Investment Management Operations

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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.” Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership

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. Learn More Follow Capital Allocators at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access transcript with Premium Membership