Dakota Live! Podcast

William Yung, Partner, and Director of Private Markets at Angeles Investments takes us on his career journey from wealth management to investment manager research for one of the financial industry’s innovative leaders in OCIO and investment consulting. With over seventeen years of investment experience, William is responsible for conducting research in private capital and real asset strategies for the firm. Join us as William takes our listeners through the firm’s approach to manager research and selection. Along the way, we learn more about William and the personal and professional impact of his family’s journey to the United States from China. Globally recognized for their positive impact on their clients and industry, Angeles Investments is a multi-asset investment firm, providing sophisticated, customized investment solutions to institutional and private wealth clients. Founded in 2001, the firm oversees approximately $6.4 billion in discretionary relationships, as well as $33.3 billion in consulting relationships.  Angeles is an independent, 100% employee-owned firm with over 40% of clients being with the firm for more than 10 years. A great achievement in today’s industry. Tune in as we come to better understand how this unique organization approaches investment opportunities.

Laura Esposito of Rockefeller Capital Management shares her nearly twenty-five years of client service and sales experience in this informative discussion on how she has navigated her successful career in asset management.  Along the way, Laura guides our listeners through the firm’s approach to providing service and investment solutions for their clients regardless of market conditions.  Rockefeller Capital Management was established in 2018 as a leading independent financial advisory firm. Originally founded in 1882 as the family office of John D. Rockefeller, the firm has evolved to offer strategic advice to ultra- and high-net-worth individuals and families, institutions, and corporations.  The firm is responsible for over $100 billion in client assets, as of March 31, 2023, and has over 1100 employees in 44 locations across the United States and London. Join us in the room as we come to better understand how this historic organization approaches investment opportunities.

Angela Miller-May, Chief Investment Officer for the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund joins us at Dakota Live! for a special discussion on how she found her start in the investment management industry and what lessons she has carried forward now leading the $49.5 billion pension fund that services a membership of over 178,000 active members, 262,000 inactive members, 138,000 retired members and over 3,000 employers for Illinois. In our discussion Angela provides insight into strategic portfolio construction, manager selection and due diligence, and how she leads a team of investment professionals to meet IMRF’s investment goals. Tune into this insightful and informative episode and learn why Angela continues to be recognized by the industry as one of its top investors.

Joe Marenda, Partner, and Head of Digital Assets Investing with Cambridge Associates shares his experience through this masterclass on blockchain technology and digital assets investing. Joe specializes in discovering and diligencing blockchain-related funds across all fund formats.  He also serves as the Head of the firm’s San Francisco office.  Joe contributes to firm research on alternative assets in portfolios and crypto-blockchain more broadly. Join us in this fascinating and informative episode as Joe takes us through his experience in building the first blockchain portfolio for a Cambridge client beginning in 2018 and how they approached the firm’s first due diligence on a crypto fund in 2017. Cambridge is a privately held global investment firm providing advisory and investment solutions to institutional investors, including foundations and endowments, pensions, private families, and corporate and government entities.  Founded 50 years ago, the firm has eleven offices around the world with over $540 billion in assets under advisement. Learn more about how Joe and his colleagues at Cambridge Associates continue to innovate for their clients in the exciting world of blockchain technology. 

Greg Leonberger is the Director of Research for Marquette Associates. Greg is responsible for creating the firm’s capital markets research and directing the investment strategies and policy. He also serves as the chair of the investment committee. A partner of the employee-owned firm, Greg has been with the company since 2008. Greg joins us at Dakota Live! to take us through Marquette Associates’ manager research process and how to approach the firm and their clients with private markets through fixed income investments and what they look for in asset management partners. Marquette was founded thirty-seven years ago with the sole objective of providing investment consulting at the highest caliber of client service. As of March 31, 2023, the firm is advising over $351 billion in assets with over 400 clients and 135 employees. Join us to learn how the firm’s approach to client service has made Marquette Associates so successful over the years. 

Kate Pizzi, Partner and Senior Consultant of Fiducient Advisors joins us at Dakota Live! to take us through her experience from actuary to portfolio manager to investment consultant and what she has learned over the years to help her deliver success for clients and colleagues. Kate services institutional clients by providing advice and counsel on all areas of fund oversight including investment policy development, asset allocation, manager research, portfolio structure, rebalancing, and performance monitoring. Fiducient Advisors is a full-service asset advisory business founded in 1995. With over 200 professionals and $230 billion in assets under advisement (as of June 30, 2022), Fiducient is one of the premier consultancy businesses in the US with providing investment consulting services to retirement plans, endowments and foundations, private clients, and financial institutions. Tune in to this informative and wide-ranging discussion with one of the leading investment consultants in the financial services industry.

Chenae Edwards, Partner with NEPC, LLC shares her investment consulting experience as she discusses the NEPC manager research process, how clients are maneuvering through the current market environment, and her experience in working with non-profit institutions. NEPC is one of the industry’s largest independent, full-service investment consulting firms, serving more than 400 clients with over $1.4 trillion in assets under advisement. With over 350 employees and over 400 clients across channel, NEPC’s five distinct practices and eight regional offices make it one of the more important consultants in the industry. Learn more about what has made NEPC so successful over the years, and how Chenae and her colleagues research and select their investment management partners.

Andy Spellar, Chief Investment Officer for the Fairfax County Employees' Retirement System shares his journey over his two decades for the $5.0 billion Plan located in the suburbs of Washington, DC.  Andy started with Fairfax County in June 1998 as a Senior Investment Manager and has been an important aspect of the Plan’s innovative and insightful approach to asset allocation and manager selection over his successful career. Andy shares his process on manager sourcing, due diligence, selection, and how he and his team consider asset allocation decisions. Watch and listen to this insightful episode where Andy shares many of the attributes that have helped him stay in the fairway and continue to deliver for Fairfax County.

Ernst Knacke, Head of Research at London-based, Shard Capital Partners as well as its subsidiary, LeifBridge Investment Management joins the Dakota Live! Podcast to share his nearly twenty years of experience in manager research and selection. Shard Capital is a leading wealth and asset manager advising over $1.6 billion on behalf of high net worth and institutional clients in both the European and US markets. Ernst shares how he and his colleagues are developing their growing OCIO business through the sourcing of asset managers globally. Ernst in his role as Head of Research, shares how he attempts to minimize the home country bias that permeates through investment portfolios both domestically and abroad. Whether you are a US-based asset manager looking to penetrate the UK/European markets or a UK/European manager looking to penetrate the US market, this is a can’t miss episode.  

Chris Brockmeyer is the Director of Employee Benefit Funds for the Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry. Join us in this informative and insightful episode as Chris shares how he navigates his role, serving as the Employer Co-Chair on 11 multi-employer pension funds, 6 health funds and 6 annuity/401(k) funds with approximately $9 Billion in assets, covering 140,000 current or future retirees and providing health care coverage for more than 31,000 employees, plus dependents, in the entertainment industry. Chris shares his experience working with both investment consultants and Outsourced CIOs, as well as his work with asset managers across traditional and alternative asset classes. Throughout the conversation, Chris guides us through his philosophy on negotiating and relationship management from the perspective of both unions and employers. If you’re looking to better understand the Taft Hartley landscape, be sure to tune into this episode.