Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Stephen McLennan is the Co-Chief Investment Officer of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, where he oversees asset allocation for the $300 billion fund responsible for the retirement security of 346,000 teachers. Stephen joined OTPP in 2003 and worked across credit, natural resources, infrastructure, and Total Fund Management, before splitting the CIO seat with Gillian Brown in 2024 — a dual-CIO structure that is unique among Canada's largest pension funds.

Our conversation traces that path and discusses OTPP's total portfolio strategy, including the balance of top-down asset allocation with bottom-up investing, role of active management, liquidity, leverage, and internal and external management. We cover where private equity, credit, infrastructure, hedge funds, and inflation-sensitive assets earn their place in the portfolio, how AI-driven concentration risk factors into portfolio resilience, and the evolution of the Canadian model, with both enduring edges and eroding competitive advantages.

Register for TomorrowX using the Capital Allocators discount here.

Learn more about Juniper Square here. Learn More Follow Ted on X at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

Nancy Zimmerman is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Bracebridge Capital, a $13 billion alternative asset manager specializing in fixed income arbitrage that she founded over 30 years ago, in 1994, alongside Gabe Sunshine with capital from David Swensen at Yale.

Our conversation traces Nancy's evolution from pricing securities to investing and the enduring sources of inefficiency in fixed income markets. We discuss the nature of arbitrage opportunities and their persistence over time and then turn to hunting for mispricings today across developed market rates, structured credit, corporates, and emerging markets. Along the way, we cover Bracebridge's process for sourcing ideas, assessing relative value, determining position sizes, constructing a portfolio, and managing risk. We close with building a team, aligning the organization and its clients, investing in today's exciting and unusual environment, and transferring investment knowledge to work on the investment committee and brain science research at Nancy's alma mater, Brown University. Nancy is among the sharpest, most curious, funny, and deeply experienced investors in the hedge fund world.

Take our audience survey. Tell us more about you, how you listen, and what we can do to make the podcast and platform better. Try ALEX by Admired Leadership.

Learn More Follow Ted on X at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

André Perold is the co-founder and CIO of HighVista Strategies, an alternative asset manager overseeing $14 billion that searches for alpha opportunities in structurally inefficient markets. André has twice been a past guest on the show, starting way back with episode #2 and both conversations are replayed on the feed.

This conversation starts with André's assessment of the most exciting and unusual investment environment he has experienced, alongside his thoughts on how to build capabilities and construct portfolios to navigate exponential change. We then turn to the beautifully inefficient markets where HighVista has built core capabilities across biotech, lower middle-market buyouts, early-stage venture, and specialty private credit. Take our audience survey. Tell us more about you, how you listen, and what we can do to make the podcast and platform better. Try ALEX by Admired Leadership.

Learn More Follow Ted on X at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

André Perold is the Chief Investment Officer and Co-Managing Partner at HighVista Strategies, where for the last dozen years he has sat at the helm of a now $3 billion fund that takes a multi-asset class, endowment-like approach emphasizing broad diversification and risk management. Over this period, André has definitively rebuffed the cliché that those who can't do, teach. In his prior career, he spent over 30 years teaching at the HBS, where he is the George Gund Professor of Finance and Banking, Emeritus. André had a distinguished career teaching investment management at Harvard and is a legendary master of the case study classroom. Just about everyone in the investment profession with Harvard Business School on their resume took a seat in his classroom at one point in time. André received numerous awards for teaching excellence, including being voted the School's most outstanding professor in a Business Week student survey. While at Harvard, André authored and co-authored 27 articles in financial journals, two books, and over 100 case studies, all relating to investment management, capital markets, and the financial system. He literally chronicled the development of modern finance as it occurred through is work at HBS. Among his directorships and trustee roles over the years, André currently is a Board member at The Vanguard Group. In this episode, we spend the first 11:30 talking about teaching at Harvard, and then turn to the practice of investing: the active vs. passive debate, a risk-based approach to asset allocation, and what makes investing so hard. I found it fascinating hearing how André takes all of his academic experience and knowledge and applies it the practice of investing at HighVista. His wisdom and clarity of thought are second to none, and his soothing South African accent only adds to the allure. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

AI is top of mind for everyone in the investment business. Our Summits are abuzz with curiosity about what others are doing.

I asked 8 CIOs to share how they're using AI today, including what's working and what isn't, the tools they've adopted, and where they're headed next. They range from a single-family office with one investment professional to one of the largest pension funds in the world with thousands.

What emerged is a range of use cases — from using AI as a personal productivity tool, to changing investment workflows, organizing institutional knowledge, improving decisions, and ultimately trying to generate alpha.

You'll also hear some consistency in the tools currently used and different views on how far AI should go in the investment process.

Featured in this interview: Abby Barlow, CIO of Westwood Management Laura Hill, CIO of Advocate Health Brian Sugrue, CIO of Shannonbridge Jenny Heller, President and CIO Brandywine Group Advisors John Lawrence, President of Rice Management Company Matt Bank, CIO of GEM Kristin Kallergis Rowland, Global Head of Alternative Investments for J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management Jon Webster, Senior Managing Director and COO of Technology & Operations at CPP Investments

Try ALEX by Admired Leadership.

Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

This week's Summer Series concludes with a two-fer on habits. There may be no better way to improve the investment process than to understand what it takes to improve ourselves. We've got two of the best – James Clear and Katy Milkman, experts and authors of wildly bestselling books Atomic Habits and How to Change.

Please enjoy my conversations with James Clear and Katy Milkman, both from 2021.

We hope you've enjoyed this summer exploration in improving the investment process with some of the best conversations over the last nine years.

Learn more about Capital Allocators University.

Try ALEX by Admired Leadership.

Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

This week's Summer Series concludes with a two-fer on habits. There may be no better way to improve the investment process than to understand what it takes to improve ourselves. We've got two of the best – James Clear and Katy Milkman, experts and authors of wildly bestselling books Atomic Habits and How to Change.

Please enjoy my conversations with James Clear and Katy Milkman, both from 2021.

We hope you've enjoyed this summer exploration in improving the investment process with some of the best conversations over the last nine years.

Learn more about Capital Allocators University.

Try ALEX by Admired Leadership.

Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

We're excited to share something we've been working on for a while: we're bringing Capital Allocators University online. For years, CAU has been an in-person, once-a-year cohort of 25 or 30 professionals, built around a set of disciplines that matter enormously for investors and investor relations professionals but rarely get taught explicitly. We put together a brief conversation to share more on what the course covers, who it's for, what we learned from the past five years, and why we decided to move it online. Full details here. We look forward to welcoming you as a member. Special thanks to our production partner, Fondu.

This week's Summer Series is another two-fer, this time on negotiations. The first is with legendary former FBI-hostage negotiator Chris Voss, the author of Never Split the Difference and founder of the Black Swan group where he teaches tactical empathy in negotiations. The second is with Yale professor Daylian Cain, who opened my eyes to the importance of walking away.

Learn more about Capital Allocators University.

Try ALEX by Admired Leadership.

Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)