Markets Group: 5th Annual Central States Institutional Forum 2018 | Markets Group | 20 March 2018 | Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch, 315 Chestnut St, St. Louis, MO 63102, USA

The 5th Annual Central States Institutional Forum is an educational initiative designed through close coordination with the region’s leading institutional investors to build peer communities that merge global best practices with local expertise. The forum is specially designed to bring together roughly 100 staff members, investment officers, board members, and trustees representing Missouri, Tennessee, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The program’s agenda will cover, pension fund management, private equity allocation trends, real assets, fund operational issues, global equity market landscape, hedge fund allocation trends, asset recovery, securities litigation, distressed cycle and credit market navigation, interest rates and the credit cycle, real assets and non-traditional asset classes and fiduciary responsibility.

Key Discussion Topics

• Style Investing The Smart Way:
Actively combining risk premiums to achieve stable out-performance. An actively managed approach to harvesting risk premiums, known as style investing, offers stable, relative risk-adjusted return potential, and provides diversification and low-correlation. Our speaker will review three key aspects of style investing.

• Major Forces And Trends In 2018:
As we enter into a new calendar year, what are some of the big issues that will likely see continuations from the previous periods? Further rate increases by the Fed? Will they have a strong enough US economy to back it up? The shockwaves from a struggling Chinese economy? How much longer can energy prices stay low? Most importantly, how might our investment portfolios be affected as these issues unfold?

• Practical Steps Towards ESG Integration:
More and more investors have added Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) as well as manager diversity considerations to their board meeting agendas. How can these be woven into the portfolio construction process? Where do we start?

• Investing In Today's Global Equity Markets:
Amid the dynamic nature of global equity markets, where can opportunities be found today and what are the challenges facing plan sponsors? With strong-performing U.S. equities in the last few years, the idea of global diversification has been put to test. But as markets continuously cycle, it’s important to remember what has worked for one-time period may not work for the next. Join us for a conversation on how investment managers, consultants and plans can help identify the alpha opportunities to meet long-term funding obligations.

2018 Speakers

David Erickson
Chief Investment Officer, Ascension Investment Management

Anthony Waskiewicz
Chief Investment Officer, Mercy Health Systems

Elizabeth Jourdan
Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Mercy Health Systems

Kristi Paczkowski
Executive Director, Knoxville Pension Board

Timothy Matson
Chief Investment Officer, Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated

Nick Iselin
Vice President, Research, Summit Strategies Group

Andrew Durket
Assistant Treasurer, St. Louis County

David Peden
Senior Investment Consultant, Mercer

John Lake
Principal, Summit Strategies Group

Craig Robbins
Investment Strategist, Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota

Jason Rector
Analyst, State of Wisconsin Investment Board

Jack Dwyer
Managing Director, Senior Consultant, Sunpointe

Anthony Novara
Senior Research Analyst, DiMeo Schneider & Associates, L.L.C.

Darlene Green
Comptroller, City of St. Louis

Jonny Lach
Partner, Portfolio Analyst, Albourne America

Ian Toner
Chief Investment Officer, Verus Investments

Ed Shim
Investment Officer, Hedge Funds, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois

Susan Barrett
Vice President for Finance, Wichita State University Foundation

2018 Sponsors

TITLE:
• Nuveen Asset Management

PLATINUM:
• ClearBridge Investments
• Vontobel Asset Management, Inc.
• Stone Harbor Investment Partners LP
• Advent Capital Management, LLC

GOLD:
• Investcorp
• Credit Suisse
• Jane Street
• Capital Fund Management (CFM)
• Windhaven Investment Management
• CBRE Clarion Securities