The 10th Annual Top Women on the Buyside event coverage: What will the future bring for the Asset Management Industry?

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By Melissa Anderson

Artificial intelligence, big data and technology generally will impact the asset management industry in a big way, according to industry leaders speaking as part of The Glasshammer’s tenth annual Top Women on the Buy-Side breakfast.

After introductory remarks by Nicki Gilmour, CEO of theglasshammer.com, Jennifer Hanes, Head of Investment Management and Operations at technology company FIS opened the discussion in the moderator seat with a question around the outlook for near and further timelines for the industry. In a wide ranging discussion, the panelists discussed how they expect the industry will be with themes of innovative products, continued active management and human advisory, and the rise of big data and machine learning.

The panelists included Kristi Mitchem, CEO of Wells Fargo Asset Management; Lori Heinel, Deputy Global CIO of State Street Global Advisors; Kathryn Koch, Global Head of Client Portfolio Management and Business Strategy at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Fundamental Equity; and Donna Parisi, Partner, Global Head of Finance at Shearman & Sterling LLP.

According to Kristi Mitchem, CEO at Wells Fargo Asset Management, over the last ten to 15 years, firms have honed their technology usage to be more efficient, for example integrating project management systems and trading systems. Now, she said, technology is moving from the back office to the front office.

“The big change we’ve seen in the last three to five years is a migration from thinking about technology as an operational construct to thinking about technology as a business construct and an alpha driver,” Mitchem said. In addition to applying big data to alpha generating processes, more companies will also apply it to risk management processes to improve the trajectory of returns, she said. Asset managers will also continue to think about how they are using technology in terms of distribution.

“How do we get much better and richer data about the clients we go after? How do we actually create very customized value propositions as part of the sales process by using technology to understand and target more efficiently and effectively?” Mitchem asked.

Indeed, according to panel moderator Jennifer Hanes, Head of Investment Management and Operations at technology company FIS, this shift is bringing positive outcomes already.

Her company recently completed its second annual readiness survey of 1,500 senior executives in the buy-side, sell-side and insurance industry.

“We are hearing a lot of enthusiasm and optimism from organizations … in terms of how they are thinking about technology and using it to drive business outcomes,” Hanes said. “Those businesses that are leaders actually because they leverage technology are seeing better performance in their results.”

Heinel said that her company is thinking carefully about how to retain value as technology migrates from the back office to the front office. Technology has, for so long, been seen as an efficiency driver, , she explained.

“In some respects, when you think about robo-advisory and you think about some of the other online asset management applications, that’s degrading, in some cases, the value that the interface between human and machine can actually add,” Heinel said. “We believe the combination between technology and human is ultimately what’s going to win, and so we’re being very protective of where we are adding value over and above some sort of automatable routine.”

Koch agreed, pointing out that while big data will surely be an important part of the asset management industry moving forward, the field is still in its infancy. She comments,

“ We have created more data in last two years than in all of history of mankind – but only 3 percent is actually been annualized,” she continued, “however because the rate of decay around big data as a potential alpha source is so fast, companies have to be willing to “get behind the capex to get on the bleeding edge.”

Koch comments,

“We can’t be luddites and we have to embrace technology, but there really is going to be a very important intersection with humans. I like technology, but I’m still very ‘long’ on human beings. In particular, she continued, “humans can “connect seemingly disparate points in the investment processes to make predictions about the future not dependent on past data”

Meanwhile, Parisi offered a few “cautionary tales” with respect to big data – companies making use of it need to be sensitive to privacy issues as well as other legal risks such as insider trading. For example, she highlighted a recent court case involving a Capital One analyst who scraped together internal credit card data and, based on his analysis, bought and sold stock in retail companies ahead of their earnings reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged the analyst with insider trading and the courts agreed, saying that the data met the level of materiality that would give rise to an insider trading claim because it was so highly correlated and predictive.

“You need to think about even though it may be only a small slice of data, if it is highly correlated or highly predictive, if it’s not widely disseminated, you better think carefully about whether or not you have material, non-public information,” Parisi said.

Finally, the panelists were asked to sum up their expectations of the asset management industry of the future. Panelists touched on clients’ desire for innovation as well as the growing importance of environmental, social and governance-focused (ESG) investing.

Mitchem ended with her vision of the asset manager as a “total coach.”

“How could financial services companies, through data arrangements with other people, really become the coach for your life?” she asked. “You want to think about, not just your 401k business, but you want to think about your HSA business. You want to figure out [whether you could] be that integral provider that coaches people across the spectrum on everything from healthcare to wealth management.”

Theglasshammer wants to thank the panelists, moderator, sponsors and attendees for making this a great event.

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From Populism to Passive Investing: Theglasshammer.com’s 9th Annual Top Women on the Buyside event

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By Nicki Gilmournicki gilmour

Last month, theglasshammer reconvened for the ninth year to assemble senior women for breakfast where we discussed the outlook and current trends in the investment management industry. The panel consisted of Barbara Reinhard, Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager & Head of Asset Allocation of Voya Investment Management, Donna Parisi, Partner, Global Co-Head of Finance and Global Co-Head of Financial Institutions Industry Initiative at Shearman and Sterling, Kathleen Kelley, Founder and CEO of Queen Anne’s Gate Capital Management, Shaiza Rizavi, Partner and Portfolio Manager at Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co., and Jitania Kandhari, Head of Macroeconomic Research, Emerging Markets at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. The panelists dynamically addressed questions that were asked by this year’s moderator Amanda Tepper, CEO of Chestnut Advisory Group.

Populism and Protectionism is not good for prosperity

The discussion kicked off with the topic of populism with Jitania Kandhari reminding us this period parallels times in the 20th century specifically, the inter- war period from 1914 to 1945) when periods of boom proceeded busts with the dissatisfaction from those who felt left behind turning to populism. She comments,

“Globalization does bring a lot of prosperity but the elite gain the most. Populists are exclusive not inclusive. They are confrontational not collaborative, and so with reduced commerce and closed borders the results are going to be lowered growth and raised inflation.”

Our panel had varying levels of concern about political risk when it comes to investing but there was an overall agreement on the sentiment that populism and protectionism does not bode overly well for prosperity.

Shaiza Rizavi brought an interesting viewpoint around finding opportunity in the most turbulent of times when she mentioned that many people told her not to go to Kenya in 2008 due to the danger surrounding the dynamics of the election. At the same time, a company she was interested in, Safaricom introduced a new mobile payment platform in Kenya called Mpesa. They had approximately 19,000 subscribers then and now have 26 million subscribers. Payments are made through the platform with many of the poorest being early adopters. Now, 30-40% of Kenya’s GDP now flows via this network. She comments,

“There are growth opportunities even in the most perilous moments if you are willing to take out the fire extinguisher and run into the fire. With the internet and people connected on a second by second basis, you see ideas and flows that were never expected.”

Kathleen Kelley thinks in Europe that we will see higher volatility going forward. She shared an anecdote,

“I did a scientific survey” she says with humor,” of 10 of my male hedge fund friends in London who wanted to vote leave in Brexit and all of them just repeatedly stated that England is the 6th largest economy and that things will be fine.  It is interesting how mindsets are built”.

Barbara Reinhard commented on the fact that this is the first time we are truly having a global acceleration since the financial crisis. She stated,

“Europe is making a recovery. We look at earnings growth and earnings revenue and they are going up, yet the sentiment is still nervous and we are still seeing inexplicably more flows into bond funds than equity funds. Economic expansions die of excess, euphoria and leverage. I don’t see any of these things happening right now.”

Inflation: a reality in the making

The moderator Amanda identified that inflation was a topic that everyone had touched on and asked Kathleen about what is happening in the oil markets.

Kathleen gave an outlook continued OPEC cuts and how the surplus we have in storage is not ending as quickly as we would have hoped. She stated,

“In the 3rd quarter, we might feel the effects of the production cuts and start to draw inventory and that would be a better place for the world to be and not feel like we have so much. If cuts do not continue the price per barrel might be back around the $40’s mark.”

Jitania commented that from a macro perspective, suggesting a period of inflation in the next 2-3 years. She commented,

“China has been exporting deflation and we saw the benefits of that but protectionism and the push to produce locally in the US along with breakdown of trade agreements could definitely create changes.”

Shaiza, often dissenting and providing a different angle, focused on how technological innovation is a deflationary force.

“You start to think about the future differently as many of the historic models wont work for future predictions. The power of connecting people who have never before been connected, and the unleashing of their capability is immense.”

She told the audience how she saw this first hand how lanterns sold to people in Africa and India that previously had no access to light after dark, changed how people interacted and ultimately increased their productivity.

She also mentioned that China’s building a new Silk Road which will allow countries around China to be connected to China and the global economy in an entirely new way. 80% of the China’s oil is currently transported from Strait of Malacca to Shanghai, a journey that took 2-3 months, but with a new port in Pakistan and the 16,000 kilometers delivery journey is reduced to 5,000 kilometers. How will that affect things? She implored the audience to consider the power of change and the power of disruption.

Active versus passive trends

Donna updated the audience with some Citi data on how passive investing has grown to 30% of assets under management by the end of 2015 and how the projection sits at $19.2 trillion of asset flows by 2021. When talking about why has there been a shift, she comments,

“It all comes out of the financial crisis, factor in a lower return environment with lower costs of passive investing and that the banks are not holding risk or warehousing like before the crisis. Also, with improved portfolio risk analysis which is tied to fintech and big data, the way people invest is changing.”

Donna talked about how hedge funds are a maturing market and hedge fund growth is going to be there albeit modest and will hit record levels by 2021. Trends within that sector include liquid alternatives, private debt and private equity so hedge funds are looking to asset classes that are not as easy to access as a headline.

Voya’s Reinhard who has a hybrid of both active and passive commented that as macro driven professionals, she does hunt bubbles and predicts that the tide towards passive has some bubble like qualities that could be worrying for some who just rely on it exclusively. She stated,

“Low cost provider doesn’t always mean highest quality product. In fact, you could argue that passive investing is causing opportunities for active managers. Passive investing, will have at some point unintended consequences.”

Jitania commented on recent research that finding Alpha in investing is cyclical (referencing trends as 1990-94 good for active management, 1995-2000 bad, 200-2009 good and 2010 to current bad). For her business of emerging markets, 40% of returns come from currencies, and she reminded us that is something that you cannot harness with passive investing.

Shaiza again provided interesting insight into the power of disruption and how the private sector can take on roles that the government used to own. She relayed,

“ Amazon for example is now fully capable of handling the logistics of packaging and mail. How will that affect the traditional mail system? Disruptive forces provide opportunity and active investing allows you to be nimble enough to take advantage of that opportunity. “

Outlook and advice

Barbara counseled to watch wage growth carefully for risk mitigation. Kathleen agreed with Barbara with both of them agreeing that US growth is going to disappoint this year and that reforms are not going to be passed in 2017.

Kathleen commented further,

“We are seeing wages starting to pick up and consumer sentiment is high – but they have been behaving different and are stepping back as they see price inflation going up. The stronger dollar is hurting both growth and inflation and keep companies from investing and repatriating “

Jitania offered that China is something that should be watched very closely as China has experienced 82% debt growth over last 5 years. She stated,

“China has added money to its system with many unproductive projects. In 2011, $2 of debt was used to create $1 of GDP and now $5 of debt is used to create 1 dollar of GDP. From a macro perspective, it is definitely something to affect the world since China contributes to a third of world economic growth. “

Jitania added insight into deglobalization and the lingering effects of it on strategy.

“We like countries that have domestic drivers of growth that aren’t relying on external capital flows; countries like Indonesia and even some of the Eastern European countries. From a developed market perspective, we prefer Europe to US. I can buy the top 10 European banks for the market cap of Apple in the US and when something like that pops up on my screen, it feels like distortion.”

Amanda Tepper offered that investor relations is an area that has a positive impact on acquiring assets stating her study which shows that firms with good investor relations result in raising four times more capital than the top performers.

What makes investors choose managers? Performance is not in the top five reasons stated Amanda.

“They want to know what you are doing with their money. Invest in your efforts to explain what you are doing to your investors.”

Donna highlighted fintech as an area to watch starting

“With the existing regulatory schemes, the banking sector has the upper hand when it comes to fintech. We do have a regulatory sandboxes – such as exists in the UK but by and large regulation is a barrier to entry for FinTech startups. Asset management has embraced fintech in the area of data analytics. I think we have seen this most in the retail space with robo-advising and partnerships like Betterment and Goldman Sachs and it is an area to follow.”

Shaiza urged us to rethink the vocabulary we use. Rethinking how we define borders and how we bucket ideas and opportunities. It is an interesting moment to think about the permeability of borders and how technology has changed the ways things get done. She added,

“It might not be possible to even have borders and the protectionism that the populism trend is advocating given technology.”

Barbara added a last piece of advice for all of us in the audience.

“My advice is pay attention to your target date funds – think about yourself for 5 minutes and go check your own retirement funds and apply the advice you give to others when investing money to yourself.”

And, she is right.

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The 8th Annual Top Women on The Buyside Event: Overcoming Risks, Managing Volatility and Another New Normal Ahead?

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women on the buyside event

By Nicki Gilmour, CEO and Founder of theglasshammer.com

Theglasshammer convened 100 senior women from traditional and alternative investment management companies last Wednesday 1st June 2016 for the 8th Annual Top Women on the Buyside breakfast panel and networking event. Nicki Gilmour CEO and Founder of theglasshammer.com opened the session with a welcome and an urge for the audience to continue to be change leaders for a culture of trust in their firms and beyond so that the industry can continue to attract women as investors and as participants.

The panel consisted of Judy Posnikoff, Managing Director of Paamco, Donna Parisi, Partner and Co-leader of the Asset Management Group, Shearman and Sterling, Nili Gilbert, Co-Founder of Matarin Capital Management, and Katina Stefanova, CEO and CIO of Marto Capital. Antony Currie, Associate Editor of Thomson Reuters Breaking Views moderated the discussion with candid questions that the panel answered with deep expertise to the peer audience as well as a sprinkling of humor at times.

Themes this year included disruption and innovation as drivers of results with the obvious challenges this year being the risk management of political, economic, credit and operational risk issues in this US election year.

It was agreed that volatility is high, uncertainty a constant and alpha diminished with a backdrop of limited historical data on how to invest in an environment of low interest rates. It was also agreed that all types of disruption, good and bad, was rife with developed countries still trying to ignite their economies post credit crisis. Risk would definitely dominate the short and medium term thoughts of investors. Fintech was also mentioned as an important element of future innovation in the industry without real precedents and an uncertain regulatory environment.

Katina Stefanova began with an overview of the macro environment and framed some issues,

“We deal with political, social and economic risks when assessing investments and this year is a unique year as we are at a pivotal point .We live in a world with over $200 trillion dollars of debt and with such uncertainty, it is not surprising that there is political volatility and that becomes a big issue for markets not just for investing but also for people building businesses. There has been a huge amount of disillusionment with traditional investment strategies, and other popular strategies such as risk parity in last few years. Volatility is here to stay and so it’s about figuring out how to navigate volatility and building that into your application.
It is time to develop alternative solutions.”

Judy Posnikoff concurred with the increased volatility issue stating

“The environment is quite different from 30 years ago when investors could achieve high enough returns with one asset class (fixed income). One of the difficulties of today’s uncertainty and meager expected rates of return is that institutions and individuals are having to take on more risk than they would like to in order to meet financing requirements such as pension liabilities.”

Nili Gilbert commented on unusual nature of the current macro environment stating,

“Negative interest rates and deflationary environments should be something that is taken seriously and it is hard to be informed by history on this. Due to a lack of comparable historical precedents, it is necessary to be thoughtful and insightful rather than just look to historical analysis or a purely data driven approach. “

Katina Stefanova agreed that the environment is unprecedented and the biggest risk is that we are at point when monetary policy is no longer effective. She added,

“Central banks have little power to stimulate or slow down economies. It is time for more aggressive fiscal policy and governments are going to have to play a bigger role. “

Donna Parisi picked up this point when asked about the role of regulators and the change of government in November with the moderator questioning could a new President undo the work done by regulators post credit crisis?

Donna commented on the legislative risk that could come from an election cycle,

“I think Dodd Frank is too far down the road, the rules are so deeply embedded regardless of who takes the White House in November and regulators are
not done trying to fix the lack of transparency that exists in the markets.”

Donna also mentioned that from her perspective that upcoming challenges for the industry would be liquidity mismatches and leverage issues.

“Since funds are more and more becoming intermediaries for lending post credit crisis, there are issues around leverage and the role they should play.” She suggested that regulators are worried that asset managers could be the next too big to fail crisis.

“The regulators are still struggling with information gathering despite the huge volume of data that is required to be reported. They don’t feel like they have enough transparent data to adequately assess liquidity and leverage risk and its impact on the broader market.”

Katina joined this point with her comments that regulatory consequences are not always well understood, and in many ways the government has not eliminated risk but rather transferred it to other institutions.

Nili mentioned that changes in the sell side and how it is regulated can ultimately affect stock price movements and have impact for portfolio managers. By way of example, she cited Reg FD (Regulation Fair Disclosure) as an event, which changed how sell-side analysts released communications, and as a result changed the efficacy of “earnings revisions” as a tool for stock price forecasting.

Other topics discussed included opportunities and creating value for the investor such as changing fee structures. Judy and Nili discussed how it was important for investors to have transparency around how much they had to pay in the search for alpha. Nili also shared her philosophy on finding opportunities stating four main concepts as buying fundamentally good businesses, valuation, shareholder friendly management teams and shorter-term catalysts such as price and volume analysis.

“When we were coming out of the financial crisis, it was a great time to be a value investor because in that environment of fear, there were many cheap stocks. Since then, we have seen investors regain their confidence and so it’s not as an attractive a time as before to be a value investor. Momentum investing is an opportunity that we saw do very well in 2015. What works changes all the time and it is crucial to understand behavioral biases in the markets for optimum results.”

Katina concurred, “ We have factors such as technology, a shift in socio-demographics and this economic environment and the current political volatility that creates a great opportunity for disruption. The question is where will that disruption come from? “

Citing Alibaba as an unexpected money management entity that has grown fast. She added, “It is about access, a platform to retail investors will change it all and it will come”.

Donna added that current incumbents in the market had a competitive advantage when it came to FinTech innovation given their regulated status. However, industry incumbents are at a disadvantage when it comes to being true innovators or disrupters. The rising importance of technology in the industry and the scalability of investment strategies as a result create significant risk for something to go wrong and a resulting regulatory response.

With so much to talk about, and with great questions from the audience, the discussion is hopefully continuing in offices across the world as we speak.

Thanks to our panelists and moderator and engaged audience for another great event!

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The Glass Hammer’s 7th Annual Top Women on the Buy-Side Breakfast

women shaking handsThe main discussion at last week’s Top Women on the Buy-Side event for senior women in investment management focused on the evolution of the industry following the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent market recovery. But perhaps the strongest statements centered on the importance of networking for top-level women in the space.

The sold out event – hosted in New York by The Glass Hammer – was the 7th annual networking breakfast and panel in the popular series and was moderated by Donna Parisi, partner and co-head of the asset management group at the law firm Shearman & Sterling. Panelists included Nanette Buziak, managing director and head of equity trading at Voya Investment Management; Daphne Karydas, senior equity analyst and co-portfolio manager at The Boston Company; Vivian Lau, partner at Serengeti Asset Management; and Susan Soh, partner and global head of marketing and client services at Perella Weinberg Partners.

Challenges and Opportunities in 2014

Donna Parisi opened the dialogue by commenting on the low yield environment and noting that just the day before the event the Fed announced that amid declining unemployment, it would keep short-term interest rates low for the time being.

Liquidity was on the panelists’ minds, as well as market competition and when asked what challenges and opportunities lay ahead, the panelists eagerly began the discussion.

“There’s still a lot that needs to be repaired in the US, but US equities look cheap on a valuation basis compared to other asset classes on a global basis” Buziak said. She continued, “There’s a lot of pressure on fees right now, and in equities, we’re seeing competition from ETFs and index funds.”

Speaking from the alternatives perspective, Soh said, “While ETFs may pose a challenge for some, we believe it’s been an interesting opportunity because it’s created more demand for alternative products in the form of liquid alts, which is great for firms like ours.” Meanwhile, she continued, “In light of the low interest rate environment we’re seeing, hedge fund managers are finding it more difficult to generate the outsize returns that they have historically. There’s a greater focus on yield, current income and niche opportunities where one can generate outsized returns.”

Karydas noted that, especially in a difficult environment, being creative is important. But she encouraged attendees to avoid what she called “style drift,” where some portfolio managers are pursuing new strategies to drive returns even though they might be outside the bounds of what clients initially signed up for.

“You have to be true to what you say you are doing, especially in a bad year,” she said.

Customers are demanding more transparency, Lau agreed. “Investors want to understand what they are paying for,” she said. Heightened regulations are part of this trend, but so is the desire for differentiation. “They want to know: are you delivering returns in a fashion I can’t get anywhere else?”

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Women Leaders Discuss Investment Management in Uncertain Times

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Group-Of-Women-Meeting-In-Creative-OfficeLast week The Glass Hammer hosted its 6th annual Top Women on the Buy-Side Breakfast. The lively discussion gave way to even livelier networking, as senior women across the investment management industry mulled over the question, “Where do we go from here?”

Our panel included Jane Buchan, PhD, CAIA, Managing Director and CEO, PAAMCO; Michelle Meyer, Senior U.S. Economist, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Leah Modigliani, Senior Vice President, Investment Strategy and Risk, Neuberger Berman; Ranji Nagaswami, CFA, previously Chief Investment Advisor to Mayor Bloomberg, City of New York; and Anjun Zhou, PhD, Managing Director and Head of Multi-Asset Research, Mellon Capital. Each shared her point of view on where the markets are going and how to deal with inflation and risk moving forward.

Our moderator, Heidi Moore, US Finance and Economics Editor at The Guardian, began, “Previously, we’ve always had a crisis to talk about.” But this time, the biggest factor facing women on the buy-side is uncertainty. “What is important to know about the markets,” she asked, “when so much is unknowable?”

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Top Women on the Buy-Side: Finding Yield in a Volatile Market

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Women-on-TabletLast week, The Glass Hammer hosted its fifth annual Top Women on the Buy-Side breakfast for female leaders in the investment management industry. Our panelists discussed the risks and opportunities for the year ahead, as well as how and where they are finding yield in a volatile market.

Moderated by Wall Street journalist Heidi Moore, the panel included Gabriela Franco Parcella, Chief Executive Officer, Mellon Capital Management Corporation; Denise Higgins, CFA, Client Portfolio Manager, ING Investment Management; Anne Milne, Managing Director, Emerging Markets Corporate Research, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; and Judith Posnikoff, PhD, Co-Founder & Managing Director, PAAMCO.

The lively conversation ranged from dealing with the challenges of uncertainty, managing risk, and the bright spots ahead. Milne quipped, “What are we looking for? Returns. Moreover, we’re looking for risk adjusted returns. We’re looking for good ideas to generate risk adjusted returns. And we’re making calls to find analysts to generate ideas to generate risk adjusted returns.”

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A Brave New Regulatory Environment: The Glass Hammer’s Women on the Buy-Side Breakfast Panel

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Business-meetingThursday morning marked The Glass Hammer’s fourth breakfast panel for top women on the buy-side. The topic was Dodd Frank, and what’s in store for the investment management industry as we get closer to implementation.

Moderated by Donna Parisi, Partner, Shearman & Sterling, the panel included Viva Hammer, Principal, KPMG Washington National Tax; Sarah Lee, Managing Director, Global Head of Fixed Income Derivatives Legal, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Cynthia Meyn, Executive Vice President Operations, Pimco; and Barbara Novick, Vice Chairman, BlackRock.

Parisi commented, “It’s a brave new regulatory environment, and it will take a lot more resources going forward.”

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Women on the Buy-Side: What Does Dodd-Frank Mean for the Capital Markets?

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startup-849804_640(1)Tuesday marked The Glass Hammer’s biggest “women on the buy-side” investment management event so far – due in no small part to the turbulence and uncertainty in the capital markets, driven by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Moderated by journalist Heidi Moore, our panelists discussed how Dodd-Frank will impact the investment management field – regarding transparency, compliance, consolidation, and more – and what those changes mean for individuals in the industry, and their companies.

The panel featured Gina M. Biondo, Tax Partner, Financial Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP; Christine Hurtsellers, Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income and Proprietary Investments, ING Investment Management; Donna M. Parisi, Partner and head of the Asset Management Group, Shearman & Sterling LLP; Marcy Engel, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, Eton Park Capital Management, LP; and Holly H. Miller, Partner, Stone House Consulting, LLC.

Dodd-Frank’s Biggest Surprises

Moore opened the debate with a discussion of how the regulatory bill had evolved since reform was first being considered – and asked the panelists what Dodd-Frank’s biggest surprises were.

Engel replied, “The biggest surprise was the Volcker Rule saying that proprietary trading by banks should be prohibited.” Early on, she said, no one had thought that it was likely to be included. “The more banks lobbied against it,” she explained, “the harder the push back.”

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Debating Transparency and Valuation – Theglasshammer.com’s Second Women on the Buy-Side Panel Discussion

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Yesterday, theglasshammer.com hosted its second Women on the Buy-Side networking breakfast and panel discussion. Nicki Gilmour, founder and CEO of theglasshammer.com, began the event by explaining that the purpose of the gathering was to draw together top women in the investment management industry to discuss the topic of risk and its implications on performance for 2010.

Gilmour later explained that by getting top women together, we can continue to create a critical mass of female leaders in the industry and “change the perception of what a leader looks like.” For the women themselves, this was an event where “they are not the only woman in the room.”

Holly H. Miller, founding partner of Stone House Consulting, LLC, moderated the panel on the “massively broad topic called transparency,” today’s new “buzz word.” Panelists included Michelle McCarthy, Chief Risk Officer at Russell Investments, Virginia Volpe, CFA, Director of Hedge Funds, Global Transaction Services at Citi, Diane Garnick, Investment Strategist at Invesco, and Mara Topping, Partner, Investment Funds Group, D.C. Office of White & Case.

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Assessing and Managing Operational and Investment Risk: glasshammer2.wpengine.com Seminar for Senior Women on the Buy-Side

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Women-working-on-a-computerTheglasshammer.com hosted the first in the series of invitation-only networking seminars for senior women on the Buy-Side at the Harvard Club in New York City on September 29th. Our intent: to create a peer-to-peer environment for CEOs, Principals and Managing Directors of traditional and alternative funds to enable them to interact with Chief Operating Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Heads of Risk Management, and Heads of Operations and discuss the how the industry has changed over the past two years. The result: 100 female leaders in investment management gathered to network and to hear Cynthia Steer, Chief Strategist of Rogerscasey, Marianne Brown, CEO of Omgeo, Liz Philipp, head of the NY office for PIMCO and Annie Morris, Head of Linedata’s North American Business weigh in on the predicted trends for the industry.

The panel represented a 360-degree view of industry issues from front office to back office and how the “New Normal” means that operational risk is now a primary concern for business leaders who want to continue to compete in 2010 and beyond. Inspired by thought provoking questions posed by moderator Holly Miller of Stone House Consulting, the panelists first addressed the issue of operational due diligence, emphasizing the importance of having a corporate culture which supports a consistent due diligence effort.

“There has been a revolution over the last two years,” said Steer, “[People are recognizing that] you need to read your prospectuses; you need to ‘do’ back office.”

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