Panel | Commodities & ESG: Mutually Exclusive?
The world of finance is increasingly attributing much greater and explicit importance to the Environmental, Social, and Governance factors in investment decisions. While ESG rating and investment methodologies have been well documented for equity and fixed income exposures, limited research has been published to help investors adapt commodity strategies to this framework. Can one invest in commodities while satisfying an ESG mandate or are they mutually exclusive? Join us as we explore approaches available to investors to incorporate commodities within a broader ESG framework.
Panelists
CIO & Founder, Integrated Portfolio Intelligence LLC
Nick Vasserman has over twenty years of experience in developing and deploying quantitative macro-oriented systematic programs globally. Nick has managed systematic macro trading portfolios in New York, London, and Toronto since 1996 at major investment banks and now offering 4th generation evolutions of the strategies and risk framework.
Before launching IPI, Nick spent several years at J.P Morgan in a variety of senior trading and risk management roles. Nick founded and was Head of J.P Morgan’s Americas Cross-Asset Quantitative Strategies business. Nick was previously Global Head of Index Trading, Quantitative Index Strategies, and Electronic Market Making within the renowned Global Commodities Group at J.P. Morgan.
Prior to joining J.P. Morgan in 2009, Nick was Global Head of FICC (Fixed-Income Currencies & Commodities) Proprietary Systematic Trading at UBS Investment Bank. He has also held roles in Interest Rate Derivatives Trading as well as Exotic and Structured Derivatives Trading at UBS in New York and London.
Nick holds a Bachelor of Administrative Studies (BAS) degree from York University and a finance MBA from the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management, where he conducted research with Prof. John C. Hull on pricing and hedging exotic options. He is a native of Toronto, Canada, and resides with his family in New York.
Managing Director and Global Head of Commodities Research, Société Générale
Michael Haigh is Managing Director and Global Head of Commodities Research for Société Générale and is based in London. Immediately prior to running the Global Commodities Research team, Haigh was Global Head of Commodities Research at Standard Chartered Bank, based in Singapore. Prior to joining Standard Chartered Bank, Haigh held the positions of Managing Director at K2 Advisors LLC, a Global Hedge Fund of Funds, where he focused on Commodity Research/Investing and also as Managing Director and US Head of Commodities Research and Strategy at Société Générale in NYC. Haigh also spent several years as the Associate Chief Economist at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Haigh began his career in academia and held a position as a tenured Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland, US. Haigh has taught graduate (MBA) & undergraduate derivative courses at several universities including NYU Stern School of Business, Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University and has supervised numerous Ph.D. dissertations on the commodity and financial markets. He has published numerous scholarly research papers on commodity and derivative markets in several leading journals including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Business, Journal of Futures Markets and the Journal of Applied Econometrics. Michael holds a PhD in Economics with a minor in statistics from North Carolina State University.
Global Head of Commodities & Real Assets, S&P Dow Jones Indices (SPDJI)
Fiona Boal is Global Head of Commodities and Real Assets at SPDJI. She is responsible for the product management of the commodities and real asset indices, including the S&P GSCI, Dow Jones Commodity Index and S&P Real Assets Indices. These indices are leading measures of the commodities market and composite real assets.
Fiona has spent her entire career in financial and commodity markets. Fiona’s experience spans buy-side research, hedge funds and asset management.
Prior to joining S&P DJI, Fiona worked as Director and Portfolio Manager at Fulcrum Asset Management, where she managed a commodity fund and gained a wealth of experience in proprietary research and investment management. Previously, she worked as Associate Director of Commodities at Hermes Investment Management, Director of Commodity Research at Argonaut Capital Management, Vice President and Director of Investments at Harbert Strategic Commodities Fund, and Executive Director of Food & Agribusiness Research at Rabobank International. Fiona started her career as a livestock economist at Meat & Livestock Australia.
Fiona holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics (first class honors and university medal) from the University of Sydney and a Masters of Applied Finance from Macquarie University.
Panel | Digitalization of the Investment Office
COVID-19 has accelerated the development and adoption of technology across all sectors of the economy. But, have institutional investors embraced this trend? Have they onboarded technologies that allow them to automate tasks, reveal hidden exposures, and better manage their portfolios? Our panelists will attempt to uncover the latest advancements in the InvestTech space while identifying the challenges that asset owners and allocators face in selecting and deploying these solutions. Join us for an engaging discussion with leading technology companies intent on reshaping the business of investment management.
Panelists
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Edouard Robbes was a Partner at Thalēs where he led the firm's manager sourcing, capital introduction, and capital raising efforts. Before Thalēs, Edouard held a similar position at Société Générale in New York. Prior to this, he was a hedge fund analyst and portfolio manager at AXA Investment Managers and began his career in 2002 as a hedge fund analyst at SG Asset Management. Edouard received a B.S. in Economics and a M.S. in Finance from Université Paris-Dauphine, France.
Chief Executive Officer, Novus Partners
Andrea Gentilini is Chief Executive Officer at Novus and is responsible for expanding the firm’s global leadership in the areas of analytics, data, and technology. Before Novus, Andrea launched and managed a $500 million precious metals derivative fund for Union Bancaire Privée (UBP), also serving as Chief Operating Officer for the bank’s Asset Management division. Andrea was previously a Director for Barclays Capital (formerly Lehman Brothers), leading a global team focused on developing hedge fund research and delivering advisory services. His team was awarded several #1 industry rankings from 2008-10. Andrea also served as an Executive Director at UBS and a management team member of The Boston Consulting Group in New York and Zurich.
Andrea graduated summa cum laude with a M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and also holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and two post-graduate degrees in Information Technology and Applied Statistics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich.
Vice President, Client Solutions, Two Sigma Advisers LLC
Alex Botte, CFA, CAIA is a vice president on the client portfolio management team at Two Sigma Advisers LLC and Two Sigma's investment and portfolio analytics platform Venn. She was previously at AQR Capital Management, where she most recently served as a Product Specialist for the firm’s Global Asset Allocation strategies. She also worked for AQR’s Advisor Solutions Group, covering business development and investor relations for financial advisors and multi-family offices. Prior to AQR, she worked in Prime Services at Barclays. Alex holds a Bachelors of Science in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University.
Founder & CEO, DiligenceVault
Monel is founder & CEO of DiligenceVault - a leading digital diligence platform that makes diligence possible for all in the investment management industry. She has over 20 years of experience as a technologist, investment risk manager, and FinTech founder. Prior to founding the firm, she was head of risk for liquid investments at Citi with oversight for the hedge fund, pensions, insurance, and fund of funds businesses. She holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelors of Engineering from Birla Vishwakarma Mahavidyalaya, India.
Paul Caruso
Director, Commodity Investments, Ancora Alternatives LLC
Strategy: Agricultural Trader
Director, Commodity Investments, Ancora Alternatives LLC
Mr. Caruso joined Ancora in 2019 as a Portfolio Manager in the Alternatives group. Paul specializes in commodity investing and is primarily responsible for investment decisions and idea generation for the strategy. Prior to joining Ancora, Paul worked as the Director of Commodities Procurement for The J.M. Smucker Company where he oversaw commodity spend risk management. From 2011-2014, Paul worked with Gamma-Q, LLC. as a Senior Portfolio Manager. There, Paul launched and managed a commodity fund focused on agriculture and livestock. Paul also has experience in trading and investment analysis from his time with Galtere International Macro Fund, Rothfos Corporation and The Windham Group Inc., where he began his career in 2002. Paul’s early career also had a focus on hedging and commodities. Paul earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Columbia University.
David Lilley
Co-CIO, Drakewood Capital Management Ltd
Strategy: Metals Trader
Co-CIO, Drakewood Capital Management Ltd
Mr. Lilley established DCML in 2017. Since qualifying as an economist Mr. Lilley has over 30 years of metals trading experience. He started his career in 1987 with Cargill, moving to Philipp Brothers and then joining the Metal & Commodity Company (a subsidiary of Metallgesellschaft) at its inception. These were the top physical copper and metals trading companies of their day and he had responsibilities covering all aspects of the non-ferrous metal trade. In 2004, Mr. Lilley co-founded Red Kite with Lord Farmer who together led Red Kite, sharing responsibilities for strategy formation and the day-to-day operation of the group.
Sean Pan
Managing Partner, Pan Capital Management LP
Strategy: Commodities | Energy Trader
Managing Partner, Pan Capital Management LP
From 2006 to 2007, Mr. Pan was managing forward commodity exposure for Suez’s LNG terminal and generation assets. From 2008 to 2013, Mr. Pan was the head natural gas trader for GDF SUEZ. From 2003 to 2004 Mr. Pan was with Xinhua Finance, focusing on private equity and fundamental research on equity investments.
Mr. Pan graduated from Beijing Technology and Business University with a Bachelor of Economics degree in 1997 and obtained his MBA degree in Finance in 2003 from Rice University. Mr. Pan is a CFA charter holder and a member of the Houston Society of Financial Analyst.
03:30 p.m. – 04:15 p.m.
Panel | Digitalization of the Investment Office
COVID-19 has accelerated the development and adoption of technology across all sectors of the economy. But, have institutional investors embraced this trend? Have they onboarded technologies that allow them to automate tasks, reveal hidden exposures, and better manage their portfolios? Our panelists will attempt to uncover the latest advancements in the InvestTech space while identifying the challenges that asset owners and allocators face in selecting and deploying these solutions. Join us for an engaging discussion with leading technology companies intent on reshaping the business of investment management.
,
Edouard Robbes was a Partner at Thalēs where he led the firm's manager sourcing, capital introduction, and capital raising efforts. Before Thalēs, Edouard held a similar position at Société Générale in New York. Prior to this, he was a hedge fund analyst and portfolio manager at AXA Investment Managers and began his career in 2002 as a hedge fund analyst at SG Asset Management. Edouard received a B.S. in Economics and a M.S. in Finance from Université Paris-Dauphine, France.
Chief Executive Officer, Novus Partners
Andrea Gentilini is Chief Executive Officer at Novus and is responsible for expanding the firm’s global leadership in the areas of analytics, data, and technology. Before Novus, Andrea launched and managed a $500 million precious metals derivative fund for Union Bancaire Privée (UBP), also serving as Chief Operating Officer for the bank’s Asset Management division. Andrea was previously a Director for Barclays Capital (formerly Lehman Brothers), leading a global team focused on developing hedge fund research and delivering advisory services. His team was awarded several #1 industry rankings from 2008-10. Andrea also served as an Executive Director at UBS and a management team member of The Boston Consulting Group in New York and Zurich.
Andrea graduated summa cum laude with a M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and also holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and two post-graduate degrees in Information Technology and Applied Statistics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich.
Vice President, Client Solutions, Two Sigma Advisers LLC
Alex Botte, CFA, CAIA is a vice president on the client portfolio management team at Two Sigma Advisers LLC and Two Sigma's investment and portfolio analytics platform Venn. She was previously at AQR Capital Management, where she most recently served as a Product Specialist for the firm’s Global Asset Allocation strategies. She also worked for AQR’s Advisor Solutions Group, covering business development and investor relations for financial advisors and multi-family offices. Prior to AQR, she worked in Prime Services at Barclays. Alex holds a Bachelors of Science in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University.
Founder & CEO, DiligenceVault
Monel is founder & CEO of DiligenceVault - a leading digital diligence platform that makes diligence possible for all in the investment management industry. She has over 20 years of experience as a technologist, investment risk manager, and FinTech founder. Prior to founding the firm, she was head of risk for liquid investments at Citi with oversight for the hedge fund, pensions, insurance, and fund of funds businesses. She holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelors of Engineering from Birla Vishwakarma Mahavidyalaya, India.
04:30 p.m. – 05:00 p.m.
The Prospect Fund is a long-short investment vehicle focused primarily in exploiting the long term trends in precious, non-ferrous and ferrous metals. The investment style is flexible and may be short or long-term, relative value, trending, curve strategies or any other strategy depending on the view of the manager. This may result in exposure on the far end of the forward metal curve. The fund invests in precious, non-ferrous and ferrous metals in both exchange traded and OTC markets. The strategy is meant to deliver strong risk adjusted returns. Investment strategies are expressed primarily through futures and options in the precious, non-ferrous and ferrous metals complex.
Co-CIO, Drakewood Capital Management Ltd
Mr. Lilley established DCML in 2017. Since qualifying as an economist Mr. Lilley has over 30 years of metals trading experience. He started his career in 1987 with Cargill, moving to Philipp Brothers and then joining the Metal & Commodity Company (a subsidiary of Metallgesellschaft) at its inception. These were the top physical copper and metals trading companies of their day and he had responsibilities covering all aspects of the non-ferrous metal trade. In 2004, Mr. Lilley co-founded Red Kite with Lord Farmer who together led Red Kite, sharing responsibilities for strategy formation and the day-to-day operation of the group.
07:00 p.m. – 07:30 p.m.
The Ancora Commodity fund is a fundamentally-driven long/short absolute return fund utilizing liquid, exchange-traded futures and options. The primary concentration consists of grains, oilseeds, softs, with some exposure to energies and precious metals. The strategy combines traditional fundamental analysis with advanced quantitative techniques to produce superior forecasts which help identify both short-term tactical as well as long-term thematic opportunities. The core output is based on a robust set of research processes, which combine novel physical insights and quantitative modeling techniques.
Director, Commodity Investments, Ancora Alternatives LLC
Mr. Caruso joined Ancora in 2019 as a Portfolio Manager in the Alternatives group. Paul specializes in commodity investing and is primarily responsible for investment decisions and idea generation for the strategy. Prior to joining Ancora, Paul worked as the Director of Commodities Procurement for The J.M. Smucker Company where he oversaw commodity spend risk management. From 2011-2014, Paul worked with Gamma-Q, LLC. as a Senior Portfolio Manager. There, Paul launched and managed a commodity fund focused on agriculture and livestock. Paul also has experience in trading and investment analysis from his time with Galtere International Macro Fund, Rothfos Corporation and The Windham Group Inc., where he began his career in 2002. Paul’s early career also had a focus on hedging and commodities. Paul earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Columbia University.
07:45 p.m. – 08:30 p.m.
Panel | Commodities & ESG: Mutually Exclusive?
The world of finance is increasingly attributing much greater and explicit importance to the Environmental, Social, and Governance factors in investment decisions. While ESG rating and investment methodologies have been well documented for equity and fixed income exposures, limited research has been published to help investors adapt commodity strategies to this framework. Can one invest in commodities while satisfying an ESG mandate or are they mutually exclusive? Join us as we explore approaches available to investors to incorporate commodities within a broader ESG framework.
CIO & Founder, Integrated Portfolio Intelligence LLC
Nick Vasserman has over twenty years of experience in developing and deploying quantitative macro-oriented systematic programs globally. Nick has managed systematic macro trading portfolios in New York, London, and Toronto since 1996 at major investment banks and now offering 4th generation evolutions of the strategies and risk framework.
Before launching IPI, Nick spent several years at J.P Morgan in a variety of senior trading and risk management roles. Nick founded and was Head of J.P Morgan’s Americas Cross-Asset Quantitative Strategies business. Nick was previously Global Head of Index Trading, Quantitative Index Strategies, and Electronic Market Making within the renowned Global Commodities Group at J.P. Morgan.
Prior to joining J.P. Morgan in 2009, Nick was Global Head of FICC (Fixed-Income Currencies & Commodities) Proprietary Systematic Trading at UBS Investment Bank. He has also held roles in Interest Rate Derivatives Trading as well as Exotic and Structured Derivatives Trading at UBS in New York and London.
Nick holds a Bachelor of Administrative Studies (BAS) degree from York University and a finance MBA from the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management, where he conducted research with Prof. John C. Hull on pricing and hedging exotic options. He is a native of Toronto, Canada, and resides with his family in New York.
Managing Director and Global Head of Commodities Research, Société Générale
Michael Haigh is Managing Director and Global Head of Commodities Research for Société Générale and is based in London. Immediately prior to running the Global Commodities Research team, Haigh was Global Head of Commodities Research at Standard Chartered Bank, based in Singapore. Prior to joining Standard Chartered Bank, Haigh held the positions of Managing Director at K2 Advisors LLC, a Global Hedge Fund of Funds, where he focused on Commodity Research/Investing and also as Managing Director and US Head of Commodities Research and Strategy at Société Générale in NYC. Haigh also spent several years as the Associate Chief Economist at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Haigh began his career in academia and held a position as a tenured Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland, US. Haigh has taught graduate (MBA) & undergraduate derivative courses at several universities including NYU Stern School of Business, Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University and has supervised numerous Ph.D. dissertations on the commodity and financial markets. He has published numerous scholarly research papers on commodity and derivative markets in several leading journals including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Business, Journal of Futures Markets and the Journal of Applied Econometrics. Michael holds a PhD in Economics with a minor in statistics from North Carolina State University.
Global Head of Commodities & Real Assets, S&P Dow Jones Indices (SPDJI)
Fiona Boal is Global Head of Commodities and Real Assets at SPDJI. She is responsible for the product management of the commodities and real asset indices, including the S&P GSCI, Dow Jones Commodity Index and S&P Real Assets Indices. These indices are leading measures of the commodities market and composite real assets.
Fiona has spent her entire career in financial and commodity markets. Fiona’s experience spans buy-side research, hedge funds and asset management.
Prior to joining S&P DJI, Fiona worked as Director and Portfolio Manager at Fulcrum Asset Management, where she managed a commodity fund and gained a wealth of experience in proprietary research and investment management. Previously, she worked as Associate Director of Commodities at Hermes Investment Management, Director of Commodity Research at Argonaut Capital Management, Vice President and Director of Investments at Harbert Strategic Commodities Fund, and Executive Director of Food & Agribusiness Research at Rabobank International. Fiona started her career as a livestock economist at Meat & Livestock Australia.
Fiona holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics (first class honors and university medal) from the University of Sydney and a Masters of Applied Finance from Macquarie University.
09:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Pan Capital relies on proprietary fundamental research and analytical models to identify short to intermediate term mispricing and trading opportunities in the US natural gas market. The Manager expresses its view via outright price and calendar spreads and applies directional, relative value and option strategies. The fund trades liquid exchange cleared instruments including futures and options on futures. Most risk will be isolated in the first 12 months of the curve and positions will be constantly reviewed and rebalanced. The Manager monitors real-time key pricing drivers and adjusts the risk based on its risk-reward expectation.
Managing Partner, Pan Capital Management LP
From 2006 to 2007, Mr. Pan was managing forward commodity exposure for Suez’s LNG terminal and generation assets. From 2008 to 2013, Mr. Pan was the head natural gas trader for GDF SUEZ. From 2003 to 2004 Mr. Pan was with Xinhua Finance, focusing on private equity and fundamental research on equity investments.
Mr. Pan graduated from Beijing Technology and Business University with a Bachelor of Economics degree in 1997 and obtained his MBA degree in Finance in 2003 from Rice University. Mr. Pan is a CFA charter holder and a member of the Houston Society of Financial Analyst.