2024 AIF Southwest Investors' Forum
April 23–24 | Hotel Ella | Austin, Texas
On behalf of AIF Global, we hope you will make plans to join us for the 2024 AIF Southwest Investors’ Forum to be held April 23–24 at the Hotel Ella in Austin, Texas.
The Forum is geared toward institutional investment professionals, board trustees and investment advisors and will include a two-day agenda of academic research, asset-class sessions, and panel discussions.
Agenda at a Glance
Tuesday, April 23
11:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
Registration for the Women Investors’ Workshop Luncheon
11:30 a.m.–12:50 p.m.
Women Investors’ Luncheon Workshop: Building a Holistic Approach to Branding (open to registered women only)
- The Goldilocks of Social Media Usage
- Boosting Your Brand with AI
- Connecting the Dots from Resume to Online and In-Person Presence
Introduction and Remarks:
- Tina Hernandez, Vice Chair, Dallas Police & Fire Pension System
- Rhonda Smith, Board Member and Secretary, Houston Municipal Employees Pension System
Moderator:
- Sharmila Kassam, Former Deputy CIO, Employees Retirement System of Texas and Co-Chair, AIF Institute Fellows Program
Panelists:
- Joanna Furlong, Founder, Chief Strategist and Storyteller, ThoughtCollab
- Somer Hackley, Founder and CEO, Distinguished Search
- Tissa Richards, Keynote Speaker, Executive Advisor and Author, No Permission Needed
12:30–1:00 p.m.
General registration for the Southwest Investors’ Forum
1:00–1:10 p.m.
Welcome Remarks
1:10–2:00 p.m.
Opening Keynote Discussion: The State of the Economy in 2024
- Robert Steven Kaplan, Former President and CEO, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank
Introduction by:
Tom Tull, Trustee and Chair, Investment Advisory Committee Member, Dallas Police & Fire Pension System
2:10–3:10 p.m.
AIF Institute Center for Private Capital Investing: Maximizing Asset Allocation and Successfully Managing Risk in a Period of Slower Economic Growth
Moderator:
- Alex Browning, Senior Vice President, Callan
Panelists:
- Vineer Bhansali, Investment Committee Member, Margaret A. Cargill Foundation and Founder and CIO, LongTail Alpha
- Michael Buckius, CEO and CIO, Gateway Investment Advisers
- Tina Hernandez, Vice Chair, Dallas Police and Fire Pension
- Ryan Wagner, CIO, Dallas Police and Fire Pension System
3:20–4:15 p.m.
AIF Institute Center for Private Capital Investing: Private Credit Strategies and Their Impact on Portfolio Performance
Moderator:
- Francois Otieno, Director of Fixed Income, Segal Marco Advisors
Panelists:
- Ashley Baum, Managing Director, Head of Special Opportunities, Teacher Retirement System of Texas
- Richard Grimm, Managing Director, Cambridge Associates
- Brent Humphries, President, AB Private Credit Investors
- Sylvia Owens, Partner, Kennedy Lewis Investment Management
- Jason Scheir, Partner, Co-Head of Hybrid Value, Apollo Global Management
4:20–5:15 p.m.
Special Discussion with Pioneers of the Industry: Insights on Current and Future Investing Challenges
Speakers:
- Britt Harris, Former CEO/CIO, UTIMCO and Former CIO, Teacher Retirement of Texas and Founding Advisor, On Eagles Wings Advisors
- André Perold, George Gund Professor of Banking and Finance, Emeritus, Harvard Business School and Founder, Managing Partner and CIO, HighVista Strategies and Board Member, The Vanguard Group
5:15–5:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks
5:15–8:00 p.m.
Opening Reception and Casual Dinner
Wednesday, April 24
8:00–8:30 a.m.
Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:45–9:00 a.m.
Day Two Remarks
9:00–10:00 a.m.
Private Equity Roundtable: Preparing Your Portfolio for the Reset in Private Equity Investing
Session Leaders:
- Ngoc Can, Portfolio Director, Co-investments, Texas Municipal Retirement System
- Mike Krems, Partner, Portfolio Strategies, Aksia
Session Participants:
- Christopher Darby, Global Head of Venture Investments and Senior Managing Director, Cerberus LLC
- Michael Lazorik, Director, Co-Head of Principal Investments, Teacher Retirement System of Texas
- Steve Moseley, Managing Director, Wafra
- Chirag H. Shah, Senior Portfolio Manager, Private Equity, Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation
- Mike Skelly, Managing Director, Lexington Partners
10:15–11:15 a.m.
Real Estate Roundtable
Session Leader:
- Rob Kochis, Partner, The Townsend Group
Session Participants:
Devin Chen, Head of Private Real Estate Strategy and Special Situations, PIMCO
- Brendan Cooper, Director, Real Estate, Teacher Retirement System of Texas
- Dan Heflin, Managing Partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer, Torchlight Investors
- Kyle Jeffers, CIO, ACORE Capital
- Tyson Skillings, Managing Partner, Rockwood Capital, LLC
- Max Swango, Managing Director, Global Head of Client Portfolio Management, Invesco Real Estate
- Elisabeth Troni, Fund Manager, CBRE Investment Management
- Min Zhou, Managing Director, Ares Secondaries Group, Ares Management
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Infrastructure Roundtable
Session Leader:
- Kevin Leonard, Partner, NEPC
Session Participants:
- Anurag Agarwal, Managing Director, Head of Global Transportation Group Portfolio Management, J.P. Morgan Asset Management
- Alberto Estefan, Partner, Energy Infrastructure, Actis
- Monica Huffer, Portfolio Director, Private Markets, Texas Municipal Retirement System
- Jahred Kallop, Executive Director, Tikehau Capital
- Mina Nazemi, Head of Diversified Alternatives Equity, Barings
- David Son, Managing Director, CBRE Investment Management
12:30–2:00 p.m.
Luncheon Fireside Chat
Speakers:
- Margaret Belmondo, Partner and Head of Public Fund Practice Group, NEPC
- Yup Kim, CIO, Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS)
2:15 –3:15 p.m.
Private Credit Roundtable I: Direct Lending and Core Strategies
Session Leader:
- Daniel Xu, Partner, Head of NA Direct Lending, Albourne
Session Participants:
Justin Betzen, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Mike Contreras, Managing Director, Origination, Deerpath Capital Management
- Justin Hawthorne, Senior Vice President, Asset Management, Antares Capital
- Jonathan Marotta, Managing Director, Crescent Capital
- Osvaldo Pereira, Partner, Park Square Capital
- Leighton Shantz, Managing Director, Credit & Hedge Funds, Employees’ Retirement System of Texas
- Tod Trabocco, Managing Director of Product Strategy, Marathon Asset Management
- Khurram Wadhwani, Investments Analyst – Private Markets, Texas Health Resources
3:30–4:45 p.m.
Private Credit Roundtable II: Structured, Specialized, and Opportunistic Strategies
Session Leader:
- David Sheng, Managing Director, Aksia
- David Aidi, Partner, Atalaya Capital Management
- Akhil Bansal, Managing Director and Head of Credit Strategic Solutions, The Carlyle Group
- Dylan Campbell, Investment Manager, Teacher Retirement System of Texas
- Gregory Hardiman, Managing Director, 17Capital
- Ben Hunsaker, Head of Structured Credit and Portfolio Manager, Beach Point Capital Management
- Raja Manchanda, Partner, Sagard Healthcare Partners
- Leighton Shantz, Managing Director, Credit & Hedge Funds, Employees’ Retirement System of Texas
- Chris Schiavone, Head of Private Credit Strategies, 400 Capital Management
4:45 –5:45 p.m.
Closing Remarks and Reception
2024 AIF Southwest Investors' Forum Participant List
Investor and Consultant Participants
Aksia
Mike Krems, Partner
David Sheng, Managing Director, Portfolio Advisor
Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation
Chirag H. Shah, Senior Portfolio Manager, Private Equity
Albourne
Daniel Xu, Partner, Head of NA Direct Lending
Callan
Alex Browning, Senior Vice President
Cambridge Associates
Richard Grimm, Managing Director
Marcus Alexis, Senior Director
Dallas Police & Fire Pension System
Ryan Wagner, CIO
Tina Hernandez, Vice Chair, Board of Trustees
Tom Tull, Investment Advisory Committee Member
Employees Retirement System of Texas
Leighton Shantz, Managing Director, Credit & Hedge Funds
Panayiotis Lambropoulos, Portfolio Manager
Houston Municipal Employees Pension System
Rhonda Smith, Board Member and Secretary
Margaret A. Cargill Foundation
Vineer Bhansali, Investment Committee Member
NEPC
Margaret Belmondo, Partner, Public Fund Team Leader
Kevin Leonard, Partner, Practice Group Director
Petro Lucrum, Inc.
Timothy Smith, CIO
Segal Marco Advisors
Francois Otieno, Director of Fixed Income
Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Kirk Sims, Managing Director of Emerging Managers Program
Grant Walker, Managing Director
Michael Lazorik, Director, Co-Head of Principal Investments
Dylan Campbell, Investment Manager
Brendan Cooper, Director, Real Estate
Audrey Li
Texas Health Resources
Khurram Wadhwani, Investments Analyst – Private Markets
Texas Municipal Retirement System
Yup Kim, CIO
Ngoc Can, Portfolio Director, Co-investments
Monica Huffer, Portfolio Director, Private Markets
Jacob Bowland, Portfolio Director
Joshua Garcia, Portfolio Director, Private Equity
Texas Mutual
Andrew Moore
Texas Permanent School Fund Corp.
Kathryn Gernert, Director, Emerging Manager Program
Jewel Chen, Portfolio Manager
Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company
Jake Price, Junior Portfolio Manager
The Townsend Group
Rob Kochis, Partner
The Vanguard Group
André Perold, Board Member
