between the operations and investment teams. We close on ESG, DEI initiatives and advice on how high performers manage themselves and their relationships with investment-oriented founders.

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Ken Meister, COO – Evanston Capital Management (EP.07) Aug 29, 2023

Ken Meister is a Founding Partner, President, and COO at Evanston Capital Management – a $4.3 billion hedge fund of funds focused on early-stage investment managers in complex, innovative strategy areas. Ken co-founded Evanston in 2002, and today oversees all business and operations of the firm plus operational due diligence. Before Evanston, Ken spent time at William Blair, Ameritech Corporation, and Northern Trust.

Our conversation covers Ken’s path to Evanston, its operational makeup, and the firm’s approach to ODD, technology, and communication. We close with Ken’s perspective on the hedge fund industry and advice to aspiring fund managers.

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Bipsync at UVIMCO (EP.06) Aug 24, 2023

Today’s Sponsored Insight highlights Bipsync, the research management software that helps asset owners and managers optimize pre- and post-investment decision making.

We spoke with Annie Kerns and Blake Fischer from the University of Virginia Investment Management Company, known as UVIMCO. Annie leads investment operations and Blake oversees technology at the $14 billion endowment.

Annie and Blake offer a detailed case study on how investment technology decisions are made, the importance of sound research processes across the organization, and how Bipsync has fueled efficiency and collaboration at UVIMCO.

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Scott Pomfret, Best Practices in Fund Compliance (EP.05) Aug 15, 2023

Scott Pomfret has seen every angle of the investment fund regulatory landscape. Scott spent 8 years as a branch chief for the SEC Division of Enforcement, leading teams investigating traditional and alternative asset managers. After a brief stint at PwC thereafter, Scott was the Chief Compliance Officer at Highfields Capital Management, a $12 billion value-oriented investment manager. Today, Scott advises private funds and vendors on regulatory, legal, and business issues.

Our conversation covers Scott’s tenure at the SEC, his transition to the private sector, and best practices for CCO’s and their firms. He discusses the relationship between compliance and investment staffs, building teams, and scaling operations. We close with Scott’s work on various boards and what might be the coolest piece of memorabilia in fund compliance circles!

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Jenn Birmingham, COO – Princeton University Investment Company (EP.04) Aug 01, 2023

Jenn Birmingham is a Managing Director at the Princeton University Investment Company (or PRINCO), one of the world’s largest and most prestigious university endowments, where she has been leading efforts in finance and operations since 2010. Prior to PRINCO, Jenn spent over eight years at Deutsche Bank Asset Management where she was a Managing Director and Global CFO of DB Advisors and Deutsche Insurance Asset Management.

Jenn and PRINCO are a prime example of how operations can provide leverage to the investment organization. For context on PRINCOs investment philosophy, longtime and retiring CIO, Andy Golden, is a repeat guest on Capital Allocators, and his first appearance is replayed in the feed.

Jenn and I discuss her transition to the endowment world from Deutsche Bank and how PRINCO has evolved operationally since her arrival. We turn to the nuances of working at an endowment, collaboration across teams, and practical ways to drive adoption of new technology. We close by examining organizational challenges facing endowments today along with operational advice for emerging managers.

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[REPLAY] - Andrew Golden – Beyond the Long Term (Capital Allocators, EP.13) Aug 01, 2023

Andy Golden is the President of Princeton University’s Investment Management Company (PRINCO). Having grown from $3B at the time of his arrival in 1995 to $22.5B today, PRINCO has been among the highest performing endowments in the world. Andy came to PRINCO from Duke Management Company, where he was an Investment Director, and received his formative training in the business working for David Swensen at the Yale University Investments Office. Andy currently serves on the fund Advisory Boards of several well-known private equity and venture capital managers, including Bain Capital, General Catalyst Partners, and Greylock Partners. He was a founding member of the Investors’ Committee of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets and serves as a Trustee of the Princeton Area Community Foundation and Rutgers Preparatory School. Andy holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Duke University and an M.P.P.M. from the Yale School of Management.

Our conversation discusses Princeton’s endowment two decades ago and today, including its strategic advantages as an institution, shifts in thinking about asset allocation, decision making, team development, and partnership with managers. Andy’s long tenure in his seat, insight, and wisdom provides a treasure trove of information about how a top endowment manager practices his craft, and his subtle wit always keeps things light.

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Antoine Forterre, CFO – Man Group (EP.03) Jul 18, 2023

Antoine Forterre is the CFO for Man Group, a $140 billion asset manager focused on liquid alternative hedge funds. Since recording, Antoine has passed off the official title of COO but still maintains responsibilities in HR, risk, and communications.

Our conversation covers Antoine’s career path to Man Group, the dynamic history of the firm, and managing regulations across a large global footprint. We discuss managing human capital, interfacing with clients and investment teams, and driving differentiation through technology. We close on headwinds facing new hedge funds and successful M&A integration for asset managers.

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Jennifer Choi, CEO – ILPA (EP.02) Jul 18, 2023

Jennifer Choi is the CEO of Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), a non-profit that engages, empowers, and connects limited partners to maximize their performance. Jennifer leads the implementation of ILPA’s responses to emerging issues impacting the industry. Prior to ILPA, she served as Vice President of Industry and External Affairs for the EMPEA.

Our conversation covers ILPA’s mission, engagement with LPs and GPs from an operations perspective, and pertinent topics to each. We dive into her views on standardization in the industry, technology, DEI and ESG, and how ILPA is supporting the industry on all fronts.

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Lauren Dillard, CFO – Vista Equity Partners (EP.01) Jul 06, 2023

Lauren Dillard is the CFO of Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm with over $96 billion in assets under management and over 20 years investing exclusively in enterprise software. Before joining Vista, she was the Executive Vice President of Nasdaq’s Investment Intelligence Division, where she oversaw the company's data, index, and analytics divisions. Prior to Nasdaq, Lauren spent 17 years at Carlyle where she served as the Head of the Investment Solutions unit and was a member of the Management Committee, and she began her career at Arthur Anderson’s tax practice.

Our conversation covers Lauren’s early career at Arthur Anderson and her transitions to Carlyle, Nasdaq and eventually Vista. We discuss the dynamics of being an executive in investment management, operational flexibility, outsourcing vs. insourcing, and internal deal processes. We close on the increasing sophistication of LPs and GPs and the importance of a growth mindset.

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Welcome to Investment Management Operations May 26, 2023

It’s our pleasure to bring you Investment Management Operations. This show explores the inner workings of the most sophisticated institutions in the industry.

We’ll share conversations with key operating partners who don’t typically get in front of the microphone. In each episode, we’ll profile executives across operations, compliance, legal, finance, and other non-investment roles to better understand how the world’s most sophisticated investment institutions run their businesses.

Whether you’re a current operator, an investor looking to start your own fund, or new to the game, this show has nuggets of wisdom for you.

You’ll likely notice an new voice as the host of this show. We’ve tapped career operator, Scott MacDonald, to host the new series.

Subscribe to Investment Management Operations wherever you get your podcasts. You can access Capital Allocators content and join our mailing list at www.capitalallocators.com .

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