Four Seasons Hotel
57 East 57th Street, New York, NY 
September 27, 2019 
3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Shortlisted by Euromoney and Chambers USA as the “Best Gender Diversity and Inclusion Initiative,” this invitation-only event provides a forum for public pension funds, diverse managers, hedge funds, investment consultants, and legal counsel to address the importance of diversity investing and will feature two all-female panels that will include some of the country’s leading women asset allocators and fund managers.

This event is invitation only.

PROGRAM CO-CHAIRS:

Serena P. Hallowell, Partner, Labaton Sucharow LLP

Carol C. Villegas, Partner, Labaton Sucharow LLP

Marisa N. DeMato, Partner, Labaton Sucharow LLP

AGENDA:

PANEL DISCUSSION: ASSET ALLOCATOR

This panel will discuss the opportunities and obstacles for getting access to MWBE managers. What are the current trends in this space? Is it difficult to find women and minority-led firms for institutional portfolios? What do the financial returns of these managers look like compared to mainstream? Do allocators provide seed money? How does the selection process work? How are managers sourced? What are the optimal ways to get funding?

PANELISTS:

CAROLINA DE ONIS
General Counsel, Teacher Retirement System of Texas

ELLEN HUNG, CFA
Deputy Chief Investment Officer, State Universities Retirement System

DANITA JOHNSON
Principal Investment Officer, Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds

CHAVON SUTTON
Director, Diversity & Inclusion - Emerging & Diverse Managers, Office of the NYC Comptroller's Bureau of Asset Management

MODERATOR:

MEREDITH A. JONES
Partner & Head of Emerging Manager Research, Aon

PANEL DISCUSSION: MANAGERS

This panel will discuss some of the challenges that women and minority-owned firms face in obtaining allocations from institutional investors, including improving diverse managers' visibility in the space, difficulties in obtaining first funding, catalysts for success and best practices in building a business.

PANELISTS:

NILI GILBERT, CFA, CAIA
Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager, Matarin Capital 

ANGELA MATHENY
Head of Diverse Manager Equity, Colonial Consulting, LLC

ELLEN B. SAFIR, CFA
Founder and Chief Investment Officer, New Century Advisors 

LAUREN TAYLOR WOLFE
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Impactive Capital

MODERATOR:

MARILYN R. FREEMAN
Principal & Manager, Capital Prospects LLC

ADVISORY COMMITTEE:

Karen Grenon (Chair), Assistant General Counsel, Office of the Treasurer, State of Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds

Corinne T. Babcock, Appointed Commissioner, Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions

Lara Clarke, President/Co-Founder, Women in Institutional Investments Network

Amy L. Crane, General Counsel, Office of the General Treasurer, State of Rhode Island 

Marilyn R. Freeman, Principal & Manager, Capital Prospects LLC

Ellen Hung, CFA, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, State Universities Retirement System

Mary Lisanti, CFA, President and Portfolio Manager, Lisanti Capital Growth

Safia B. Mehta, CFA, Managing Director, Outsourced Investment Solutions, Manager Analysis Services, LLC

Angela Miller-May, Chief Investment Officer, Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund

Jacqueline Ray, Special Assistant Attorney General, Mississippi Attorney General's Office

Betty Salanic, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Accelerate Investors

Chavon Sutton, Director, Bureau of Asset Management, Office of NYC Comptroller

Susan Webb, Founder/CIO/Managing Director, Appomattox Advisory 

Mary Jo Woods, Special Assistant Attorney General, Mississippi Attorney General's Office

Watch a highlight video of last year's event: 

For information about our 2018 event, click here.