Now in its 5th year, the Active Investment Company Alliance’s Roundtable conference addresses the latest trends, developments and investment strategies from quality fund sponsors. It will be held on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 in Manhattan at the Down Town Association, a social organization dating back to 1859. The event will feature a full day of informative panels, great speakers, valuable networking and more.
The conference brings together institutional investors, RIAs, fund and asset managers, financial advisors, and financial media. The event offers a great opportunity to hear about the latest fund products and trends, to network and establish quality connections.
AICA is known for combining high quality, advisor-centric content, distinguished by its invite-to-speak presentations (not the typical pay-to-speak format) that enable meaningful discussions and interaction. In addition, AICA also sponsors the weekly NAVigator Podcast. AICA strives to facilitate and grow relationships for institutional investors, financial advisors, service providers and fund sponsors within the industry.
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| CEF Advisors & CEFData.com | WallachBeth |
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Agenda – 7 CE credits approved
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| John Cole Scott CIO at CEF Advisors, Founder of CEFData.com |
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| Moderator Roxanna Islam, CFA, Associate Director of Research – Alerian |
Speaker #1 Kristopher Pritchett, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager – Ares |
Speaker #2 George Westervelt, Head of Global High Yield and Head of US High Yield Research – abdrn |
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| Speaker #1 Jonathan Mondillo, Head of US Fixed Income – abrdn |
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| Speaker #1 Adam Sparkman, Client Portfolio Manager – Thornburg |
Speaker #2 Josh Duitz, Deputy Head of Global Income and Infrastructure – abrdn |
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| Moderator James J. Ryan, Partner & Head of Business Development – Destra |
Speaker #1 Ryan Crewe, Vice President – The Private Shares Fund |
Speaker #2 Jake Schultz, Partner and Director, Portfolio Oversight & Analytics – Destra |
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| John Cole Scott CIO at CEF Advisors, Founder of CEFData.com |
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| Speaker #1 Derek Pines, Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager – Bramshill Investments |
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| Speaker #1 Steve O’Neill, CFA, Portfolio Manager – RiverNorth |
Speaker #2 Kevin Hardy, Investment Management – Skadden |
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| John Cole Scott CIO at CEF Advisors, Founder of CEFData.com |
Past Participants 2019
Past Participants 2022
Mr. Scott has worked at Closed-End Fund Advisors since 2001. He holds the FINRA 66 License and the Certified Fund Specialist designation (CFS). He is a graduate of The College of William and Mary and has been quoted and interviewed widely in the financial press and presented at conferences and for investment groups on more than 50 occasions.In 2008 John founded CEFA’s Closed-End Fund Universe, a data service covering all US listed closed-end funds and BDCs. Currently supported by an internal 10 member analyst team with a data manager/ programmer covering the 600+ ticker universe of CEFs/BDCs/iCEFs. They regularly do consulting and projects for CEF/BDC Sponsors, Hedge Funds and Institutional Investors. Portfolio Consultant with over $300MM+ in deposits into a fund focused on BDCs with a fund sponsor partner. He developed 35 CEF/BDC based indexes; 9 diversified portfolio objective, 9Equity and 15 Bond sector. Founder & Exec. Chairman of Active Investment Company Alliance(AICA).
John is a past board member of The Richmond Association for Business Economics(RABE), and serves as Assistant Treasurer and on the Investment Committee for The New York State Society of The Cincinnati. Board member and Finance & Investment Committees for The William & Mary National Alumni Board.
Adam joined Thornburg in 2014 and was previously a member of the firm’s business development group. Prior to Thornburg, he worked as a business analyst at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Adam graduated cum laude with a BBA in finance from The Sam M. Walton College of Business at University of Arkansas and holds an MBA from New Mexico State University. He is a CFA charterholder.
At Thornburg, we believe unconstrained investing leads to better outcomes for our clients. Our culture is collaborative, and our investment solutions are highly active, high conviction and benchmark agnostic. When it comes to finding value for our clients, it’s more than what we do, it’s how we do it: how we think, how we invest and how we’re structured.
Previously, Islam was a Senior Equity Research Associate at Stifel in the freight transportation, logistics, and electric vehicle sectors. She was also a Research Associate at Wells Fargo, where she researched closed-end funds and exchange-traded products. She also held other research and product management roles at Wells Fargo. Islam holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in Plan II Honors from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a CFA charterholder.
About Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund, Inc.
Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund, Inc. (\”ARDC\”) is a closed-end management company that is externally managed by Ares Capital Management II LLC, a subsidiary of Ares Management Corporation. ARDC seeks to provide an attractive level of total return primarily through current income and, secondarily, through capital appreciation. ARDC invests in a broad, dynamically-managed portfolio of credit investments. ARDC’s net asset value may be accessed through its NASDAQ ticker symbol, XADCX. Additional information is available at http://www.arespublicfunds.com.
Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to provide flexible capital to support businesses and create value for our stakeholders and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of June 30, 2023, Ares Management Corporation’s global platform had approximately $378 billion of assets under management, with over 2,600 employees operating across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com.
Ryan graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney with a BBA in Finance and holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation.
The Private Shares Fund seeks capital appreciation by focusing on investments in late-stage, venture-backed private companies. As compared to startups and earlier-stage venture companies, these companies have more established product lines and customer bases, and typically have displayed revenue growth. The Private Shares Fund’s strategy is to participate in the potential appreciation of these dynamic pre-lPO companies.
The Private Shares Fund investment management team monitors an extensive universe of private technology and innovation companies across multiple sectors while staying attuned to significant trends in the marketplace. By utilizing proprietary databases and deep relationships across the venture ecosystem, we look to identify opportunities involving high-performing companies with strong investor syndicates. Each of these companies will undergo an in-depth analysis of many factors that are likely to influence both capital appreciation and the ultimate exit outcome. Once the evaluation process is complete, the investment team will negotiate terms and determine the appropriate allocation based on portfolio construction modeling.
Qualifications
BSc
BS in Finance. Jonathan holds both Series 7 and 63 licenses.
About abrdn
Enabling our clients to be better investors drives everything we do. Our business is structured around three vectors – Investments, Adviser and Personal – focused on their changing needs. Our investments solutions are built on the strength of our insight – generated from wide-ranging research, worldwide investment expertise and local market knowledge. Our teams collaborate across regions, asset classes and specialisms, connecting diverse perspectives, working with clients to identify investment opportunities that suit their needs.
Qualifications:
BA, CFA
George earned a BA in English from the University of Vermont and is a CFA charterholder.
About abrdn
Enabling our clients to be better investors drives everything we do. Our business is structured around three vectors – Investments, Adviser and Personal – focused on their changing needs. Our investments solutions are built on the strength of our insight – generated from wide-ranging research, worldwide investment expertise and local market knowledge. Our teams collaborate across regions, asset classes and specialisms, connecting diverse perspectives, working with clients to identify investment opportunities that suit their needs.
About abrdn
Enabling our clients to be better investors drives everything we do. Our business is structured around three vectors – Investments, Adviser and Personal – focused on their changing needs. Our investments solutions are built on the strength of our insight – generated from wide-ranging research, worldwide investment expertise and local market knowledge. Our teams collaborate across regions, asset classes and specialisms, connecting diverse perspectives, working with clients to identify investment opportunities that suit their needs.
James Ryan is responsible for leading the distribution strategies of Destra’s investment offerings. Mr. Ryan brings more than 40 years of broad experience in sales management, asset management and client development to the role. He is accomplished in strategic planning and analysis & business-to-business development, and has fostered long-standing relationships and successful practices across all distribution channels, business platforms and product structures including IPOs, Mutual Funds, Structured Products, Closed-End Funds, Retirement Offerings, UITs and SMA/UMA.
About Destra
Founded in 2008, Destra Capital was purpose-built to help independent thought leaders achieve better wealth outcomes by sourcing the next generation of investment solutions.
To achieve these goals, Destra selects experienced partners with unique investment strategies or services. Mutual funds, interval funds, closed-end funds, separate accounts, and investment services – all are tools that the team uses to help investors intentionally grow their wealth outcomes over time.
More than 15 years later, the firm has helped thousands of investors break away from the pack and blaze their own investing trail. We continue to encourage our clients to challenge the conventional and explore new ways of delivering financial freedom.
Mr. Hardy has been repeatedly selected for inclusion in Chambers Global and Chambers USA, in addition to being named one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ 2022 Notable Gen X Leaders in Law.
About Skadden
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates delivers the highest quality advice and novel solutions to legal challenges, enabling clients to achieve their business goals. We are known for the innovative and creative thinking we rely on to handle the most complex transactions, litigation/controversy issues, and regulatory matters, as well as the open, collaborative relationships we build with clients, including corporations; financial and governmental entities; small, entrepreneurial companies; and cultural, educational and charitable institutions.
Jake manages Destra’s mutual fund products and oversees Destra’s secondary market support services for several NYSE listed closed-end funds. Jake contributes to the Firm’s product, marketing, and legal teams through product management and development efforts, data generation and investment content creation, as well as day-today operational support and documentation. Jake also sits on the Firm’s Investment Committee adding to portfolio oversight and monitoring in conjunction with manager & fund research, selection, and due diligence. Jake received his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He holds the FINRA Series 7 and 66 securities licenses and also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Jake is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society Chicago.
About Destra
Founded in 2008, Destra Capital was purpose-built to help independent thought leaders achieve better wealth outcomes by sourcing the next generation of investment solutions.
To achieve these goals, Destra selects experienced partners with unique investment strategies or services. Mutual funds, interval funds, closed-end funds, separate accounts, and investment services – all are tools that the team uses to help investors intentionally grow their wealth outcomes over time.
More than 15 years later, the firm has helped thousands of investors break away from the pack and blaze their own investing trail. We continue to encourage our clients to challenge the conventional and explore new ways of delivering financial freedom.
Kimberly Flynn serves as Managing Director at XA Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of XMS Capital Partners. She is a partner in the firm and responsible for all product and business development activities. Kim created the alternative registered trust platform at XA Investments working in partnership with independent subadvisers representing best-in-class alternative investment managers.Previously, Kim was Senior Vice President and Head of Product Development for Nuveen Investments’ Global Structured Products Group. In her 11 years at Nuveen, she helped developed over 40 closed-end funds raising ~$13 billion in capital. In her leadership role at Nuveen, Kim was responsible for asset raising activities through the development of new traditional and alternative investment funds including CEFs, ETFs, UITs and commodity pools.Kim received her MBA degree from Harvard University, where she was a William J. Carey scholar and President of the HBS Volunteers. Before attending Harvard Business School, Kim spent three years working in Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division (1999-2002) in their Chicago office.
She earned her BBA in Finance and Business Economics, summa cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame in 1999 where she was a valedictorian candidate, Rhodes Scholar Finalist and the first recipient of the Paul F. Conway award given to a senior in the Department of Finance who embodies Notre Dame’s tradition of excellence and who enriches the ideals of the university.
Kim earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Chicago. Kim currently serves on the Board of the Women in ETFs Chicago chapter as head of the mentorship committee and on the Advisory Board for Youth Guidance’s program Becoming A Man (BAM). Kim with her husband Leo, son Teddy (12yrs) and daughter Rose (9yrs) live in Lincoln Park, Chicago.
Jason Mehring is a Managing Director at BlackRock. He is a voting member and a past Chairman of the investment committee for BlackRock’s US Private Capital Group (“USPC”).Mr. Mehring focuses on the team’s origination, underwriting and monitoring of middle market private investments, including those made on behalf of the Middle Market Senior Fund (“MMSF”), where he is the lead Portfolio Manager, and other public and private investment funds. These investment vehicles offer middle-market companies flexible financing solutions to meet their current and future capital needs.
Jason has over 26 years’ experience in middle market investing including his 15 years’ experience with the USPC team, joining as a Managing Director at BlackRock Capital Investment Corporation’s former advisor in 2005. Mr. Mehring previously spent more than ten years at Banc of America Capital Investors (BACI), an affiliate of Bank of America, Inc., in Chicago, where he held positions of increasing responsibility, becoming a Principal of the firm in 2000. At BACI, Mr. Mehring focused on mezzanine and private equity investing in middle market companies. Prior to joining BACI in 1994, he worked at Firstar Bank, a predecessor to U.S. Bank.
Mr. Mehring received a B.B.A., summa cum laude, in Finance and Economics from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, where he also graduated with University Honors, an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and he has served on a variety of private corporate boards.
Jorge Solares-Parkhurst is a Managing Director in JMP Securities’ financial services investment banking group.Prior to joining JMP, Jorge had been a Director in the global financial institutions group at Credit Suisse, where he worked with U.S. specialty lenders and regional banks. He previously served as a Managing Director at FBR Capital Markets and a Senior Managing Director at Bear, Stearns & Co. Jorge began his career in PaineWebber’s investment banking division, remaining with the firm following its acquisition by UBS and concluding his tenure there as a Director in the financial institutions group for the Americas.
Jorge holds a BSFS in international economics from The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
Kenneth E. Burdon represents public and private investment funds, investment advisers, financial services companies and other financial institutions in connection with the structuring and distribution of investment products, and in a variety of regulatory, compliance, corporate, governance, operational and transactional matters.Serving clients in every major international financial center, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and affiliates is one of the leading law firms in the world, with 22 offices and approximately 1,700 attorneys offering solutions to the most challenging legal issues in virtually every area of corporate law.
Vadim Avdeychik advises business development companies (BDCs), mutual funds, closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), hedge funds and their investment advisers on the full range of investment management matters. His experience spans the formation and operation of registered investment companies, alternative fund structures, fund governance, regulatory issues involving public and private funds, ERISA and investment company status issues and exemptions.Vadim also advises clients on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, including launching investment products, advising directors on ESG matters and establishing compliance programs for ESG investing. He has authored several articles on the topic and is a frequent speaker on regulatory issues dealing with ESG investing.
Partner & Head of Investments
Rob Watson is a Partner & Head of Investments for Destra. Rob also serves as President of Destra Capital Advisors, LLC and DFC Preferred Advisors LLC, both SEC registered investment advisors, as well as President of each of Destra’s mutual funds. Rob chairs the Firm’s Investment Committee, with responsibility for manager research and selection, as well as portfolio oversight and monitoring. In addition, he heads the Firm’s investment product and marketing efforts.
Rob has held numerous roles across an almost 30-year career in the financial services industry. Rob has run product units at Morgan Stanley & Aviva Investors and been responsible for business development and account management teams at Janus & Van Kampen. He has extensive experience in product design and investment implementation, as well as institutional sales and manager due diligence. He holds key industry licenses, is a CFP® certificate holder, and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from North Carolina State University.
Colin joined Angel Oak in 2012 and serves as a voting member of the firm’s public funds Investment Committee. He is also a speaker on many of the firm’s quarterly calls for both its private and public funds.
Prior to Angel Oak, Colin worked for an Atlanta-based boutique investment firm where he was responsible for the acquisition and management of their distressed debt portfolio, as well as the development of their proprietary financial technology platform. Previously, Colin worked in the Real Estate Capital Markets group for Wachovia Bank and Wells Fargo where he focused on risk management for their commercial real estate REPO lines.
Colin holds B.B.A. degrees in Banking & Finance and Real Estate from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia.
Prior to joining Nuveen, Justin led product management and development for Destra Capital. He also served as a member of the firm’s Investment Committee, was an officer for Destra’s suite of mutual funds and led sub-advisor due diligence. Prior to joining Destra, Justin played an integral role in the product management and development of closed-end funds, mutual fund and ETFs at Guggenheim Investments.
Justin graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He holds the CFA designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Chicago.
Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $1.3 trillion in assets under management as of 31 Dec 2021 and operations in 27 countries. Its investment specialists offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies. For more information, please visit www.nuveen.com.
Primark is expanding access to private equity investments without the complexity of subscription documents, high investment minimums, and the complex tax treatment associated with traditional institutional private equity fund structures.
During his 20-year career, Mr. Bates worked for several CLO managers and invested over $1.3 billion in CLO securities. He is a frequent panelist at CLO conferences and has written a book on investing in CLO equity.
Prior to joining Cliffwater, Alex was a Managing Director at Monroe Capital, an asset management firm specializing in lower middle market direct lending. Before that, Alex was the Chief Investment Officer at Main Street Financial, with prior experience at Calamos Investments, Lotsoff Capital, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
He earned a BA in Government from Pomona College and an MBA in Finance from Georgetown University. Alex is a CFA charterholder and also holds the CAIA designation..
Chuck Jaffe is a syndicated financial columnist and the host of “Money Life with Chuck Jaffe,” a one-hour weekday financial talk show (moneylifeshow.com).Chuck’s work has been syndicated since 1995, first while based at the Boston Globe and then from MarketWatch.com; he also writes for the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. A past president of the Society of American Business Editors &and Writers, Chuck has been a frequent guest on CNBC, Nightly Business Report, Fox Business News, National Public Radio and more, and is the author of three books: “Getting Started In Finding a Financial Advisor,” “The Right Way to Hire Financial Help” and “Chuck Jaffe’s Lifetime Guide to Mutual Funds.”
In what is jokingly referred to as “spare time,” Chuck is very involved in the sport of lacrosse as a broadcaster, referee, coach, league owner and player. He lives on Boston’s South Shore with a golden retriever who sleeps under the desk while Chuck is working and whose flatulence issues sometimes explain Chuck’s demeanor.
You can follow him on Twitter @ChuckJaffe, @MoneyLifeShow and, depending on your sporting interests, @BostonBoxLax.
Website: http://www.moneylifeshow.com
Mr. Schlemovitz focuses on strategic relationships and product development. Prior to StepStone, Mr. Schlemovitz served as a Managing Director of CNL Financial Group, a $10 billion asset manager providing access for individual investors to the private markets. At CNL he created and oversaw the firm’s Private Equity platform and was the Chief Operating Officer of Strategic Capital. Previously Mr. Schlemovitz was an Executive Director in Investment Banking at J.P. Morgan where he led equity and debt capital raising and merger and acquisition transactions for Financial Institution clients.
Mr. Schlemovitz received his BA from Emory University and is a CFA charterholder.Conversus Company Profile Blurb:
Conversus is an investment firm designed to provide individual investors the opportunity to access private markets with the goal of transforming portfolios and enhancing long-term outcomes. Conversus is a wholly-owned business of StepStone Group, a global asset management and advisory firm with over $500 billion in assets under advisement. Leveraging StepStone’s extensive experience across the private markets allows Conversus to create innovative, investor-centric products by focusing on convenience, efficiency and transparency.
Bill has been a leader on the sales and marketing side of the financial services industry for more than 35 years. He joined Wildermuth Securities in March of 2022 and serves as the company’s field representative throughout the eastern US. He earned his MBA from the University of Notre Dame and his BA from Middlebury College. He currently lives in suburban Chicago.
THE WILDERMUTH FUND provides investors with access to early-stage private equity that has traditionally been reserved for institutional investors. The Fund offers portfolio diversification among early-stage private equity positions in various asset classes including technology, real estate, healthcare, energy, and hedge funds that would be difficult for individual investors to achieve because of typically high minimum investments.
Daniel Wildermuth is the Fund’s portfolio manager. With over 25 years of investment experience, he has been a pioneer in adapting the endowment investment approach to the needs of individual investors. Mr. Wildermuth is CEO and CIO of Wildermuth Advisory and Asteria Wealth, a money management firm that administers more than 20 equity and fixed income portfolio strategies for retail and institutional investors.
Mark is responsible for supporting the continued investment success of Parametric’s systematic income product suite—with focus on dividend income and enhanced income strategies. Prior to joining Parametric in 2019, he spent seven years with US Bank’s Asset Management Group as a vice president in equity portfolio management covering domestic large-cap securities. Mark is also a firefighter for the city of Plymouth, Minnesota. He earned an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and a BS in finance/information systems from Iowa State University.Parametric partners with advisors to build portfolios focused on what’s important to them and their clients. A leader in custom solutions for more than 30 years, we help investors access efficient market exposures, solve implementation challenges, and design multi-asset portfolios that respond to their evolving needs. Headquartered in Seattle, Parametric has offices in Minneapolis, New York City, Boston, and Westport, Connecticut.
Robert Shaker, has been working with Shaker Financial Services since 2004 and currently serves as its Chief Investment Strategist. He is responsible for overseeing strategy development, trading and portfolio allocations.Shaker Financial Services, LLC (SFS) is a boutique investment advisory firm specializing in the trading of closed-end funds. SFS first began to accept funds for investment in individual separately managed accounts in 1996. SFS’s “Discount Capture” Composite is currently rated five (5) stars by Morningstar.
Thomas A. DeCapo represents financial services firms on a broad range of investment management industry matters. Mr. DeCapo’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, U.S. and international public and private financings, regulatory and compliance matters, and a variety of general securities and corporate matters in the investment management industry, as well as developing new investment products. Mr. DeCapo has extensive experience in fund corporate governance matters, including shareholders’ activist challenges. He advises investment company clients on corporate preparedness and in proxy contests. Additionally, Mr. DeCapo has been a leader in structur- ing periodic liquidity (interval) funds, having advised on one of the first-ever continuously offered tender offer closed-end funds, and on many recent Rule 23c-3 interval funds and tender offer funds.Mr. DeCapo has represented clients such as Gabelli, Tweedy, Browne, FMR, BlackRock Funds, Franklin Square, John Hancock, Oppenheimer Funds, U.S. Trust Corporation, Massa-chusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Van Kampen Funds and Raymond James & Co. Representative transactions include serving as issuer’s or underwriter’s counsel for several innovative registered alternatives strategies (liquid alts), fund of funds and for public “venture capital” funds; serving as collateral manager or deal counsel for CBOs and CLOs; serving as buyer’s or seller’s counsel in connection with the purchase or sale of investment management businesses; and counseling a variety of technology and internet-based financial services firms in connection with investment company, investment adviser and broker-dealer matters. Recently, he has structured permanent capital private equity vehicles designed to acquire control of and operate private companies, and to distribute, exchange and list their own shares without becoming required to register under the Investment Company Act.
He also counsels on a wide variety of investment company, investment advisory and broker-dealer matters. Mr. DeCapo has been listed in Best Lawyers in America as one of the country’s leading mutual funds lawyers.
Steve is a Senior Special Counsel Fellow and the SEC’s industry specialist on Business Development Companies (BDCs). Steve’s work focuses on a broad array of BDC matters, including disclosure review, examinations, enforcement, rulemaking, and exemptive relief applications, among others.
Steve joined the SEC in 2021. Prior to the SEC, Steve spent eight years at Blackstone where he was primarily focused on providing legal advice relating to formation, fundraising, co-investment transactions, corporate governance and compliance oversight of Blackstone BDCs. In addition, while at Blackstone, Steve worked on a variety of matters pertaining to private funds, CLOs, private credit, debt and equity offerings transactions, financing facilities and advisory and compliance issues. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2013, Steve was an associate in the corporate group of Bingham McCutchen LLP (now Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP). Steve earned his B.B.A., summa cum laude, from Pace University, Lubin School of Business, Pforzheimer Honors College, and his J.D., cum laude, from Fordham University School of Law.
As Managing Director and Head of UniFi by CAIA™ , Aaron oversees content and product strategy for the UniFi by CAIA™ Program. Prior to this, Aaron was responsible for the strategic direction of CAIA Association’s content agenda, thought leadership, and member education initiatives, and supported content development for the CAIA Charter Program. His work has been published by Oxford University Press and The Journal of Investing, and covers topics such as ESG/sustainable investing, liquid alternatives, commodities, and asset pricing/factor investing. He is a frequent writer and speaker on these topics. Aaron’s practitioner experience lies in private wealth management, where he served as portfolio manager, overseeing asset allocation, portfolio construction, and manager research efforts for high-net-worth individuals and institutional retirement plans.
He earned a B.S. with distinction in Finance and a Master of Finance from Penn State University. He holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM), Financial Data Professional (FDP) designations, is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and holds the the CFA Institute’s Certificate in ESG Investing. He is a Past President of CFA Society Columbus and serves on the CFA Society Philadelphia Programs Committee. Aaron is an adjunct professor and serves on multiple advisory boards for Penn State University.
The CAIA Association is a global professional credentialing body dedicated to creating greater alignment, transparency, and knowledge for all investors, with a specific emphasis on alternative investments. A Member-driven organization representing professionals in more than 100 countries, CAIA Association advocates for the highest ethical standards. The organization provides unbiased insight on a broad range of investment strategies and industry issues, key among them being efforts to bring greater diversification to portfolio construction decisions to achieve better long-term investor outcomes.
Mr. Penn follows business development companies. Prior to joining Oppenheimer and Co. he followed business development companies at Janney Montgomery Scott. In addition, he was an Equity Portfolio Manager/Financial Analyst at Legg Mason Capital Management from 2001 to 2012 where he specialized in financial companies. From 1996 to 2001 he managed a $400M fixed income portfolio at Legg Mason Capital Management. Prior to joining Legg Mason Mr. Penn managed a $15B fixed income portfolio at Aetna. He also worked for Price Waterhouse from 1981 to 1985.Mr. Penn received his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1995 and is a member of the Baltimore CFA Society. He was President of the Baltimore Society (2001-2002) and served on the Board of Directors. Mr. Penn received his Certified Public Accounting designation in 1983, but he no longer maintains this designation. He is a graduate of Villanova University, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Gamma Sigma (1981) and University of Chicago (MBA-1987).
Cheryl is a Portfolio Manager at Angel Oak Capital and serves as a Portfolio Manager for the Financials Income Fund, Financial Strategies Income Term Trust and the Dynamic Financial Strategies Income Term Trust. Cheryl has more than 15 years’ investment experience and primarily focuses on investment research and management across the firm’s financial sector-focused strategies.Cheryl joined Angel Oak in 2017 from Morgan Stanley, where she was an Executive Director and Head of Consumer & Specialty Finance Equity Research. Her research coverage included a multitude of financial sectors, including consumer, specialty, mortgage, REIT, payments, fintech and banking.
Cheryl has been featured as a television guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, TD Ameritrade Network and Yahoo! Finance TV and has been quoted in various publications including American Banker, Marketwatch, DailyAlts and S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Cheryl holds a B.S. in Commerce (Finance) from the University of British Columbia and an M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
development efforts for Nuveen’s closed-end fund product line. He is
responsible for developing and bringing new concepts to market, as well
as overseeing the ongoing product management of existing closed-end
funds.
Prior to joining Nuveen, Parth was a senior tax consultant at Deloitte,
where he specialized in investment company taxation.
Parth graduated with a B.S. in Accountancy and Finance from the
University of Illinois. He holds the Series 7 and 66 securities
registrations.Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors.
Nuveen has $1.1 trillion in assets under management as of 30 Jun 2022 and operations in 27 countries. Its investment specialists offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies. Nuveen is a leading sponsor of closed-end funds (CEFs) with $57 billion of assets under management across 56 CEFs as of 30 Jun 2022. The funds offer exposure to a broad range of asset classes and are designed for income-focused investors seeking regular distributions. Nuveen has more than 35 years of experience managing CEFs.
Mr. Arduini is a Partner and Portfolio Manager in the Ares Credit Group, where he focuses on alternative credit investments. Mr. Arduini serves as a Vice President and Portfolio Manager for the Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund, Inc. (NYSE:ARDC). Additionally, he serves as a member of the Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund Investment Committee.Prior to joining Ares in 2011, Mr. Arduini was a Managing Director at Indicus Advisors LLP, where he focused on structured credit investment opportunities. Previously, Mr. Arduini was Director of Structured Credit in the Fixed Income Investment Group and a Manager in the Risk Management Group at TIAA-CREF. In addition, Mr. Arduini worked in the telecommunications and information technology industries in various systems, operations and management roles. Mr. Arduini holds a B.A. from Bucknell University in Mathematics and an M.S. from Stevens Institute of Technology in Mathematics.
Mr. Arduini also holds an M.S. from Carnegie Mellon University in Computational Finance. Mr. Arduini is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts.
Gretchen Lam, Senior Portfolio Manager. Ms. Lam is a member of Octagon’s Investment Committee and serves as a Portfolio Manager across CLOs, Separately Managed Accounts and Commingled Funds. Ms. Lam oversees the Firm’s Structured Credit (CLO debt & equity) investment strategies. Ms. Lam is a member of the Octagon & Conning’s Global DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) Council and a member of the Firm’s ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) Committee.Prior to becoming a Portfolio Manager, Ms. Lam oversaw Octagon’s investments in the software, business services, finance & insurance, paper & packaging, gaming & lodging, homebuilding and real estate industries. She was also responsible for the structured credit exposure held in Octagon’s CLO vehicles. Prior to joining Octagon in 1999, Ms. Lam attended Babson College where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Investments. She received her CFA Charter in 2006.
Octagon is a 25+ year old, $30.6B below-investment grade corporate credit investment adviser focused on leveraged loan, high yield bond and structured credit (CLO debt and equity) investments. Through fundamental credit analysis and active portfolio management, Octagon’s investment team identifies attractive relative value opportunities across below-investment grade asset classes, sectors and issuers. Octagon’s investment philosophy and methodology encourage and rely upon dynamic internal communication to manage portfolio risk. Over its history, the firm has applied a disciplined, repeatable and scalable approach in its effort to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for its investors. For more information, please visit www.octagoncredit.com.
Robert Amodeo is Head of Municipals at Western Asset Management Company, LLC and has 34 years of investment experience. Mr. Amodeo began his career at The Bank of New York but soon thereafter joined Salomon Brothers Inc., where he was responsible for analyzing various private investment partnerships, including venture-capital, oil-and-gas, and real-estate, equity and bond portfolios.In 1992, Robert joined Salomon Brothers Asset Management where his role evolved into managing director, head of the municipal bond investment team and he worked with Salomon’s Yield Book department to adapt advanced technology for municipal bond and tax-efficient portfolio management. Since 2005, Robert has been part of Western Asset’s municipal bond investment team and is the sector head of that group.
Mr. Amodeo holds a Bachelor’s degree from Long Island University and a Master of Public Administration, Advanced Management and Finance from Columbia University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and has written various articles regarding the public finance market.
Laura is a Product Specialist within Nuveen’s Alternative Investment distribution team. She is focused on supporting business development efforts across the private credit spectrum.Laura joined Nuveen in 2021.From 2014 to 2021, she worked for Invesco’s Global Private Credit platform where she supported new business development and institutional client communications, shaping investor messaging and business strategy globally.
Previously, Laura worked in corporate finance and investor relations at CIFC Asset Management where she supported marketing efforts and was responsible for financial projections on behalf of their private equity owners. Prior to CIFC, she was an associate at Goldman Sachs, where she worked in the firm’s investment management finance division focused on credit strategies. Laura began her career at Deloitte & Touche.
She entered the investment management industry in 2003.Laura graduated with both a B.S. in Business with a major in Accounting and an M.S. in Accounting from the University of Connecticut. She is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and holds the FINRA Series 7 and Series 66 registrations.
Christian has 21 years of experience in financial services and investment management, with the last 16 years focused on secondary investments involving venture-backed and growth equity-oriented companies and funds. During this time, he has also served on the boards of many of these companies and funds.
Prior to Liberty Street Advisors, Christian was CIO of SPIM overseeing all investment related functions. Christian still serves as one of the portfolio managers of The Private Shares Fund, formerly the SharesPost 100 Fund, and a member of the investment committee.
Prior to joining The Private Shares Fund investment management team and Liberty Street Advisors, Inc., Christian was Co-Head of the Global Private Equity Secondaries Practice at HQ Capital based in New York, a $10+ billion alternative investment firm headquartered in Germany. Prior to that, he served as Head of Secondaries at Thomas Weisel Partners. Christian started his career as an investment banker at Banc of America Securities.
In aggregate, Christian has helped raise more than $1 billion globally from institutional investors, corporations, pensions, endowments, and family offices, and has completed or overseen the completion of more than 100 secondary transactions representing over $1 billion in capital commitments.
Christian received his BA from Rutgers College.
Michael holds a B.A from University where he studied Political Science and Economics.
CFA (2012); BSc (Pure and Applied Mathematics) (Hons, 2008), Trinity College, Ireland.
Kevin is an institutional portfolio manager for RBC GAM-US. He specializes in a broad spectrum of global credit strategies including Investment Grade, Leveraged Finance, Emerging Markets, Multi-Asset and Alternatives.
Kevin joined RBC GAM in 2014; he moved from BlueBay Asset Management to RBC GAM-US in 2020. During his time at BlueBay, he initially worked as an institutional portfolio manager on the Emerging Markets desk, before broadening his remit to cover other areas of the global credit markets. Prior to joining BlueBay, Kevin worked for another global asset management company, where he specialized in fixed income fund manager research to feed ideas into the firm’s suite of multi-manager portfolios. Prior to this, Kevin worked as an investment consultant at a global consulting firm.
He began his career in the investment industry in 2008.
Erin is head of strategic development for Thornburg Investment Management, leading corporate and product development initiatives across the firm. She has extensive investment and management experience, including with large and small asset management firms and most recently the financial technology industry.
Prior to joining Thornburg, Erin was chief investment officer for C2FO, a Kansas City–based financial technology company focusing on supply-chain finance solutions. She developed private investment solutions to provide working capital liquidity to small businesses, utilizing C2FO’s proprietary technology platform.
Prior to C2FO, Erin spent 11 years with Fountain Capital Management, a boutique high-yield investment firm also based in Kansas City. At Fountain, Erin held various positions, including partner, portfolio manager, head trader, and research analyst. She started her career at Strong Capital Management as an equity research analyst, focusing on small- and mid-cap value portfolios and later as a private equity analyst for McCarthy Capital.
Erin is a graduate of Indiana University with a BS in finance and is a CFA charterholder.
From 2001 until joining Flaherty & Crumrine, he was Director of U.S. Market Strategy at Barclays Capital in New York, where he advised clients on market strategies across U.S. treasuries, agencies, and interest rate derivative products. Prior to Barclays, he spent 14 years at Goldman Sachs, where he most recently held the position of Director — Interest Rate Product Strategy, Americas. He was a regular member of Institutional Investor’s All-America Fixed Income Research Team, earning the top ranking in Derivatives Strategy in 2001. He began his career at Salomon Brothers as an options trader and derivative salesperson.
Details
- Start:
- November 15
- End:
- December 15
- Event Category:
- Upcoming Events
Venue
- Downtown Association
-
60 Pine Street
New York, NY 10005 United States