Investment Management Operations

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

Show notes

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

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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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

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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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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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