Dakota Live! Podcast

What’s changed—and what still matters—in the OCIO model? In this episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, host Robert Morier sits down with Adam Lerner, Senior Director of Investments at Prime Buchholz, to unpack how a research-driven OCIO and consulting platform evaluates managers, constructs portfolios, and serves nonprofit clients across endowments, foundations, healthcare systems, and more. Founded in 1988, Prime Buchholz is one of the industry’s leading independent investment consulting firms, advising on over $80 billion in assets for a diverse range of clients, including colleges and universities, foundations, endowments, hospitals, pension plans, and other long-term investors.We dig into sourcing, underwriting, and ongoing due diligence; active vs. passive in public equities; portfolio concentration; operational red flags; and how client service and technology shape today’s OCIO experience.In this conversation:- The OCIO landscape and Prime Buchholz’s client mix (education, foundations, healthcare) and footprint from Portsmouth (NH), Boston, and Atlanta. - Research philosophy: why qualitative conviction drives the “A-list,” and how holdings-based questioning tests process discipline. - Common diligence pitfalls: process drift, team turnover (culture tells), and capacity creep—especially in less-liquid segments. - Balancing quant screens with judgment (including niche screens like risk-aware 130/30) and aligning manager roles inside the total portfolio. - Technology’s role: the Prime Plus portal for scenarioing managers, tracking characteristics, and improving meeting-to-meeting clarity with committees. - Endowment model realities: liquidity, governance, and mission-aligned investing—what’s evolving and what endures. Whether you’re considering an OCIO platform, running due diligence, or managing client relationships, this conversation is a reminder that consistency, transparency, and conviction remain the hallmarks of enduring investment leadership.

In this episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, host Robert Morier welcomes Sean Poe, Director of Investment Manager Research at Key Private Bank, for an insightful conversation about investment philosophy, rethinking career paths, and the art of selecting managers across public and private markets.With a dynamic background that spans equity research, private investing, and operating roles at firms like Wayfair and Lowe’s, Sean brings a unique perspective to portfolio construction and manager evaluation. Listen in to explore how Sean’s unconventional path has shaped his views on risk, alignment, and long-term partnerships—and how he's applying those lessons at Key Private Bank, where he oversees manager research and multi-strategy portfolios within a $60 billion platform.Listeners will gain insight into: • Key’s seven P’s framework for manager research—from people to partnership • How "Poe’s Alpha" measures real-world investment friction • Building trust and alignment in manager relationships • Why operational experience makes for sharper allocators • The evolving role of fund structures, from SMAs to evergreen private equity • Lessons in networking, career pivots, and transparent storytellingWhether you’re an asset manager seeking to stand out or an allocator curious about evaluating skill vs. luck in today’s markets, this episode offers practical wisdom and fresh perspective from a seasoned decision-maker who's been on both sides of the table.

In this episode of Dakota Live!, host Robert Morier sits down with Nick Gentile, Interim President and Chief Investment Officer of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors, to explore how a mission-driven $29 billion organization navigates today’s complex fixed income and alternative markets.Nick Gentile, a seasoned fixed income specialist, offers an inside look at how his team approaches asset allocation, manager selection, and liquidity management while staying true to the Knights’ Catholic investing principles. From private credit and securitized products to real estate debt and duration positioning, Nick shares how the firm balances stewardship with innovation in a volatile rate environment.Listeners will gain valuable insights into:How a values-based investment philosophy informs portfolio construction.The evolving role of private credit and real assets in institutional portfolios.What CIOs look for in external managers during the due diligence process.How insurers and asset allocators are adapting fixed income strategies post–rate cycle.Lessons in leadership, communication, and risk discipline from a CIO who rose through the ranks.Whether you’re an allocator, asset manager, or student of investment strategy, this episode offers a masterclass in CIO decision-making, fixed income portfolio design, and faith-driven investing.Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube to understand how one of America’s most enduring institutions is redefining stewardship for the modern markets.

Learn how allocators identify early warning signs, build vision-based trust, and evaluate managers effectively.In this episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, host Robert Morier sits down with Dr. Dali Ma, Head of the Management Department at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, to explore how timeless principles of leadership apply directly to today’s asset management and allocator community.Dr. Ma shares actionable insights that asset managers and allocators can incorporate into their manager research and evaluation processes, including:The Role of Character: Why courage, patience, and integrity in leadership remain irreplaceable, especially as artificial intelligence takes over technical tasks.The Pitfalls of Pattern Recognition: How overreliance on short-term performance and surface-level communication can mask deeper organizational weaknesses, and how allocators can uncover them during due diligence.The Value of Information: Why decision quality should be judged in the context of information available at the time (not just outcomes) and how allocators can fairly assess managers’ choices through this lens.Trust in Fundraising and Asset Allocation: Moving beyond interaction-based trust toward vision-based trust—and why boutique managers who clearly articulate a differentiated future are more likely to stand out with investment committees.Cognitive Diversity & Early Warning Signs: How giving analysts a voice, fostering psychological safety, and embracing cognitive diversity can prevent blind spots and strengthen investment teams.For asset managers, Dr. Ma offers guidance on building trust and culture that endure market turbulence. For allocators, he provides frameworks to evaluate leadership teams more deeply, beyond performance numbers—focusing on vision, character, and the ability to act responsibly in times of uncertainty. Whether you are raising capital, allocating to managers, or evaluating long-term partnerships, this episode provides a unique academic and practical perspective to sharpen your approach.

On this special episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, we take a slightly different path from our usual allocator conversations. Thanks to a connection made by one of our Drexel University summer interns, we sit down with Adele C. Oliva, Founding Partner at 1315 Capital, a Philadelphia-based healthcare growth equity firm managing over $1 billion in assets.Adele shares her journey from Baxter and Apex Partners to co-founding 1315 Capital, and how she built a firm dedicated to scaling commercial-stage healthcare products, services, and wellness companies. With her perspective as both a nationally recognized healthcare investor and a mentor to emerging leaders in private equity, Adele offers lessons on building culture, evaluating teams, and navigating growth equity in healthcare.While our conversation may not follow our traditional allocator focus, it holds valuable insights for both asset managers and allocators. Adele’s views on commercial-stage investing, the importance of capital efficiency, and the evolving role of private equity in healthcare provide practical takeaways for anyone working across the investment ecosystem.From Philadelphia’s unique life sciences advantage to the importance of mentorship, presence, and pattern recognition, this episode is a reminder that great investing begins with people, culture, and curiosity.Tune in to hear how Adele and her team at 1315 Capital continue to shape the future of healthcare investing, and how a student’s initiative helped make this conversation possible.

In this episode of Dakota Live!, we sit down with Chris Ceasare, institutional investing veteran, teacher, and mentor—focused on turning theory into practice and helping students and managers communicate what truly matters.From UPS’s pension desk to co-founding Rocaton and navigating the OCIO wave, Chris Cesare has seen how real decisions get made, and how great managers actually communicate.Now a University of Connecticut adjunct professor, Chris shares practical lessons on integrity, “managing by commitment,” simplifying complex strategies, and why the analyst of the future will spend less time reporting and more time thinking.With guest host Kiera Liesinger (UConn ’26), we dig into mentorship, boutiques vs. scale, and leaving the pitch book in the bag.In this episode ✅ Plan-sponsor lessons from UPS: decision processes, culture, and humility ✅ Building Rocaton, the OCIO shift, and life inside GSAM post-acquisition ✅ Communicating without the crutch of a deck: clarity over complexity ✅ Boutique edge vs. big-firm scale—and fitting managers to clients ✅ The new analyst: less reporting, more analysis (and what that demands) ✅ Teaching investing at UConn: turning theory into practice ✅ AI as co-pilot (not autopilot) in the classroom and office ✅ Mentorship: how to ask, how to help, how to grow Chris has sat on every side of the table—plan sponsor, consultant, OCIO, and now educator—and he turns that vantage point into usable rules: manage by commitment, simplify the pitch, fit managers to clients, and train analysts to analyze. You’ll get stories you can apply in your next IC, client meeting, or class, plus a sober take on boutiques vs. scale and AI’s real role in the craft. If you sell, allocate, or teach in this business, this episode will pay for itself.

Jim Dunn, CEO of Verger Capital Management, dives into his journey from first-generation college graduate to leading a prominent OCIO firm. He shares insights on how personal experiences in athletics shape his leadership values. Dunn discusses Verger's client-first approach, the evolution of the OCIO landscape, and the risks inherent in private credit strategies. He emphasizes the importance of stress testing investments and the impact of private equity on 401(k) portfolios. Dunn also highlights the transformative power of mentorship and the significance of stepping outside comfort zones for growth.

Join Dakota Live! as we sit down with Caprock Group CIO Vivek Jindal to discuss his first 100 days, the investment landscape, and where he sees opportunity in alternatives, venture capital, private credit, and impact investing. Discover how Caprock’s culture and customized approach shape long-term success.We’re kicking off a new season of the Dakota Live! Podcast with a rare opportunity: sitting down with a CIO in the earliest days of their leadership journey.With $13.8 billion under advisement as of June 2025, $4.4 billion of which invested in alternative investments, Caprock employs a full balance sheet approach to wealth management.Vivek explains how his background and Caprock’s culture are shaping a differentiated approach to client portfolios: “My goal always…is how can each of these portfolios and each of these families, regardless of the wealth, be treated as single family offices within a multi-family office construct.”We explore:• How he aims to treat every client portfolio like a single-family office within a multi-family construct.• Why alternatives, venture capital, and private credit remain central to the opportunity set.• The importance of culture at Caprock and why finding a firm where “the investment mandate and the investment process…match how you would invest your own capital” is essential to long-term success.• His perspective on customization vs. scale, and how systems and collaboration help preserve quality in manager research.• Leadership lessons and how they inform his vision today.Whether you’re an allocator, asset manager, or simply curious about the investment landscape, this episode offers an uncommon, front-row perspective on what it takes to step into the CIO seat, and why culture and process matter just as much as performance.Listen now to launch the season with fresh insight into the future of investing.

In this episode of Dakota Live! Podcast, we sit down with Angela Williams, a Senior Investment Analyst at CIBC Private Wealth in Boston.Angela brings over 25 years of industry experience to her role, where she is responsible for manager due diligence and selection for CIBC Private Wealth's Multi-Manager Investment Program.Angela shares her insights into the rigorous process of manager research, emphasizing the critical balance between strategy differentiation and risk management. Whether it's her focus on building truly active portfolios or her approach to understanding a manager's character, Angela offers a deep dive into what it takes to identify and work with top-tier asset managers.CIBC Private Wealth, managing over $100 billion in assets, provides customized wealth management solutions that integrate active and alternative strategies across asset classes. Known for their selective approach to external partnerships, CIBC balances a robust lineup of proprietary and external strategies, emphasizing due diligence and portfolio alignment to meet diverse client needs.Angela’s work, rooted in a commitment to quality research and a nuanced understanding of active management, drives CIBC’s focus on sustained, risk-adjusted growth for its clients.Tune in as Angela details her process for conducting comprehensive due diligence, her criteria for selecting managers who align with CIBC’s vision, and the importance of blending innovative strategies with traditional risk controls. From practical tips for institutional investors to valuable lessons for emerging managers, this episode is packed with insights into the world of investment analysis and decision-making at CIBC Private Wealth.

In this episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, host Robert Morier sits down with Alex Edelson, Founder & General Partner of Slipstream Investors, a venture capital fund of funds dedicated to backing emerging pre-seed and seed-stage managers.Alex shares his unique journey from law to venture capital, his lessons as Chief Strategy Officer and COO at QED Investors, and why Slipstream focuses on smaller, harder-to-access funds with outsized return potential.We cover:- What makes emerging managers so compelling, and so difficult to evaluate- The role of fund-of-funds in today’s venture landscape- Key insights into portfolio construction, reserves, and risk-taking in early-stage VC- How pattern recognition, sourcing advantages, and founder relationships shape success- Alex’s outlook on venture capital today and what’s ahead for the ecosystemWhether you’re an allocator, manager, or entrepreneur, Alex’s perspective offers a window into the next generation of venture capital investing.