This Week’s CIO Summit: Asset Owners to Debate ESG, Team Building, Capital Preservation

The second and final day of the 10^th Annual CIO Summit, dubbed “Team Building and Smart Investing in a Topsy-Turvy World,” will end with a bang.

CIO’s Managing Editor Christine Giordano and Dr. Maximilian Horster, managing director and head of climate at ISS, CIO’s parent company, will open day two of the May 16-17 event at the Harvard Club in New York City.

“Applying ESG” is the day’s first panel. Tim O’Donnell ( Fund Evaluation Group), Ralph Bassett (Aberdeen Standard Investments), Dan Chu (Sierra Club Foundation), and Bertrand Millot (CDPQ) will discuss the best practices of applying due diligence for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices and how it affects your bottom line.

Alison Cooke Mintzer, CIO’s editor-in-chief, will then lead a fireside chat with Levin Easterly Partners’ CIO Jack Murphy on capital preservation while generating consistent returns. They will help determine the best ways asset owners can balance risk and potential rewards while identifying the key reward drivers. 

Corporate asset owners will hear a different perspective on pension approaches with “Bringing the DB Mindset to DC Plans.” Rocaton’s Christopher Lyon, United Technologies’ Julie Glynn, and International Paper’s Robert Hunkeler focus on how CIOs can better manage their defined contribution plans while avoiding the average-Joe buffet table.

Following a brief refreshment break, Dr. Horster will provide a presentation on ESG, leading to the closing panel, “Shifting Markets and Team Structuring.” Mercer’s Peter Grant, Hamilton College CIO Anne Dinneen, and Helmsley Charitable Trust CIO Rosalind Hewsenian will talk on what a CIO team needs in today’s ever-changing landscape—such as how to build the right team, with the right managers and compensation structures.

Then comes a networking lunch.

For asset owner CIOs, there’s an added bonus, at the request of many investment leaders. Attending CIOs will be welcome to engage in a special closed-door session and speak openly on topics chosen by, and relevant to, asset owner CIOs.

Registration for the CIO Summit is still open, so be sure to save your seat for the 10^th annual event. Attendees may register here.

The conference is complimentary to select asset owner CIOs from public and private plans, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, and select family offices.

Interested sponsors may contact Katie Bacon and Carol Popkins for more information. 

The CIO Summit’s full agenda can be viewed here.