The Fiftyfaces Podcast

Jennifer Devine is Head of Wiltshire Pension Fund, and a thought leader in the field of sustainable investing. I was thrilled to welcome her to the podcast in order to capture some of the vision that she implements at Wiltshire and translates for its members in easy to understand and relatable posts on social media and their home page that highlight concrete examples of impact investments.This podcast starts with chemistry  - which was Jennifer’s initial focus at university, then followed by a pivot into accounting and ultimately public pensions.  Although her use of her science background has been limited since graduation we do draw a little on the themes of connections – which Wiltshire seeks to create for its beneficiaries – as well as catalysts – and we think about the drivers behind the fund’s very intentional and well telegraphed sustainable investing policy.We dig in a little into the nuts and bolts of this strategy – examining the underlying funds – including sustainable equities, climate tech and venture and impact investing including renewable infrastructure and affordable housing.  We speak about the powerful communications policy that is employed and why Wiltshire prioritizes this – which is about creating connection with its beneficiaries – encouraging them to relate to their pension and engage with it in the most meaningful way possible. The preponderance of women among the beneficiaries underscores the importance of seeing the value of diversity and inclusion expressed as much as possible and this is another objective of the sustainable policy that the fund pursues.This podcast is a lively snapshot of a fund and a leader that has met their moment.This episode is supported by PIMCO, a global leader in active fixed income with deep expertise across public and private markets. PIMCO invests their clients’ capital in income and credit opportunities that span the liquidity spectrum, leveraging their decades of experience navigating complex debt markets. Their flexible capital base and deep relationships with issuers have helped them become one of the world’s largest providers of traditional and alternative investment solutions and a valued financing partner. Visit pimco.com to learn more.PIMCO as a general matter provides services to qualified institutions, financial intermediaries and institutional investors. Individual investors should contact their own financial professional to determine the most appropriate investment options for their financial situation. PIMCO is a trademark of Allianz Asset Management of America LLC in the United States and throughout the world.

Marguerita (Rita) Cheng is CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth, based in the Washington DC area, as well as being a Founding Member of Kiplinger Advisor Collective and The Authentic Asian.  A keen runner, she was co-founder of 261 Fearless Incl, a global non-profit organization that uses running as a vehicle to empower and unit women, as well as Girls on the Run, where she is a Soulmate. She is a podcast host – of Margaritas with Marguerita, where she shares financial literacy and financial planning advice. This is the second of two dynamic podcasts in this series featuring leading female voices in financial planning today – the other is Cary Carbonaro https://www.fiftyfaceshub.com/266-cary-carbonaro-wealth-planner-and-advocate-preparing-for-the-future-of-women-in-wealth-management/ In this rich conversation we start with discussing Marguerita’s calling as a financial planner – the fact that she didn’t seem to be a natural fit to some, but how her quiet energy, warmth and commitment to connecting people proved to be the secret sauce in building a successful practice. We move then to cover some shifts in the world of financial planning – how women are making their mark and how certain transformations are taking place – such as around tailoring, life coaching and generally adapting the practice to reflect life’s needs. This episode is supported by PIMCO, a global leader in active fixed income with deep expertise across public and private markets. PIMCO invests their clients’ capital in income and credit opportunities that span the liquidity spectrum, leveraging their decades of experience navigating complex debt markets. Their flexible capital base and deep relationships with issuers have helped them become one of the world’s largest providers of traditional and alternative investment solutions and a valued financing partner. Visit pimco.com to learn more.PIMCO as a general matter provides services to qualified institutions, financial intermediaries and institutional investors. Individual investors should contact their own financial professional to determine the most appropriate investment options for their financial situation. PIMCO is a trademark of Allianz Asset Management of America LLC in the United States and throughout the world.

Penny Green finally retired from the investment industry in June following an over 30-year career.  She started her career in pensions with TPAS, where she was Deputy Chief Executive when she left, then became Chief Executive of SAUL, where, over the past four years I have had the privilege of working with her on the investment committee. Upon retiring from the Chief Executive role in 2014, she became an Independent Trustee with BESTrustees, and her portfolio included a Trustee role at SAUL and Chair of an organization focused on raising standards of pension administration. She was President of the Pensions Management Institute for two years. Like many guests, Penny’s entry into the pensions arena was not planned – but it was serendipitous in that she found she was fascinated by the area. We discuss her ascent into leadership roles and some of the twists and turns that her career path took.  There were some highs and lows in there, which Penny discusses with her trademark “matter of factness” and transparency.We spend some time on her “members first” philosophy and examine how this is enough to guide a professional to do the right thing always, stay focused and centered on what is right.  We also discuss leadership style and how different styles can fit different phases of a firm’s growth and shift then to the growing web of regulation that is now governing trustee roles and responsibilities.  We end with a discussion of the plans that Penny has for her next chapter in what promises to be a well-earned rest from a career of service in pensions.  This episode is supported by PIMCO, a global leader in active fixed income with deep expertise across public and private markets. PIMCO invests their clients’ capital in income and credit opportunities that span the liquidity spectrum, leveraging their decades of experience navigating complex debt markets. Their flexible capital base and deep relationships with issuers have helped them become one of the world’s largest providers of traditional and alternative investment solutions and a valued financing partner. Visit pimco.com to learn more.PIMCO as a general matter provides services to qualified institutions, financial intermediaries and institutional investors. Individual investors should contact their own financial professional to determine the most appropriate investment options for their financial situation. PIMCO is a trademark of Allianz Asset Management of America LLC in the United States and throughout the world. 

Tony Dote, just recently retired from a role of Managing Director at Lazard Asset Management, where he spent over 40 years, focused on business development with a particular focus on large institutional investors including public pension funds. He started his career in insurance and later investment consulting. Our conversation starts with Tony’s upbringing in a large and close Italian family in his native Chicago. We learned about the bonds of family and community that were laid down there and how this later influenced the premium that he places on these features. Tony’s career evolution charts the evolution of the industry – the development of the investment consultant value proposition and the evolution of institutional portfolios beyond stocks and bonds.  Over 40 years a tremendous amount has changed, and this is what Tony considers the only constant in the industry – change. He describes some high points and low points, and the relationships that have been central to his profound success in this area. This episode is supported by PIMCO, a global leader in active fixed income with deep expertise across public and private markets. PIMCO invests their clients’ capital in income and credit opportunities that span the liquidity spectrum, leveraging their decades of experience navigating complex debt markets. Their flexible capital base and deep relationships with issuers have helped them become one of the world’s largest providers of traditional and alternative investment solutions and a valued financing partner. Visit pimco.com to learn more.PIMCO as a general matter provides services to qualified institutions, financial intermediaries and institutional investors. Individual investors should contact their own financial professional to determine the most appropriate investment options for their financial situation. PIMCO is a trademark of Allianz Asset Management of America LLC in the United States and throughout the world.  

Ghiané Jones, is Deputy CIO at the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, where she is based in their Chicago office. She previously was Managing Principal at Meketa Investment Group, a role she held for over 6 years, and prior to that worked in a range of financial services roles including in institutional ETF Sales at Invesco and Northern Trust, and as a Regional Consultant at Goldman Sachs.   We start our discussion with Ghiané, describing her path into finance and her determination and drive that led her to early internships and a career path with blue chip firms. We move then to what is on her mind as Deputy CIO at a large public pension fund and describe some of the key attributes of that fund and its asset allocation. We discuss the challenges of underfunding and what that means in terms of cash flow focus and asset allocation, and also examine the interplay between the officer and consultant relationships and how they are evolving.We conclude with a discussion of diversity within the profession and the challenges that diverse and emerging managers face and examine the role that public pensions can have in amplifying and assisting these managers grow to their full potential. This episode is supported by PIMCO, a global leader in active fixed income with deep expertise across public and private markets. PIMCO invests their clients’ capital in income and credit opportunities that span the liquidity spectrum, leveraging their decades of experience navigating complex debt markets. Their flexible capital base and deep relationships with issuers have helped them become one of the world’s largest providers of traditional and alternative investment solutions and a valued financing partner. Visit pimco.com to learn more. PIMCO as a general matter provides services to qualified institutions, financial intermediaries and institutional investors. Individual investors should contact their own financial professional to determine the most appropriate investment options for their financial situation. PIMCO is a trademark of Allianz Asset Management of America LLC in the United States and throughout the world.

Jai Jacob has had a 25+ year career at Lazard Asset Management where he headed up the Quantitative, Alternatives and Multi-Asset Investment Group which oversaw c. $35 bn in AUM.  He is a member of the Board of Trustees of The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, New York, and plays the electric guitar.  We hear about his upbringing in Montreal, how he changed his major in college and ended up somewhat accidentally in finance and the serendipitous twists and turns that saw him develop a multi-asset competence.  Some of this came from his original back office experience, and we tie together the skillsets that both front and back office roles require.Pivoting then to discussing the multi-asset approach today, we discuss the individualization of investing – and how imprinting the personality of an institution (or an individual) on their investment portfolio is just a broader societal trend of customizing everything. We discuss the implications of this for portfolio construction, risk and how investment products are delivered. We move then to discuss some of Jai’s many other interests – in particular Jazz, and his musical passion.  We talk about the evolution of this art form, where it sits in society today, and what we can learn from the perfection of a jazz solo. You can read more about the National Jazz Museum in Harlem on their website here: https://jmih.org/This episode is supported by PIMCO, a global leader in active fixed income with deep expertise across public and private markets. PIMCO invests their clients’ capital in income and credit opportunities that span the liquidity spectrum, leveraging their decades of experience navigating complex debt markets. Their flexible capital base and deep relationships with issuers have helped them become one of the world’s largest providers of traditional and alternative investment solutions and a valued financing partner. Visit pimco.com to learn more.PIMCO as a general matter provides services to qualified institutions, financial intermediaries and institutional investors. Individual investors should contact their own financial professional to determine the most appropriate investment options for their financial situation. PIMCO is a trademark of Allianz Asset Management of America LLC in the United States and throughout the world.

Cary Carbonaro, is an award-winning financial advisor, a women and wealth expert and a CFP board ambassador. She is currently senior vice president of Advisors Capital, where she was noted in the 2024 NASDAQ Advisor Council and as a Top Advisor in 2023 Investopedia. In this first of two dynamic podcasts featuring leading female voices in financial planning today – the other is Marguerita Cheng - to be released later in the series -  we discuss the various stages of Cary’s career, which had some setbacks in that for a period she was forced to be less visible and less forward with her own identity and voice. She is now rebuilding this as she moves again into her own practice, and we discuss the book she is writing and publishing soon designed around women and investing and motivated to plug the gap in this area.  This episode is supported by PIMCO, a global leader in active fixed income with deep expertise across public and private markets. PIMCO invests their clients’ capital in income and credit opportunities that span the liquidity spectrum, leveraging their decades of experience navigating complex debt markets. Their flexible capital base and deep relationships with issuers have helped them become one of the world’s largest providers of traditional and alternative investment solutions and a valued financing partner. Visit pimco.com to learn more. PIMCO as a general matter provides services to qualified institutions, financial intermediaries and institutional investors. Individual investors should contact their own financial professional to determine the most appropriate investment options for their financial situation. PIMCO is a trademark of Allianz Asset Management of America LLC in the United States and throughout the world. 

Kristina Blaschek, is Director of Business and Technology within the Investment Management division of William Blair, based in Chicago. She started her career in investment banking, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Auditorium Theatre.  Kristina starts our conversation describing her education and what drew her to the world of finance. We hear about her early career pivots and how she was handpicked to lead the Business and Technology function and how she grew in to this new role. We share a vignette about the leadership at William Blair – in particular Stephanie Braming – who featured in an earlier podcast in this series in March 2022 - see https://www.fiftyfaceshub.com/129-stephanie-braming-of-william-blair-on-critical-thinking-and-transforming-recruitment/ and the power of engaged and generous leadership and what a gift this can be. We turn then to discussing the challenges of technology today – touching on AI and how this will transform our industry as well as the priorities on her mind in this role.  We end with a reflection on D&I, as well as on the values that have driven Kristina to always be learning and growing throughout her career.  This episode is supported by PIMCO, a global leader in active fixed income with deep expertise across public and private markets. PIMCO invests their clients’ capital in income and credit opportunities that span the liquidity spectrum, leveraging their decades of experience navigating complex debt markets. Their flexible capital base and deep relationships with issuers have helped them become one of the world’s largest providers of traditional and alternative investment solutions and a valued financing partner. Visit pimco.com to learn more.PIMCO as a general matter provides services to qualified institutions, financial intermediaries and institutional investors. Individual investors should contact their own financial professional to determine the most appropriate investment options for their financial situation. PIMCO is a trademark of Allianz Asset Management of America LLC in the United States and throughout the world.

Keri Findley is Chief Executive Officer of Tacora Capital, which focuses on Asset-Based Private Credit Opportunities in Specialty Finance and Insurance.  She was previously a partner at Third PointOur conversation starts with her childhood and in particular her high school years, when Keri spent up to 40 hours per week practicing figure skating alongside academic commitments.  With a strong aptitude for math but not some of the other subjects she was not an obvious candidate for attending Columbia, but thrived once she arrived there and found herself drawn to finance. While her figure skating was replaced by ski racing, she pivoted to finding a career on the shop floor of an investment house. Having started in a sales role that probably was not the best fit, we hear about her retooling and pivot into more investment centric roles and hear about some of the role models who led and inspired her during this time.  She ultimately grew numerous private credit businesses within other hedge funds before developing her own fund, and we discuss this trajectory and some of its ups and downs. Keri is firmly at the coal face in private credit and I ask her about some of the dynamics going on behind the scenes there such as actual defaults and workouts, and we learn a lot that may not make the headlines.Finally we hear about the utmost importance of networking, particularly for women in the profession and we hear about how Keri has personally helped many women to find positions. This episode is supported by PIMCO, a global leader in active fixed income with deep expertise across public and private markets. PIMCO invests their clients’ capital in income and credit opportunities that span the liquidity spectrum, leveraging their decades of experience navigating complex debt markets. Their flexible capital base and deep relationships with issuers have helped them become one of the world’s largest providers of traditional and alternative investment solutions and a valued financing partner. Visit pimco.com to learn more.PIMCO as a general matter provides services to qualified institutions, financial intermediaries and institutional investors. Individual investors should contact their own financial professional to determine the most appropriate investment options for their financial situation. PIMCO is a trademark of Allianz Asset Management of America LLC in the United States and throughout the world.

As we enter high summer here we come with some summer bounty here at Fiftyfaces Podcast as we launch Series 4 that is bursting with wisdom and insights. Because life is not linear, these stories are not linear either – and they stress the power of the individual. Hear from an introvert who found her calling in connecting with people in private wealth, a pensions expert whose entire career has been driven my members first, a legendary business builder and a private credit expert forging her own path. We start with asking about the arc of the investment world, then look to the evolution of private wealth and what matters, we talk about the development of institutional portfolios and how our work is changing, even though certain areas remain overlooked. Guest descriptions: Keri Findley, who is Chief Executive Officer of Tacora Capital, which focuses on Asset-Based Private Credit Opportunities in Specialty Finance and Insurance.  She was previously a partner at Third Point. Tony Dote, who just recently retired from a role of Managing Director at Lazard Asset Management, where he spent over 40 years. He started his career in insurance and then investment consulting. Jai Jacob, who recently ended a 25+ year career at Lazard Asset Management where he headed up the Quantitative, Alternatives and Multi-Asset Investment Group which oversaw c. $35 bn in AUM.  Penny Green who is finally retiring from the investment industry at the end of the month following an over 30-year career.   Jennifer Devine, who is Head of Wiltshire Pension Fund, and a thought leader in the field of sustainable investing. Kristina Blaschek, who is Director of Business and Technology within the Investment Management division of William Blair, based in Chicago. She started her career in investment banking, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Auditorium Theatre. Jessica Karr, who is the founder and managing director of Coyote Ventures, an investment firm that focuses on backing founders who are solving problems that disproportionately affect overlooked populations with a foundation in women's health.  Ghiané Jones, who is Deputy CIO at the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, where she is based in their Chicago office. She previously was Managping Principal at Meketa Investment Group, a role she held for over 6 years, and prior to that worked in a range of financial services roles including in institutional ETF Sales at Invesco and Northern Trust, and as a Regional Consultant at Goldman Sachs. Marguerita Cheng, is CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth, based in the Washington DC area, as well as being a Founding Member of Kiplinger Advisor Collective and The Authentic Asian. A keen runner, she was co-founder of 261 Fearless Incl, a global non-profit organization that uses running as a vehicle to empower and unit women, as well as Girls on the Run, where she is a Soulmate. She is a podcast host – of Margaritas with Rita, where she shares financial literacy and financial planning advice. Cary Carbonaro, who is an award-winning financial advisor, a women and wealth expert and a CFP board ambassador. She is currently senior vice president of Advisors Capital, where she was noted in the 2024 NASDAQ Advisor Council and as a Top Advisor in 2023 Investopedia.