Multimedia Library

Hear our expert staff and Members speak on topics ranging from practical strategies in hedge fund investing to the importance of education in the alternatives space.

Following an exceptional run in 2021 and early 2022, the SPAC market cooled off through 2023. We are starting to see a return to normalcy and renewed activity with SPACs. In this market check-in webcast, we connected with Nick Skibo of Gritstone Asset Management, Tom Hennessy of Hennessy Capital Growth Partners, and Douglas Ellenoff of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, to discuss the state of the market for SPACs and the opportunity set for investors.

In their 2020 edition of Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, McKinsey & Co. provided new insights on corporate valuation such as the impact of digital valuation techniques, ESG issues, and long-term investing. In this one-hour discussion, they covered the history and evolution of corporate valuation, placed particular emphasis on these topics and the impact on private markets investing today.

View Slide Presentation here

Investors navigating an era of climate change are demanding more data to measure the upstream and downstream climate risk and opportunities. But, how can investors use different approaches to climate data in portfolio construction to improve outcomes? We test three types of climate data to understand the circumstances in which they are a value-add to portfolio construction. Building on "decarbonization factors" research, Prof. Serafeim shares insights on how playing to the strengths of climate data can help investors design strategies to manage climate risk while increasing risk-adjusted returns.

Read the background paper here.

In a conversation with CAIA's Millissa Allen, Sara Olsen and David Pritchard of SVT Group, and Yuwei Shi of Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey discuss their piece on the belief that the impact management profession will grow and decide the staying power of ESG and impact investing. Read the complete article and take the brief survey here on Portfolio for the Future.

Bill Kelly and Aaron Filbeck were joined by Rashad Kurbanov, CEO of iownit, on September 3 to discuss the recent SEC accredited investor ruling, access to private markets, and how technology can provide operational efficiency and increased transparency for investors. The discussion follows a recent blog post from Rashad on these topics.

Does the illiquidity premium really exist after fees? Can the efficient frontier really be expanded through private capital or can the same behavior be captured through highly indebted publicly traded small cap equities? Gregory Brown, Executive Director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina, and John Bowman, CFA, Senior Managing Director of the CAIA Association co-host a panel of experts that have wrestled and opined on this complex set of questions.

 

In this brief CAIA Association and FDP Institute interview, Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, Associate Director of Content Development of CAIA Association, sat down virtually with Renato Leggi, CAIA, CFA, Client Portfolio Manager of ARK Invest, to discuss some of the takeaways from his recent whitepaper, Innovation: The Risks of Under-Allocation. Some of the highlights of the discussion include accessing innovation in public vs. private markets, the portfolio construction implications of allocating to new innovative technologies, and investor considerations during the manager research and selection process. Listen in.

Deborah McLean, CAIA's Managing Director of Global Relations, talks with organizations each taking the lead on closing the gap in both interest and success in the financial fields for women and girls. Amanda Pullinger, CEO, 100 Women in Finance, Janet Cowell, CEO, Girls Who Invest, and Lindsay Burton, Founder & President, Kayo Conference Series offer their insights. Watch the conversation here

 

A recent joint event between CAIA Association’s Virtual Chapter and CFA Society Columbus featured Glen Yelton, Head of Responsible Investing, Americas at Invesco and Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, Associate Director of Content Development at CAIA Association and Vice President at CFA Society Columbus. Glen and Aaron covered a variety of topics including the evolution of sustainable investing, the current ESG landscape in the time of COVID-19, ESG application in fixed income and private markets, institutional adoption of ESG policies, and other issues such as performance considerations and strategy "greenwashing."

CAIA and CFA Society Emirates organised a panel of experts to explore the intersection between technology, data and investor motivations as key accelerators of impact investment activity pre, during, and post-COVID 19. The speakers discussed the impact investment trends that were already on the uptick prior to the COVID-19 global market slowdown, sustained during the pandemic, and can be anticipated to remain relevant as the global economy arrives at a new normal. They also took a close look at how impact is measured and how it correlates with investor behavior and expectations in the GCC region.
Should retail investors be allowed to participate in private capital? Do the social and financial risks outweigh the long term benefits? With so much capital formation shifting to the private markets, are retirement goals at risk by relying solely on public markets? Bill Kelly, CEO, CAIA, and John Bowman, Senior Managing Director, CAIA, join a panel of experts including Andrea Auerbach, Partner and Head of Global Private Investments at Cambridge Associates, Barbara Roper, Director of Investor Protection at Consumer Federation of America, and Lawrence Calcano, Chief Executive Officer at iCapital Network to provide a balanced and objective dialogue about how the industry should weigh these complex topics.