Thursday, June 18, St. Louis
The Heartland America Asset Allocation Summit is an invite-only, closed door meeting that brings together 100 institutional investors and wealth managers from Missouri, Illinois, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Louisiana. The program facilitates a discussion on important issues and strategies that guests can apply to their own investment portfolios.
Designed for Corporate and Public Pension Funds, Government Investment Funds, Foundations & Endowments, Insurance Funds, Hospital Plans, Investment Consultants, Wealth Managers, Private Banks
2020 Speakers
Dan Hopkins, Board Member, Illinois Consolidated Pension Fund
Kevin Kliesen, Business Economist and Research Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
James Maloney, Director, Illinois Public Pension Fund Association
Matt Pitzer, Portfolio Manager, Shelter Insurance Company
Darlene Green, Comptroller, St. Louis Employees Retirement System
Don Lennard, Senior Consultant, DeMarche Associates
Jack Dwyer, Managing Director, Senior Consultant, Sunpointe
Christopher Kohler, Director, Outsourced CIO, TIAA Endowments
John Jennings, President, St. Louis Trust Company
Mark Cagwin, Managing Director, Investments, SSM Health
Thomas Latzke, Consultant, Vice President, Marquette Associates
Brad Davis, Director, Fixed Income & Capital Markets Research, Asset Consulting Group
Brian Payne, Senior Investment Analyst, Illinois Teachers Retirement System
Timothy Barron, Chief Investment Officer, Segal Marco Advisors
Jingwan Chen, Senior Analyst, Ascension Investment Management
Tim Howald, Investment Manager , Columbia Insurance Group
Ted Hermann, Managing Director, Wilshire
Ryan Tracy, Senior Investment Consultant, Dimeo Schneider
Jeff Johnson, Recording Secretary, Municipal Employees’ Annuity Fund of Chicago
Michael Gurgone, Chief Investment Officer, Chicago Housing Authority
Joe Aguilar, Director, Investment Analysis and Due Diligence, Illinois State Treasurer’s Office
Draft Agenda
8:00 Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 Host’s Welcome
9:05 Regional Overview and CIO Roundtable
-Reviewing 2020 Inflection Points
-Eye on November – how will the election affect your investment strategy
-How do midwestern funds operate differently with regards to manager selection?
-How will fund consolidation affect investment strategies?
Panelists:
Kevin Kliesen, Business Economist and Research Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Dan Hopkins, Board Member, Illinois Consolidated Pension Fund
9:45 Asset Allocation: Achieving the Optimal Mix
-Rethinking the role of alts in your investment strategy
-Examining asset allocation strategies across plan types
-Is it time to integrate leverage into your portfolio?
-Reassessing the gap between investment needs and expected returns
-Integrating ESG into your asset allocation strategies
Panelists:
Joe Aguilar, Director, Investment Analysis and Due Diligence, Illinois State Treasurer’s Office
Timothy Barron, Chief Investment Officer, Segal Marco Advisors
Tim Howald, Investment Manager, Columbia Insurance Group
10:25 Networking and Refreshment Break
11:00 Managing a Global Equities Portfolio
Asset allocators evaluate the promise of different equity strategies, balancing risk management and returns in the light of current economic trends. Rising stock prices still contain promise, but what is the best strategy for your equity allocations?
-What sectors promise growth in the second half of 2020?
-From a valuation standpoint, does it make sense to overweigh non-US sticks?
-What parts of the style box does it make more sense to use indexes?
-Identifying a catalyst that could tilt value stocks into showing returns
Panelists:
Matt Pitzer, Portfolio Manager, Shelter Insurance Company
Thomas Latzke, Consultant, Vice President, Marquette Associates
11:40 Choosing an OCIO who is Right for Your Fund
-Evaluating the difference between a consultant and an OCIO
-OCIO specialties: how they match your own strategy
Panelists:
Christopher Kohler, Director, Outsourced CIO, TIAA Endowment
12:20 Luncheon
1:20 New Trends in Incorporating Hedge Funds into your asset mix
-Balancing individual hedge fund risks with your overall risk profile
-Reassessing current hedge fund strategies
2:00 Manager Selection for Alternative Investments
-Matching your investment goals with managers’ expertise
-Achieving diversity when evaluating external managers
-Identifying emerging managers
-Assessing ESG concerns
Panelists:
Brian Payne, Senior Investment Analyst, Illinois Teachers Retirement System
Jingwan Chen, Senior Analyst, Ascension Investment Management
2:40 Alternatives to Traditional Fixed Income
In the current low yield environment, investors are challenged to generate yield from public markets. Private debt markets offer an attractive alternative with advantages such as: shorter durations, floating rate structures, low-to-modest correlations to other asset classes, and excess yield premiums. Since 2010, several key factors supported the private debt market’s robust growth.
-Disintermediation of the banks through the Dodd-Frank Act/Volcker Rule
-Increased credit demand by small to medium size companies for growth
-Hunt for “predictable” yield by investors with lower principal risk
-Abundance of private equity dry powder that must be invested
Panelists:
Jack Dwyer, Managing Director, Senior Consultant, Sunpointe
Mark Cagwin, Managing Director, Investments, SSM Health
Brad Davis, Director, Fixed Income & Capital Markets Research, Asset Consulting Group
3:00 Networking and Refreshment Break
3:30 Private Equity Trends for Institutional Investors
With increasingly sophisticated investment strategies, institutional LPs gain more options in accessing private markets. Rising valuations and increasing capital inflows create additional risk in private equity as an investment class. Investors will share their private equity strategies and discuss their policies towards lockups and return expectations.
-Finding less crowded parts of the private equity market
-Identifying new strategies, emerging managers, and sector specialists
-Thinking “outside the box” in navigating the current private equity market
Panelists:
Don Lennard, Senior Consultant, DeMarche Associates
Jeff Johnson, Recording Secretary, Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago
4:15 Traditional Alternatives: Real Estate, Commodities and MLPs (Energy Infrastructure)
-Interest Rates, Inflation & Real Assets
-Are traditional alternatives still viable in today’s investment environment
-Public vs private structures (Real Estate)
-US Energy Independence
-Commodities, Really?!
-Higher yields in a low yield world
Panelists:
Ryan Tracy, Senior Investment Consultant, DiMeo Schneider
Michael Gurgone, Chief Investment Officer, Chicago Housing Authority
Ted Hermann, Managing Director, Wilshire
5:00 Heartland America Asset Allocation Summit Concludes
Contact Dave Hoffman for registration and sponsorship opportunities