Our guest for today’s podcast is Roger Sit, CEO, Sit Investment Associates, Inc which manages $16.6 billion in assets for institutional and individual clients with investments in both domestic and international markets.  As the global chief investment officer, Roger leads the firm’s Investment Policy Committee and directs investments in custom separately-managed accounts, private investment funds, and mutual funds portfolios. Prior to joining Sit Investment Associates, Roger was vice president and senior equity research analyst at Goldman Sachs & Co. in New York for seven years.  He joined Goldman Sachs & Co. after receiving an M.B.A. degree from Harvard Business School. Following graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy with military distinction in 1984, Roger was an officer in the U.S. Air Force.  He served six years of active duty with financial management responsibilities at Headquarters Space Division and rose to the rank of captain.  While serving in the military, he earned an M.S. degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California. Roger currently serves on the boards of Convergent Capital, Huntington Bank, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and The McKnight Foundation.  Roger chairs the board of the Minnesotans’ Military Appreciation Fund, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization co-founded in 2005 by Gene Sit, Roger’s father. As the leader of one of the oldest Asian American money management businesses in the US, Roger is a role model for all of us at AAAIM.  What a pleasure it was for me and AAAIM Co-Chair, Brenda Chia, to interview Roger for this podcast.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Roger Sit.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Sarah Chen, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of The Billion Dollar Fund for Women/ Beyond The Billion (BTB), a global consortium of 100+ venture capital funds and limited partner investors that have now pledged to and are actively deploying beyond US$1Bn to be invested into women-founded companies.   Previously, Sarah pioneered a corporate venture capital spin-out within a $13Bn Asian conglomerate, investing into later-stage biotechnology companies.   Determined to see more women at the helm, Sara sits on multiple boards, including 131 & Counting, a bipartisan effort to fete the unprecedented number of women serving in the House and Senate, encouraging more women to run for office in the US; She also sits on the board of Lean In Malaysia, which she co-founded, a platform accelerating women into leadership in Muslim- majority Malaysia. Named Forbes Under 30 VC and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, Sara is a recognized speaker, commentator and advisor on venture capital, innovation and women.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Sarah Chen.    

Our guest for today’s podcast is Soo Chuen Tan, Founder & President of Discerene Group, an investment firm he started in 2010 channeling core investment principles practiced by the great value investors of our time.  If you were to sketch out how a value investor should invest: never overpaying for stocks, being greedy when others are fearful, not being afraid to be contrarian, being patient, having an ownership mentality, understanding moats and competitive advantages, holding stocks forever…. Soo Chuen has implemented all of these disciplines and more at his firm.   As an Asian American founder of an investment firm that has surpassed the $1bn AUM mark with over a 10 year track record, Soo Chuen is as a rare breed in the business.  I was happy to get to know Soo Chuen as he is humble, genuine, and a true gentleman practicing as pure a form of value investing that you learn in text books.  As many of you know, I went to Columbia Business School, and it is refreshing to hear someone who has built a great firm following this philosophy.  Despite the fact that Soo Chuen is a graduate of Harvard Business School, we won’t hold this against him.   Beyond investing, Soo Chuen’s intellect and how he thinks about complex systems, cultures, peoples, and economies shines through throughout the podcast.  I know you will enjoy his views on the world.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Soo Chuen Tan.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Carey Lai, Founding Member and Managing Director at Conductive Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in expansion stage companies with a focus on software, hardware, and technology enabled services.   In 2016, after a 12 year career in venture capital working for two of the best in the business: Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) and Intel Capital, Carey left his job in pursuing the dream of most venture capitalists, starting his own venture capital firm.  After over a year, 150+ investor meetings, and failing to secure enough capital to run their strategy, Carey and his partner concluded starting a fund was not in their cards.   In 2017, as Carey began to look for a job, his fortune took a turn for the best and he landed a $100 million seed commitment from an investor to launch his own venture capital firm.  How did he do it?  Well, you are in the right place to hear his story and the lessons learned during his journey.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Aaron Yoon, Assistant Professor of Accounting & Information Management at Northwestern University.  According to the Financial Times, his research on ESG was a turning point on how investors viewed and integrated ESG information and the methodologies suggested in his research have been widely implemented by asset owners and investment managers.   He has presented his research to academics, regulators, and practitioners around the World and his work has been regularly cited in outlets such as Barron's, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He also received multiple awards for his research and teaching, including the Chair's Core Teaching Award from Kellogg, Crowell Prize for Best Paper in Quantitative Investing from PanAgora Asset Management, Best 40 Under 40 Professors Recognition from Poets & Quants, and the Best International Accounting Dissertation Award from the American Accounting Association.   Professor Yoon earned his Doctor of Business Administration from Harvard University; he also earned his masters in Economics and bachelors in Economics and Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences (MMSS) from Northwestern University. Prior to academia, he worked as an equities salestrader and research analyst at Credit Suisse, and also controlled air traffic in the 8th US Army as a Korean augmentee.   Joining me on the podcast is Susan Oh, a 25+ year veteran and widely respected investment professional at the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS), who we featured on Episode 11 of our podcast.  Susan is a Director and Head of ESG Research where she is responsible for strategic ESG initiatives across the total plan, leading sustainability research with a focus on culture and transformative innovation to create long term value for the plan.  I was thrilled to have Susan join me as co-host for this podcast to interview Aaron.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Professor Aaron Yoon.

We have two special guests for our podcast today:  Anita Ng, MD for Private Investments @ Cambridge Associates and Tanya Kemp, MD and Head of Private Markets at San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System.  Anita has more than 25 years of investment experience, 15 of those managing client portfolios at Cambridge Associates (a global advisory investment firm responsible for advising on over $500B in aum).  She is a trusted advisor to a broad group of institutional clients, including endowments and foundations, public pension plans, and private clients. In 2020, Anita was named in Chief Investment Officer’s annual list of Knowledge Brokers, a list of the most influential investment consultants and advisers.  Prior to joining Cambridge Associates in 2006, Anita was a technology investment banker at CIBC World Markets, Credit Suisse First Boston and Banc of America Securities and earlier in her career, worked in Hong Kong at Merrill Lynch.    Our co-guest is Tanya Kemp, Head of Private Markets.SFERS is a public plan with over $34B assets.  Tanya rose up through the ranks from inv analyst in VC then PE and head of Pvt mkts overseeing a $14 billion portfolio comprising private investments across leveraged buyouts, venture capital, growth equity, real estate and natural resources strategies.  Prior to joining SFERS, Ms. Kemp was Risk and Performance Analyst with Missouri State Employees Retirement System. She holds an MA, MBA, CFA and CAIA designations. She has received numerous awards including Private Equity Buyouts “Trailblazers: Ten women pioneering new paths in private equity” in 2016; Trusted Insights Top Public Pension Investment Directors 2021, Rising Star 2021 Venture Capital Journal.   Anita and Tanya are two highly talented, engaging women in our industry passionate about investing and their roles. What a pleasure it was for me to speak with them together during this podcast.     Without further delay, here is my conversation with Anita and Tanya.  

Our guest for today’s podcast is Randy Cohen, Senior Lecturer in the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School. Randy is one of the most likeable professors in the business and has been at the top of teaching profession for over 20 years at HBS and MIT.More recently, along with his co-founder, Jean-Louis Lelogeais, Randy launched PEO Partners, an asset management firm that specializes in liquid private equity alternative offerings. I truly enjoyed my wide ranging conversation with Randy as he shares his perspective on the path to becoming a professor, the obstacles he has overcome being blind, and why he thinks PEO Partners is really the next big idea in finance.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Les Baquiran, Founder of Alpine Capital Advisors, a leading placement agent that advises and raises assets for asset managers and businesses. Les is well known in the industry and, during the early months of the COVID pandemic in 2020, launched the Alpine Annual Asian Leaders in Investment virtual summit that has taken place the last two years in honor of Asian Awareness Month and in the support of UNICEF.   I found Les to be particularly insightful and humble and a real master at cultivating and building relationships.  Les takes us through his professional career before launching his own independent placement agent firm after having great success at Park Hill.  Throughout the podcast, Les shares valuable advice on how he has been able to navigate the business of finance to become a true role model for the AAPI community.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Les Baquiran.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Christina Qi, Chief Executive Officer of Databento, an on-demand market data platform she co-founded after spending several years running a high frequency trading hedge fund.  Earlier this year, Christina and her co-founder raised $7.5 million in seed funding to build out “their data-as-a-service” solution for the financial industry.   I very much enjoyed interviewing Christina as I found her to be quite authentic and transparent about her failures and missteps in her career.  But as the great Winston Churchill once said, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss in enthusiasm.”   Christina has accomplished much in her early career including being named on Forbes “30 under 30” list in finance and she is absolutely a role model for the AAAIM community.  I discovered Christina through linkedin as she is very generous about sharing her wisdom and experience for entrepreneurs looking to start their own firms.   Christina takes us through her upbringing in Utah, path to MIT, and subsequent launch of her hedge fund from her dorm room after failing to secure a permanent full time offer after a Wall Street summer internship.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Christina Qi.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Dave Liu, a 30-Year Veteran of Wall Street and Silicon Valley. Dave is an entrepreneur who has started multiple companies, advisor who has raised over $15 billion for hundreds of companies, and investor in multiple billion dollar exits. He is passionate about advancing new ideas in technology and entertainment, and supporting philanthropic causes for disadvantaged groups. He is a creator who enjoys writing books and drawing cartoons.   I asked Bennett Kim, one of AAAIM’s founding board members, to conduct this podcast with Dave as they have been good friends since attending Harvard Business School together.  Dave shares many lessons he learned along the way in achieving career success.  AAAIM thanks Dave for taking the time to take us through his personal and professional life journey.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Sona Menon who is a Partner at Cambridge Associates.  Sona serves as an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer and adviser to institutional clients such as pensions, endowments, and healthcare institutions.  She is directly responsible for overseeing over $20 billion in assets.   Cambridge Associates is a global investment firm that focuses on building and managing investment portfolios for institutional clients such as endowments, foundations, pensions, and private clients. They have over $500 billion in assets under management/advisement.   As a woman and minority, Sona is a role model for us all, rising through the ranks at Cambridge Associates over her 20 year career at the storied firm.  What a pleasure it was for me and AAAIM Co-Chair, Brenda Chia, to interview Sona for this podcast.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Sona Menon.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Eric Nierenberg, Chief Strategy Officer for the $80 billion Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (MassPRIM) where he has been responsible for hedge funds and low vol strategies and over time,  became the CSO.  He is a “jack of all trades”, leading a team in asset allocation, risk mgmt., research, Real Assets and the Portfolio Completion Strategies effort.  PRIM is known for a more active investment approach oftentimes including more esoteric strategies but also direct investments and SMAs allowing them to invest with and  support highly talented but smaller, emerging managers.    Eric is well known in the industry and has received numerous awards as a top allocator and rising star, CIO Magazine’s “Forty Under 40”, Institutional Investor "Allocator Voice", the list goes on.   While a top investment allocator, he is also a prized professor at Brandeis’ International Business School.    Eric takes us through his personal and professional path from equity portfolio manager to public service as an allocator at a public plan to academia.  Hear how he his experiences growing up in a diverse community in Miami and working at large international academic institution at Brandeis ingrained in him the importance of diversity and being a strong mentor and sponsor.   He is clearly passionate about the value of diversity.   I found my conversation with Eric to be enlightening and endearing as he talks about the importance of helping others to achieve greatness. He is extremely intelligent, thoughtful and caring and while viewed as a highly talented investor, he is also well deserving of the moniker “ fantastic mentor and Best boss ever!”    Without further ado, here is my conversation with Eric Nierenberg.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Pooja Malik, CEO & Founding Partner of Nipun Capital.  Pooja founded Nipun Capital in 2011 after a very successful career at Barclays Global Investors (BGI) where she was promoted quickly to become one of the youngest Managing Directors at the firm after successfully turning around BGI’s active small cap equity strategy.   I very much enjoyed interviewing Pooja given she has been a perenial “underdog” all her life but has tackled every conceivable obstacle and overcome them by leaps and bounds.  As the middle child and daughter of a strong Indian mother who raised her family as a single parent after the death of her father when Pooja was 12, Pooja learned a lot about grit and determination from her mother.   As a woman and minority, Pooja is a role model and an inspiration for all of us in the AAAIM community.  I am so happy she believed enough in herself to launch her own hedge fund almost 10 years ago and took the time to share her story with us. 

Our guest for today’s podcast is Dennis Jean-Jacques, Founder & CIO of Ocean Park Investments.  Dennis is what I would characterize a “Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffet, Peter Lynch, Michael Price, and John Rogers” influenced value ninja…  as he has spent the last 25 years perfecting his craft: studying, working with, and being mentored by these investment legends.   Starting a hedge fund without seed capital is hard.  In fact, the probability for success is miniscule.  Despite these odds, Dennis took the leap in 2016 to launch Ocean Park, given his prior 10 year successful track record running equity long/short absolute return portfolios.  As the old saying goes: “If you don’t believe in yourself, why should anyone else!”   I found Dennis to be thoughtful and very down to earth as he shares snippets about growing up and going to school in Boston, how he caught the investment bug, and why he has such high conviction in hard cash flow businesses.  As an emerging and diverse manager, Dennis has it all: pedigree, qualifications, experience, track record, integrity.  If you are an allocator and a believer that diversity matters for generating long term sustainable returns, then Dennis is someone you should meet.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Dennis Jean-Jacques.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri, Founder & CEO of Bodhi Research Group.  After spending 15 years as a researcher and asset allocator in alternative investments working with a number of top investment firms, Ranjan decided to hang up his own shingle and start Bodhi Research Group to provide advisory, research and education in the alternatives investments space.  Bodhi’s clients include some of the leading institutional investors and family offices in the field, including past assignments with top Canadian pension plans and Sovereign Wealth funds.  Bodhi prides itself as being independent and completely unconflicted.   I found Ranjan to be humble and very thoughtful about how he is building out Bodhi leveraging his extensive network of experts across the alternatives space.  It is great to see an Asian Canadian take the entrepreneurial plunge and we hope this podcast helps to highlight Bodhi’s unique approach and value proposition.  Without further ado, here is our conversation with the Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri.  

Our guest for today’s podcast is Barbara Byrne, Former Vice Chairman of Investment Banking at Barclays and Lehman Brothers.  I had the good fortune of getting to know Barbara during my time at Barclays and she is quite simply a legend in the business.  Inspirational leader, money maker, glass ceiling breaker, relentless motivator, role model, and comedian – these are all things I think about when I think about Barbara.  Not many can say that they survived almost 40 years in the ultra competitive world of investment banking, but Barbara can and she did it with grace and character, leaving behind a legacy pulling both women and men up along the way. Oh, and by the way, she raised 4 dynamic children along the way; easily earning the designation of super woman banker and mom.  Grab a pen and paper because you will want to write down all the wonderful advice she shares during this podcast. Without further ado, here is our conversation with the great Barbara Moakler Byrne.

Our guests for today’s podcast are Deepak Gurnani, Founder and Managing Partner, Versor Investments (formerly known as ARP Investments) and Thiago de Freitas, Portfolio Manager for Liquid Alternatives, UPS Group Trust.   Alpha is hard to come by, but uncorrelated alpha is even more rare.  I wanted to dive deep into a hedge fund strategy that was truly uncorrelated to equity beta as well as long duration rate/credit beta.  When discussing the topic with Thiago, one of the best in the business with a keen eye for uncorrelated alpha, he suggested a conversation with Deepak Gurnani who runs a systematic, relative value global macro strategy leveraging AI and ML.  I found Deepak to be humble, transparent, and grounded despite the success he has achieved in his career formerly as the CIO for Investcorp’s fund of hedge funds and now as the founder and managing partner of his own hedge fund, Versor Investments.  It is great to see a good guy, an Asian guy albeit, achieve success and truly build something unique and high impact for sophisticated institutional investors.   Without further ado, please enjoy my conversation with Deepak and Thiago.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Seema Hingorani, Managing Director at Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Founder/Chair of Girls Who Invest, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in portfolio management and executive leadership in the asset management industry. As part of the senior leadership team at MSIM, Seema is focused on strategic client relationships, investment talent development and diversity initiatives; She is part of the  Diversity Council and Diversity and Inclusion Senior Leaders Advisory Council. Seema brings a unique perspective as she had been on the sellside as a banker and research analyst then buyside as long only then HF investor and ultimately became CIO for one of the world’s largest public pensions, NYC Retirement System.It was here that she recognized the need for more women investors in the investment management industry and through an OpEd piece with Bloomberg planted a seed about the need for an organization like GWI which could help to create a pipeline of talented  women investors. This has now become a highly successful organization which has helped > 800 women start a career in finance through training, mentorships and internships.   Seema is a prolific speaker on the topic of a more robust inclusion of women in the corporate sector and most recently received the French Legion of Honor award and was the first AA to do so. She has numerous accolades including being recognized as one of 100 most influential women in U.S. finance by Barrons this year, as a 2019 Bloomberg 50 “Ones To Watch”, and Wall Street Women Entrepreneur of the Year in 2015 by Traders magazine.   Join me today as Seema takes us through her personal and professional journey and describes her commitment to serving the greater good.   Born in CT and raised in an immigrant family from India where her parents had an arranged marriage, Seema is the embodiment of the AA success story having gone from Yale to Wharton and worked at some of the most prestigious investment firms.  She is a talented investor who has become a champion of leveling the playing field for women in the investment world.   Seema has an entrepreneurial spirit, is engaging, passionate, a clear visionary, who attributes her success to her parents especially to her mother who inspired her to help others around her.  Seema is a powerhouse figure in our industry and has succeeded in truly paving the way for women of all ages with her work at GWI as well as now at MSIM.   Without further ado, here is my conversation with Seema Hingorani.  

Our guests for today’s podcast are Elizabeth Burton, Chief Investment Officer, Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii and Lindsay Burton, Founder and President of the Kayo Conference Series.  Elizabeth and Lindsay are two trailblazers and extraordinary women in the finance industry and they happen to be sisters.   As CIO for Hawaii, Elizabeth is responsible for overseeing over $17 billion in assets for over 145,000 beneficiaries.  That is a lot of responsibility, but for those who know Elizabeth, she is a task master and just knows how to get stuff done!   Equally as impressive is the success Lindsay has achieved by starting Kayo and being a catalyst for women in the private equity industry.   I had a fun time interviewing both Elizabeth and Lindsay, hearing about their upbringing and the path each took to getting to their current positions.  Through hard work, grit, determination, and support for one another, both Elizabeth and Lindsay have achieved awesome success in their early careers thus far.  There are many words of wisdoms in the podcast for mid career professionals aspiring to be CIO one day or launching their own business.   Without further ado, please enjoy my conversation with the Burton sisters.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Ginger Lew, who along with Maeley Tom, conceived and co-founded AAAIM in 2006.  Not surprising, it took two awesome Asian women to get AAAIM started!  Ginger has enjoyed amazing success in her career in both the public and private sectors, having served under the Clinton and Obama administrations in key roles and more recently having helped to start, operate and sell a very successful infrastructure company.   I asked Bennett Kim, one of AAAIM’s founding board members, to conduct this podcast with Ginger given their long and special relationship together.  For those of you fortunate enough to know Ginger, she is one of the most delightful people to be around as she is full of optimism, positivity and altruism.  There are so many tidbits of wisdom embodied in this podcast so without further ado, please enjoy Bennett’s conversation with Ginger Lew.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Carrie Lo, Portfolio Manager for the $25B Risk Mitigating Strategies group at CalSTRS (one of the largest public plans in the US) where she has led the venture into hedge funds, specifically those uncorrelated strategies to equities especially in global macro, trend following strategies and systematic risk premia.     Carrie takes us through her personal and professional path from investment banker turned venture startup to hedge fund investor before landing at CalSTRS over 12 years ago.  Her journey took her from CA to NY to London (with some time in HK) and ultimately back to CA.  Carrie started out in the Innovation and Risk group in 2009 and in 2016, due to the immense successes of this group, the Risk Mitigating Strategies group was born.     Coming from an immigrant family from HK, I found Carrie to be humble, thoughtful and gracious and immensely grateful to her family for their sacrifices in order to build a better life here in the U.S.Carrie is extremely intelligent and curious and a great role model for younger female investment professionals.She takes pride in setting the example that, with hard work, a commitment to excellence, and  a “if you don’t ask, you don’t get” attitude, anything is possible.     Without further ado, here is my conversation with Carrie Lo.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Deborah Way, Managing Director, Co-Head of Global Markets Recruiting for Sheffield Haworth, a leading global executive search and talent advisory firm.     After spending over 20+ years in various roles in Global Markets both as a producer and desk head, Deborah made the transition to become a recruiter after leaving Barclays in 2019.  From her early days growing up in Wyoming to the campus of Princeton University to the trading floors of Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and Barclays, Deborah takes us through her journey rising to MD and heading up high power teams both in New York and Singapore.   As an Asian female, Deborah shares many insights on what it takes to be successful in the ultra competitive world of sales and trading and succeeding on Wall Street.  We touch upon all topics including promotion, compensation, unconscious bias, grit, determination, the bamboo ceiling, and how you know when it is time to leave your job.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Deborah Way.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Josh Lerner, the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School.  This podcast is a replay of an AAAIM Virtual Webinar held in late 2020 and discusses the findings from an AAAIM commissioned study by Bella Private Markets, a consulting firm led by Professor Lerner.   The AAAIM Study is the first in the market to quantify AAPIs’ representation, AUM, and performance. The results uncover a disturbingly low representation of AAPI ownership compared to the community’s population in the U.S. and other relevant benchmarks. In addition, the returns delivered by AAPI-sponsored investment vehicles meet or exceed industry benchmarks across asset classes. These findings echo earlier studies, which found that Diverse-owned funds collectively accounted for only 1.3% of total asset management AUM, despite performance in line with industry benchmarks.   Brenda Chia, AAAIM Co-Chair and Founding Board Member, interviews Professor Lerner for this podcast.   Without further ado, here is our replay with Professor Lerner and Brenda Chia.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Jason Hsu, Founder and CIO of Rayliant Global Advisors.  Jason spun Rayliant out of Research Affiliates in 2016 after a very successful stint as co-founder of Research Affiliates with legendary thought leader and finance guru, Rob Arnott.  At present, Rayliant has $26+ billion in AUM linked to its strategies and, beginning in 2021, launched an ETF in the US, symbol: RAYC, the Rayliant Quantamental China Equity ETF which is designed to give US investors access to beta in China A shares market.    Jason takes us through his path attending top universities including Caltech, Stanford and UCLA culminating in earning his PhD in finance and tells the story of how Research Affiliates became successful and why he decided to form Rayliant as an independent company.   Asian-led multi-billion AUM firms are rare so Jason’s story is inspiring and we look forward to the great impact Jason and Rayliant will have for investors for a long period of time.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Jason Hsu.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Geeta Kapadia, Associate Treasurer, Investments at Yale New Haven Health where she leads a team of 5 that manages a $5 billion pool of investment assets.    Geeta takes us through her personal and professional path globetrotting the world before landing at Yale New Haven Health over 12 years ago.  In 2020, Geeta was named the Associate Treasurer for Investments effectively the CIO, a highly coveted position in the allocator world.   I found Geeta to be very personable, approachable, and welcoming.  Geeta is a role model for investment professionals aspiring to be CIO one day.  She takes pride in setting the example that, with hard work, patience and a commitment to excellence, anything is possible.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Geeta Kapadia.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Rendel Solomon, Strategic Advisor to Goalsetter and Founder of One Stock One Future.  I sought out Rendel after watching his TedXChicago Talk called “Sharecropper to Shareholder.”  One word comes to mind when I think about Rendel, his vision for the future, and his selflessness to make his vision a reality: PROFOUND.   Rendel is the rare example of someone who has actually left high finance and a high paying job in private equity in his pursuit to change the trajectory of future generations: the mission for One Stock One Future is to make 1 million underserved youths into public company shareholders.  Again, I’ll say it again: PROFOUND.   Joining me on this podcast as guest co-host is Brenda Chia, Board Co-Chair and Founding Board Member of AAAIM.  What a treat it was for Brenda and me to interview someone of Rendel’s caliber and character.  We were awe struck as we do believe Rendel will become known as a “generational leader of our time” one day.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Rendel Solomon.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Lorence Kim, Venture Partner, Third Rock Ventures and Former CFO of Moderna.  If there was ever someone you wanted to picture as having a perfect life, that’s Lorence.  Lorence graduated magna cum laude from Harvard, then went on to earn a dual degree (Doctor of Medicine and MBA) from Penn.  Upon graduation, he joined Goldman Sachs and rose through the ranks becoming a Managing Director and co-head of the Biotechnology Investment Banking division.  In 2014, Lorence pivoted and joined a little known biotechnology firm called Moderna.  The rest is history!!!   What I admire about Lorence, in addition to his awesome professional career and accomplishments, is that deep down inside, he is a humble guy and a loving father and husband.  I look forward to all the amazing things he will continue to do in the industry,   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Lorence Kim. 

Our guest for today’s podcast is Sammy Suzuki, Co-CIO of Strategic Core Equities at AllianceBernstein, also known as AB, a $686 billion research driven, asset manager.  Over a 26+ year career at AB, Sammy shares his perspective and experience on what it took for him to climb the corporate ladder at AB, shattering the bamboo ceiling, and building out a new $12 billion AUM business.  I tried to get Sammy to pound his chest a bit more on the podcast but he wouldn’t take the bait being his Asian self, ha ha.  Note to audience, what he has accomplished at AB is no small feat and AAAIM is very proud to highlight his success.   Away from his personal achievements, Sammy is also viewed as a leader in the AAAIM and extended finance community.  Sammy has been instrumental in building out AB’s Asian network as well as serving on the board of the CFA Society New York.  I look forward to Sammy’s continued ascension in the finance world.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Sammy Suzuki.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Evelyn Chen, Founder and Portfolio Manager of Grand Alliance Asset Management, an asset management firm focused on growth equity in Asia with a specific expertise in Taiwan and China.   What I love about interviewing different portfolio managers is the individual stories on what it takes to be the best at their craft.  Growing up, Evelyn’s initial interest was to become a biologist given her love of insects and the patience required to be an expert in dissecting insects and understanding how they function.  Luckily for investors, she pivoted to become an equity analyst and, leveraging that same level of patience and precision required to be a biologist, refocused her skills to eventually become a top stock picker.  It is a cool story!   Joining me on this podcast as guest host is Meisan Lim, Head of Macro and Quantitative Strategies for Cambridge Associates, one of the top consulting firms in the hedge fund business.  When I asked Meisan for her thoughts on an awesome Asian female hedge fund manager, Evelyn’s name immediately came to mind.  Thank you again Meisan for inviting Evelyn.   Without further ado, here is my conversation with Evelyn Chen and Meisan Lim.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Maeley Tom, California State Legislature Extraordinaire and Founding Co-Chair of AAAIM.  I stepped aside for this podcast and asked Gordon Liao, AAAIM Board Vice-Chair and ELI Committee Chair, to conduct this interview given their long history and friendship.  In listening to Maeley’s story, I have to admit that a few (happy) tears came to my eyes, after hearing about her upbringing.   Maeley touches upon many important topics including being on her own from the age of 16, how she developed the grit to be successful, her views on the current Stop AAPI Hate Movement, how the idea for AAAIM was conceived, her personal journey in mustering up the courage to ask for the top job to become the Chief Administrative Officer of the California State Assembly, and the rationale for writing her book to inspire the next generation of leaders.   Atypical of Asian tendencies of “being humble, not speaking up, not being the nail that stands out, not talking about your achievements; Maeley shares why being the opposite was key for her success in a Western culture society”.  Be prepared to be inspired.   Without further ado, please enjoy Gordon’s conversation with Maeley Tom.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Susan Oh, a 25 year veteran at the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System, a $64 billion defined benefit pension plan.  Over her career at PSERS, Susan has been a serial entrepreneur and a true innovator for the fund including 1) establishing their $13 billion swap overlay program, 2) building out their currency hedging program, 3) launching their internally managed risk parity program leveraging Bridgewater, and 4) now taking on the new challenge of implementing ESG for impact and returns.  Susan is the epitome of GSD (Getting Stuff Done!)   Away from her personal accomplishments, we were inspired by Susan’s strong faith and her recognition that she has a higher calling.  Having shattered both the bamboo and glass ceiling, Susan is a role model for Asian Americans and women in the industry, a responsibility she cherishes and doesn’t take lightly.    Joining me on the podcast as lead host is fellow AAAIM board member, Susan Soh, Chief of Strategy and Capital Development for the Private Investments arm of Two Sigma.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Susan Oh.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Suzanne Yoon, Founder and Managing Partner of Kinzie Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on providing creative solutions through equity investments in lower middle-market businesses going through transitions.   Suzanne openly takes us through her personal journey overcoming tragedy at a young age after the death of her father and jumping head first into world of finance.  Through grit, determination, and a strong belief in “diversity and inclusion”, Suzanne successfully navigates the ultra competitive world of private equity, culminating in launching her own private equity firm in 2017.  Her story not only sends chills through my body but also brings a bright smile to my face.   Joining me on the podcast as lead host is fellow AAAIM board member, Susan Soh, Chief of Strategy and Capital Development for the Private Investments arm of Two Sigma.   Brace yourself and prepare to hear what it takes to be the best.  Without further ado, here is our conversation with Suzanne Yoon.

My guests for today’s podcast are Syed Haque, Director of Public Markets, and Roxton McNeal, Director of Multi-Asset Investment Strategy & Allocation, for the UPS Investment Trust.   UPS has long been known as one of the more progressive pensions in the business and my conversation with Syed and Roxton tell the story on why the Trust has been successful both on the investing side as well as the talent development side.  LDI, Factor Investing, Risk Premia, Tail Risk Hedging, Paying for Alpha but not for Beta, QIS – you’ve heard it, UPS has implemented it.  I was fired up by the end of our conversation and I am sure you will be too.    Without further ado, please enjoy my conversation with Syed and Roxton.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Kim Lew, Chief Executive Officer of the Columbia Investment Management Company, where she oversees over $11 billion in endowment and university assets.  Kim needs no introduction as she is by far one of the most admired investors and leaders in the world of investment management.  Kim joined Columbia in late 2020, a groundbreaking moment for the industry and something I applauded as a 2x graduate of the university. Kim is a great “storyteller” as she is authentic and her leadership qualities just makes you want to follow her.  If there is ever a leader that you would ever want to charge up a hill to fight your final battle, Kim is that person. Joining me on the podcast as co-host is fellow AAAIM board member, Susan Soh, Chief of Strategy and Capital Development for the Private Investments arm of Two Sigma.  I am excited to welcome Susan to the podcast as she is one of the most admired business development professionals in our industry. I was honored to join the conversation with two awesome female leaders in the business.  Without further ado, here is our conversation with Kim Lew.

My guests for today’s podcast are Andrew Chen and Marcos Veremis.   Andrew is a Portfolio Manager at Lockheed Martin Investment Management Company where he focuses on the Absolute Return portfolio.  Andrew is an engineer by training and I was happy that he agreed to participate in this podcast given how much time he has spent learning and thinking about blockchain and the potential for the new technology.  Marcos is a partner at Evanston Capital, a leading fund of funds that he joined in 2020.  Previously, Marcos spent 14 years at Cambridge Associates where he led Cambridge Associates research on cryptoassets and blockchain including crypto manager due diligence in the venture and hedge funds spaces.

My guest for today’s podcast is Danny Lee who is a Partner at Blue Pool Capital, one of the most highly regarded investment firms in the business.  As a private equity investor, Danny has seen and experienced it all, building an awesome career that many of us would be envious about.   Danny talks about his early days after moving to New York from China at the age of 13, attending Brooklyn Tech, a highly competitive magnet high school and his decision to attend Columbia College.  We then turn to his formative years at Lehman Brothers in investment banking before his move to Hong Kong and eventual jump to private equity where he has spent the past 20+ years working for top firms including Investor AB, Bain Capital and now Blue Pool Capital.   I enjoyed this conversation not only because Danny is a friend and an accomplished investor, but also because Danny’s story has come full circle from being a beneficiary of a major scholarship while at Columbia to endowing his own scholarship at Columbia 30 years later.  Note to audience, although you may not be able to hear it on the podcast, I think “the tear” may have made its first appearance on the podcast!  Without further ado, here is my conversation with Danny Lee.

My guests for today’s podcast are Troy Dixon, Founder and CIO of Hollis Park Partners, a $750mn+ independent alternative asset manager that specializes in structured products and Greg Maddox, Head of Global Manager Research at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. I took a different approach for this podcast by asking my two guests to follow along with role playing the following scenario:  Let’s pretend that the three of us have recently started the “Emerging Manager Impact Fund” (EMIF), a new $1 billion fund focused on investing in top emerging and diverse managers.  We are being seeded by Priscilla Chan Zuckerberg and Oprah Winfrey with the dual purpose of delivering best in class risk adjusted returns while making an impact by investing in emerging and diverse managers.  (Note to audience, repeat - this is a role play so please don’t call us to ask for money!) Given Troy’s and Greg’s wealth of experience and juxtaposition of perspective: retail vs. institutional, sell side vs. buy side, investment bank vs. independent emerging manager, portfolio manager vs. allocator, having designed an emerging and diverse program vs having won mandates from emerging and diverse programs – I found this conversation especially insightful for all players in the investment game. Without further ado, please enjoy my conversation with Troy and Greg.

My guest for today’s podcast is James Chen, Founder and CIO of Ovata Capital, a $600mn+ multi-strategy, market neutral equities hedge fund headquartered in Hong Kong.  James takes us on his journey from being born in Mongolia to growing up in Long Island, NY through his formative years as a proprietary and customer trader at Credit Suisse, Bear Stearns, JP Morgan and Barclays.  In 2014, James made the decision to join Bluecrest where he established their equities business in Hong Kong.   Following Bluecrest’s decision to convert to a family office, James made the decision to start Ovata Capital, personally funding and underwriting the business hiring many of his former Bluecrest equities team members in Hong Kong.  James shares many lessons he learned over his career, providing valuable insight to portfolio managers who aspire to launch their own independent firms.  Joining me on this podcast as guest host is Christophe L’Ahelec, who most recently was a Senior Principal in the External Managers group at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, one of the most widely respected allocators in the business.  I leave it to Christophe to ask all the hard questions!  Without further a due, here is my conversation with James and Christophe.

My guest for today’s podcast is Puneet Kohli, Head of the Alternative Investments team at the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, also known as HOOPP, a $100bn+ Canadian pension fund well known for being one of the top performing investors globally over the past 20 years.  Puneet is one of those rare breeds in asset management where he has literally done it all: trader, portfolio manager, proprietary trader, hedge fund manager, equities, fixed income, derivatives, and alternatives.  I’ve known Puneet almost 20 years and it was a pleasure to interview him and hear his background from how he grew up in the business to his current task at hand, building out Alternative Investments at HOOPP.  Puneet generously shares his stories from “his difficult teenage years” being one of the only visible minority kids growing up in Mississauga and Ottawa to his days as a proprietary trader eventually leading to his current role at HOOPP which includes hiring external managers, a new program HOOPP initiated only recently in 2018.  Without further a due, here is my conversation with Puneet Kohli.