WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS

Michelle Shanley, Managing Director, Head of Americas Strategic Account Management, MSCI

COVID-19 LESSONS LEARNED

The coronavirus pandemic sparked a surge of volatility across global financial markets. What lessons can investors learn from this crisis? This session will highlight key MSCI findings from this period, highlighting the disparity in returns across geography, style factors, and ESG characteristics. In this time of heightened uncertainty MSCI observed the growing importance of managing factors and asset allocation. MSCI's Research leadership team as well as three institutional investors will reflect on their portfolio management challenges during the crisis. 

Speaker: Peter Zangari, Managing Director, Global Head of Research and Product Development, MSCI

Moderator: Dimitris Melas, Managing Director, Global Head of Core Equity Research, MSCI

Panelists: 
June Kim, Director of Global Equity and Chair of CalSTRS Investments’ Diversity Steering Committee, CalSTRS
Marlene Puffer, President and Chief Executive Officer, CN Investment Division
Dianne Sandoval, Investment Manager and Senior Member of Trust Level Portfolio Management and Implementation (TLPMI), CalPERS

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION IN INSTITUTIONAL PORTFOLIOS

Long term megatrends driven by the adoption of new technologies, demographic shifts, or macro factors, all play a significant role in institutional investor portfolios. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace and impact of disruptive innovation in areas such as automation, robotics, digital payments, and genomics. In this session you will hear how ARK Invest identifies key trends and investment opportunities in its active investment strategies and gain insights into tools and data that can help measure and benchmark exposure to key disruptive innovation themes.         

Cathie Wood, CIO & Founder, ARK Invest
Stuart Doole, Managing Director, Global Head of New Product Development Index Research, MSCI    

BREAK

FACTORS FRAMEWORK ACROSS ASSET CLASSES

Over the last five to ten years we have seen the mainstream application of factor investing within public equities: Whether it’s used to measure risk and return or to position portfolios for specific outcomes. But what role do factors play across asset classes? Our panelists will look at the benefits and challenges of applying factor frameworks to equities and fixed income as well as discuss the broader implications for total fund asset allocation decisions. 

Moderator: Raman Subramanian, Managing Director, Global Head of Regional Index Solutions Research, MSCI

Panelists:
Mo Haghbin, Chief Operating Officer, Invesco Investment Solutions
Oleg Mogilny, Managing Director, Public Market Alternatives and Factor Investing, IMCO
Sarah Samuels, Partner, NEPC

A DISCUSSION ON DIVERSITY, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CALPERS & CALSTRS WOMEN IN INVESTMENTS

The investment management industry has made strong strides in improving gender diversity. However, in light of recent events around the Black Lives Matter movement, many companies are increasing their efforts to improve the racial makeup of their workforce as Black employees currently make up a small proportion of the global investment management industry. What steps can we take to build a truly diverse and inclusive industry?

Moderator: Michael Andeberhan, Executive Director, Client Coverage, MSCI

Panelists:    
Scott Chan, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, CalSTRS
Marlene Timberlake D'Adamo, Chief Compliance Officer, Interim Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, CalPERS    
Susan Oh, Director, Risk Parity, Currency Hedging and Strategic Implementation, PSERS
Tina Byles Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer and Founder, Xponance   

CLOSING REMARKS

Diana Tidd, Managing Director, Global Head of Index and Chief Responsibility Officer, MSCI

WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS

Jorge Mina, Managing Director, Head of Analytics, MSCI

KEYNOTE/EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW

The COVID-19 pandemic and the economic disruption that has followed is a reminder of the need to build resilient investment portfolios. Climate change is a key part of this resilience. In our keynote address, MSCI’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Henry Fernandez will interview Jagdeep Bachher, Chief Investment Officer of UC Regents, to discuss their approach to risk management and the road to achieving an ex-fossil fuels portfolio.

Henry Fernandez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, MSCI
Jagdeep Bachher, Chief Investment Officer, UC Regents

PRIVATE REAL ESTATE TRANSPARENCY IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 

As the pandemic continues to disrupt global economies, many real estate investors have been seeking to understand what impact the crisis will have on private markets. In light of the surprise income returns of core private real estate assets the panel will discuss the evolution of transparency for this asset class and the wider implications for private real estate managers as they navigate the post-crisis world.  

Moderator:
Will Robson, Executive Director, Global Head of Real Estate Solutions Research, MSCI

Panelists:
John Gluszak, Senior Investment Officer – Real Estate, Office of New York City Comptroller
Luc McSween, Director, Portfolio Strategy, Real Estate Investments, PSP Investments
Julie Terres, Global Head of Analytics & Risk Measurement, CBRE Global Investors
Gastão Valente, Head, Brazil Real Estate, GIC

BREAK

LONG-HORIZON INVESTING WITH FACTORS IN A SHIFTING MACROECONOMY - Track A

Financial markets and the global economy are in a period of sustained uncertainty. What are the risks and opportunities for long-term asset allocation? How can investors maintain their focus on the long-run drivers of return while making informed shifts as their views on the macroeconomy evolve, both strategically and tactically? This session will demonstrate how factors, combined with insights into the macroeconomic environment, can be used to inform and aid long-run investment decisions. 

Andrew DeMond, Executive Director, Head of MAC Factor Research,  MSCI
Thomas Verbraken, Executive Director, Head of Risk Management Solutions Research, MSCI
Chenlu Zhou, Executive Director, Factor Research, MSCI

DECONSTRUCTING ESG - Track B

What impact does ESG have on indexed and actively managed portfolios? MSCI Research will host a discussion with leading institutional investors to take a quantitative and empirical view of environmental, social, and governance pillars on investment performance. With a proliferation of new tools and investment vehicles that can attribute and capture exposure to ESG factors, we will look at how institutional investors are advancing their approaches on ESG integration.
 
Moderator: Raina Oberoi, Managing Director, Head of Americas Index Solutions Research, MSCI

Panelists:
Guillermo Cano, Executive Director, Equity Solutions Team, MSCI
Sarah Kjellberg, Director and Head of U.S. iShares Sustainable ETFs, BlackRock
Blake Pontius, Director of Sustainable Investing, William Blair
Savita Subramanian, Managing Director, Head of Environmental, Social & Governance and Head of U.S. Equity & Quantitative Strategy, Bank of America

MEASURING CLIMATE RISK IN INVESTMENT PORTFOLIOS

How might climate change impact the risk and return profile of your portfolio? It can be challenging to integrate climate change considerations that range from extreme weather to regulatory changes, especially as these impacts can differ across asset classes. In this session we take stock of how asset managers are progressing. We also explore using the MSCI Climate Value-at-Risk model how risk tools can help investors better measure their exposures to climate-related risks and what could be the impact on a portfolio’s risk/return profile.

Moderator: Linda-Eling Lee, Managing Director, Global Head of ESG Research, MSCI

Panelists:
Arthur R. Guimaraes, Chief Operating Officer, UC Regents 
Alison Schneider, Vice President, Responsible Investment, AIMCO
Patrick Uelfeti, Deputy CIO, PUBLICA

LEADERSHIP IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Leadership has new expectations to carry, new narrative to deliver and new judgements to make. Through the Covid-19 crisis we’ve studied leaders’ every word – and particularly in the investment industry. This is stretching the natural territory for leaders in trying to be more authentic and empathetic, to form stronger bonds within their organisation and to be relevant into the wider community in which we all reside. 

Roger Urwin, Global Head of Investment Content, Willis Towers Watson

CLOSING REMARKS

Jeremy Baskin, Managing Director, Head of Client Coverage, Americas, MSCI