MSCI Canadian Institutional Investor Forum

Total Portfolio Strategies for a Changing World

8:00 a.m. ・ Registration & breakfast

8:30 a.m. ・ Welcome and opening remarks 

8:35 a.m. ・ Keynote - Innovation at the Frontier: From Lab to Leadership

In a rapidly shifting global landscape, long-term investors must harness innovation not just to adapt, but to lead. Opening the Forum, Ashley Lester outlines a strategic vision for innovation in institutional investing — drawing on MSCI’s latest developments in AI-driven analytics, real-time stress testing and total portfolio thinking. With early access to MSCI’s research and development agenda, this keynote explores how forward-looking CIOs can transform emerging technologies into governance tools that sharpen decision-making, fortify portfolio resilience and identify new risk-adjusted opportunities. 

8:50 a.m. ・ Panel: Key Investment Trends Shaping Markets in 2025 and Beyond 

Amid fast-evolving macro regimes, persistent inflationary pressures and geopolitical fragmentation, institutional investors face unprecedented portfolio challenges. This session opens with MSCI’s latest research briefing on key structural shifts framing the volatile landscape and emerging opportunities. Leading investors then discuss how they are recalibrating strategic and tactical asset allocations to address risks like macro volatility, private market liquidity constraints and climate-related disruptions. Attendees will gain actionable insights for positioning portfolios over the next 6 to 18 months while balancing long-term mandates. 

9:40 a.m. ・ Morning break

10:00 a.m. ・ Panel: The Future of Asset Allocation: Implementing a Total Portfolio Approach

Total Portfolio Allocation (TPA) is gaining momentum as institutional investors seek more integrated, risk-aware frameworks across public and private assets. But translating this concept into practice remains complex and approaches vary by institution influenced by governance structures, portfolio objectives and data limitations. This session brings together asset owners navigating the TPA journey to share practical lessons from the front lines. Panelists and MSCI experts will discuss challenges in liquidity management, cross-asset risk integration and performance measurement, offering candid perspectives on what’s working, what’s not and how to build a durable TPA strategy in an increasingly interconnected investment landscape. 

11:00 a.m. ・ Panel: Understanding Physical Risk and Portfolio Resilience Across Asset Classes

Severe weather events and other climate-related physical risks are intensifying with direct and measurable impacts on financial performance. In response, long-term investors face mounting pressure to quantify exposure and embed location-specific insights into portfolio strategy. This session brings together leading asset owners to explore how physical risk is being monitored, measured and managed across the total plan – spanning both public and private assets. Panelists will examine how advances in asset-level intelligence, particularly for real estate holdings, are reshaping due diligence and enabling more informed capital allocation. From scenario analysis to cross-asset risk frameworks, this discussion will reveal how institutions are building resilient portfolios equipped to navigate a future shaped by physical disruption and evolving global risk. 

12:00 p.m. ・ Lunch

1:00 p.m. ・ Panel: Private Markets at the Core: Liquidity, Transparency and Benchmarking 

Private assets have shifted from the periphery to the core of institutional portfolios, driving new demands for transparency, liquidity planning and analytical discipline. This session examines how leading asset owners are navigating access points, investment strategies and vehicles across private markets — and how they assess alignment between manager practices, portfolio goals and long-term value creation. Panelists will discuss how they adapt liquidity frameworks to meet long-term commitments and dynamic cash flow needs, while using emerging analytics and tailored benchmarking tools to sharpen insights.

2:00 p.m. ・ Panel: AI and the Investment Edge: Intelligent Decisions in the Pursuit of Alpha  

Artificial intelligence is becoming integral to the institutional investment process, redefining how decisions are made, risks are assessed and alpha is pursued. This session brings together technology and investment leaders to examine how AI is being deployed across signal generation, portfolio construction and predictive modeling — enabling more dynamic, data-rich and forward-looking investment strategies. Panelists will share real-world applications ranging from unstructured data analysis to AI-enhanced scenario planning, offering insight into how leading institutions are embedding AI to sharpen their competitive edge while navigating the evolving demands of governance and accountability. 

3:00 p.m. ・ Afternoon break

3:20 p.m. ・ Chief Risk Officer Insights: From Risk Management to Risk Advisory

In this panel, we will discuss how institutional investors are dynamically managing risk through a total portfolio lens and the challenges posed by rising private asset allocations. The conversation will also explore how these forces are reshaping risk governance, highlighting the impact of geopolitical shifts, technological advancements, emerging active management opportunities and the climate transition on investment strategies and decision-making. 

4:20 p.m. ・ Closing remarks

4:30 p.m. ・ Event conclusion