Public Funds Summit East 2022 | Opal Group | 18 July 2022 | Newport Marriott, 25 America's Cup Ave, Newport, RI 02840, USA

Opal Financial Group’s annual public funds conference addresses issues that are critical to the investment success of senior public pension fund officers and trustees in the new millennium. Concerns of funding liabilities for beneficiaries in a world of declining returns yet maintaining a balance between the risk/reward paradigms is center in the mind of many trustees and representatives of pension plans around the country. The exchange of ideas both in and out of the session halls are key in educating and identifying viable alternatives that will address these concerns. We will discuss how surplus returns should affect employee benefit plans; closely examine the processes for selection and evaluation of investment managers. Beyond the investment sphere we also address legal issues facing pension plans, ethic regulations and the importance of on-going education for plan sponsors and their fiduciaries. Although attendance is not limited to those in the public sector, the conference takes aim at topics that are of particular relevance to public pension funds. By focusing on an atmosphere of education rather than sales or marketing, this summit provides a unique environment in which members of the public sector can exchange ideas and learn from other delegates, money managers and consultants. Opal will kick off the event with its Annual Regatta Cup, in which attendees will have the opportunity to work with a professional sailing charter crew while competing against industry peers.

Topics will include:
• Pension Outlook: The State of the U.S.Retirement System
• Asset Allocation best Practices
• Challenges facing Public Pension Plans
• Manager Selection
• Securities Lending
• Private Equity/Venture Capital
• Real Assets – precious metals, timber, infrastructure, agriculture, managed futures, etc.
• Choosing the right advisor/consultant
• New Styles and Strategies for Investing
• Ongoing Education for Plan Fiduciaries and Participants
• Risk Management
• Equity Investing
• Hedge Funds
• Real Estate
• Emerging and Frontier Markets
• and many more!

Who should attend?
• Pension Rep – Trustee, Administrators, Commissioners, Staff
• Consultants
• Attorneys
• Taft Hartley Reps – Trustee, Administrators, Commissioners, Staff
• Accountants
• Hedge Funds
• Fund of Funds
• Real Estate Managers
• Equity Managers
• Venture Capitalists
• Private Equity
• Insurance Companies
• Benefit Companies
• Public Service Administrative Providers

2022 Speakers

MODERATORS:

Greg Knoll
Trustee & Executive Director, The Firefighter Pension Investment Fund / IPFA

Joseph J. Matthews, CFA, CFP
Alternative Investments Director, First Vice President – Financial Advisor, Morgan Stanley Consulting Group & Institutional Services

James Maloney
Board of Directors, Illinois Public Pension Fund Association (IPPFA)

Guy Pinkman
Trustee, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation / Lincoln Fire & Police Retirement System

Michael Grodi
Board Chair, Monroe County Employees Retirement System

Robert Grden
Executive Director, Wayne County Employees Retirement System

Dean Crombie
Trustee, New Hampshire Municipal Retirement System

Alex Dauria
Senior Portfolio Advisor, Aksia

Jim Schnorf
Investment Committee, Eastern Illinois University Foundation

Julian Regan
Senior Vice President, Public Sector Market Leader, Segal Marco Advisors

Doug Watler
Trustee, Broward Firefighters Health Trust

Henry Wilson, MPA
Chairman-Trustee, Wayne County Employees Retirement System

Robert Grden
Executive Director, Wayne County Employees Retirement System

Greg Knoll
Trustee & Executive Director, The Firefighter Pension Investment Fund / IPFA

Kurt Vroman
Chairman, Deltona Firefighters Pension Plan

PANELISTS:

Stacey Dion
Managing Director & Global Head of Government Affairs, The Carlyle Group

Jonathan Ward
Founder, Atlas Organization; Author China's Vision of Victory

Kurt Winkelmann
CEO, Navega Strategies, Senior Fellow, University of Minnesota

Marcia Peters, CFA
Senior Financial Advisor, CAPTRUST

Russ Kamp
Managing Director, Ryan ALM, Inc.

Dirk Hofschire, CFA
Senior Vice President, Asset Allocation Research, Fidelity Institutional Asset Management

Brian Green
Partner, Consulting, AndCo Consulting

David Thomas
Chief Executive Officer, Founder, & Senior Investment Management Consultant, Equitas Capital Advisors

Marc Friedberg
Managing Director & Principal, Wilshire Private Markets

Floyd Simpson CFA, CAIA
Director, PFM Asset Management

Michael Ashmore
Finance & Investment Committee Chair, University of Waterloo

Adam Bonarek
Finance/Risk/IT Director, Charter Township of Redford

Robert Butler
Investment Risk & Compliance Officer, Arizona State Retirement System

Brad Berggen
Managing Partner, volScout LLC

Bryan Lewis
Vice President & Chief Investment Officer, United States Steel Corporation

Derek Dobson
Chief Executive Officer & Plan Manager, CAAT Pension Plan (Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Pension Plan)

Michael Fitzgerald
State Treasurer, State of Iowa

Jeffrey Lubitz
Managing Director, ISS Securities Class Action Services

Serena Hallowell
Member, Motley Rice LLC

Guillaume Buell
Counsel, Labaton Sucharow LLP

Kevin Ruf
Partner, Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP

Jack Frost
Trustee, West Palm Beach (FL) Police Pension Fund

Tony Crooks
Senior Portfolio Manager, AEW Capital Management, L.P.

Greg Friedman
CEO, Peachtree Hotel Group

Cameron Gunter
Founder & CEO, PEG Capital Partners

Brad Hart
Founder, Make More Marbles

Zack Ellison, CFA, CAIA
Managing Director & CIO, A.R.I. Venture Debt Opportunities Fund

Scott Schaefer
Senior Investment Officer, Office of Investment and Innovation | SBA

Ken Kencel
President & CEO, Churchill Asset Management

Mike Fang
Senior Portfolio Manager, Maryland State Retirement and Pension System

Eric Newman CPA, CGMA
Treasury Manager, City of Stamford (Connecticut)

Dana Callow
Managing Partner, Boston Millennia Partners, and Trustee and Former Chair of Investment Committee, Tufts University

Bryan Lewis
Vice President & Chief Investment Officer, United States Steel Corporation

Rebecca E. Lilly
Financial Advisor, Investing with Impact Director, U.S. Government Entity Specialist, Morgan Stanley

Carol Jeppesen
Head of the US, Signatory Relations, UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)

Cian Desmond
Vice President, Wilshire

Sarah Hammer
Managing Director, Initiative on Diversity & Inclusion, The Wharton School

Keli Callaghan
VP Marketing, Arrington Capital

Natalia Karayaneva
CEO, Propy Inc.

Daniel Johnson
Director, AndCo Consulting

Marcia Peters, CFA
Senior Financial Advisor, CAPTRUST

C. LaRoy Brantley
Principal, Meketa Investment Group

Scott McCarty
Chairman, Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS)

Justin Maistrow, CFA
Senior Investment Strategist, State of Rhode Island

Lorie Barnwell
City Treasurer, City of Warren

Michelle Boyles
Consulting Actuary, Cheiron

Darryl Walker
Trustee, Alameda County Employees Retirement Association

2022 Sponsors

GOLD SPONSOR:
• Force Family Office

SILVER SPONSORS:
• AEW
• ARI
• Fidelity Investments
• GPM
• ISS SCAS
• Motley Rice
• Nuveen
• Peachtree Hotel Group
• PEG Capital Partners
• Pomerantz Llp