80th Anniversary Asset Owner Summit Delivers, CFANY Proves Up to Challenge of Leading Global Investment Community

CFA Society New York and the Asset Owner Series are “genuinely leading the global community,” says CFA Institute CEO Paul Smith.

NEW YORK, October 6, 2017 During the evenings of September 14th, 18th and 19th, CFA Society New York (CFANY)—the largest CFA Institute member society in the world—hosted its three-part 80th Anniversary Asset Owner Summit.

The Summit featured a star-studded slate of asset owner C-Level speakers representing Sovereign Wealth Funds, Private Banks and National Pension Schemes that collectively oversee in excess of $6.5 trillion in assets under management.

Delivering opening remarks at CFANY’s 80th Anniversary Annual Dinner, CFA Institute CEO Paul Smith had this to say about his Summit experience:

Tom Brigandi and the [organizers behind the] Asset Owner Series should be very proud of what’s being accomplished there. You’re genuinely leading the global community, and I was very lucky to appear at the Pension Fund symposium you hosted at your facility where you had many trillions of dollars of assets in the room.

80 years later, you’re still innovating and you’re still leading the way, so please keep those ideas flowing.

Thursday, September 14 | 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm

2nd Annual Private Bank & PWM Chief Investment Officer Roundtable

Featured: Kathleen M. Fisher, Head of Wealth and Investment Strategies, Bernstein Private Wealth Management; Robert W. Dannhauser, CFA, FRM, CAIA, Head, Global Private Wealth Management, CFA Institute; Darrell L. Cronk, CFA, Wealth and Investment Management Chief Investment Officer, Wells Fargo & Company; Garrett R. D’Alessandro, CFA, CAIA, AIF, Chief Executive Officer, City National Rochdale Investment Management; Jose A. Rasco, Head of Investment Strategy, HSBC Private Bank Americas; George K. Mateyo, Chief Investment Officer, Key Private Bank; Robert “Tim” McGee, Director of Macro Strategy and Research, U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth; Vinay Pande, Head of Trading Strategies, UBS Wealth Management.

Monday, September 18 | 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm

3rd Annual Sovereign Wealth Fund Conference

Hosted in partnership with the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds

Featured: Duncan Bonfield, Chief Executive Officer, International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds; Fiona Mackenzie, Head of External Investments, New Zealand Superannuation Fund; Kevin Bong, Senior Vice President, Singapore’s GIC; Stella Ojekwe-Onyejeli, Chief Risk Officer & Executive Director, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority; Tom Brigandi, Inaugural Global Outstanding Young Leader, CFA Institute; Mohammed Saif Al-Sowaidi, Americas Head, Qatar Investment Authority; Abdiel Santiago, Chief Executive Officer, Fondo de Ahorro de Panamá (Sovereign Wealth Fund of the Republic of Panama); Pat Schena, Director, SovereigNet.

Tuesday, September 19 | 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm

3rd Annual National Pension Funds Conference

Hosted in partnership with the World Pensions Council

Featuring: Paul Smith, CFA, President and CEO, CFA Institute; Mark Delaney, Chief Investment Officer, AustralianSuper; Han Yik, Head of Institutional Investors, World Economic Forum; Masahiro Mori, New York Office Chief Representative, Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund; Fernando Manrique Zúñiga, CFA, CAIA, Head of Equities, Peru’s Prima AFP; Sibusiso Luthuli, Chief Executive & Principal Officer, South Africa’s Eskom Pension and Provident Fund; Philippe Desfosses, CEO, France’s Retraite Additionnelle de la Fonction Publique (ERAFP); Vice Chair, IIGCC; Gerald Paul Kasaato, Chief Investment Officer, Uganda’s National Social Security Fund.

The Asset Owner Series™ was created by CFA Society New York in 2015 and spearheaded by Thomas Brigandi—CFA Institute’s Inaugural Global Outstanding Young Leader—in collaboration with a team of over 300 industry leaders globally who source speakers from their respective networks. The groundbreaking series is a collection of exclusive events for investment industry executives looking to improve their asset-management strategies and advance their market knowledge with the guidance of some of the most experienced minds CFA Society New York has to offer.

As of September 19th 2017, the Asset Owner Series™ has featured chief investment officers, deputy chief investment officers and other C-Level investment executives from sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, single family offices, multi-family offices, endowments & foundations, private banks, national pensions, corporate pensions, institutional investment consultants, public pensions and union pensions that collectively oversee in excess of $35 trillion in assets under management or advisory. That estimated figure accounts for approximately one-third of total global institutional assets.

CFA Society New York is working in partnership with over 25 member Societies across APAC, the Americas and EMEA, on the CFA Institute-supported Global Asset Owner Series. The CFA Institute is very supportive of the Global Asset Owner Series given this is the first member Society driven global coordinated effort, with the goal of hosting C-Level institutional investors who collectively and directly oversee $100 trillion in assets under management or advisory, or an additional $65 trillion in AUM to supplement the existing $35 trillion that has been hosted to date.

According to CFANY CEO Daniel Dagen:

As a not-for-profit, our primary goal is to raise the standards of professionalism in the industry. We were honored to have leading decision-makers from all six populated continents join us, despite the numerous conferences being held around the city.  This demand from investors who face differing regulatory and political challenges across diverse regions, to meet in a non-commercial peer to peer environment, continues to provide evidence that our forum fills a much-needed gap.

These candid conversations among fiduciaries are enlightening for investment managers and asset owners alike. Anyone desiring to improve the value of what they deliver professionally gains insight from the perspectives of these speakers and their fellow attendees. When senior decision makers from around the world—entrusted by their governments with the serious responsibility of maintaining the financial security of their citizens—feel safe to show up to engage with our community, we know we still have a vital role to play.  It inspires us to further shape the global conversation about professionalism in the industry itself.

CFA Society New York is a leading voice within a network of CFA Societies in 150 countries, representing over 145,000 CFA Institute members worldwide. CFANY works in conjunction with CFA Institute to develop the industry’s future professionals and collaborate with industry leaders to raise the standards of professionalism in the investment management industry.