Evolve ETFs: The Innovators Behind Disruption with Raj Lala

In this episode of The Innovators Behind Disruption, we sit down with Mike Szabo of Carbon Pulse to discuss the impact of climate change and the steps put in place to combat carbon emissions. While there is a social cost and the very obvious environmental cost, economists have decided to deal with this by putting a monetary cost on pollution and we discuss the two main approaches.

In this episode of The Innovators Behind Disruption, we discuss how the rapid rise of bitcoin has sparked an increase in conversations about the future growth of digital finance. As a non-correlated asset class, bitcoin is being viewed as a store of value and a potential hedge against inflation.

In this episode of The Innovators Behind Disruption, we chat with Drew Orsinger, CEO & Co-Founder of TradeX. Drew is a career security professional who has served as Chief Security Officer at several companies including SpaceX, CME Group, and Honeywell. Drew is excited to fuse a proven Department of Defense technology with blockchain to innovate a market data solution to propel the financial services industry forward. He also served in the U.S. government in a variety of capacities, including leading a resilience and security practice at a National Laboratory providing analysis on infrastructure protection, cybersecurity, and data loss prevention.

In this episode of The Innovators Behind Disruption, we chat with Robert Di Iorio. Robert is Vice-President & Portfolio Manager at RBC Dominion Securities Inc. Robert focuses on working with clients to create long-term, mathematically attainable, personalized plans, and oversees overall portfolio design. In this conversation, we discuss how to discuss a volatile market with clients, how growth themes affect our lives, and which disruptive themes will change our lives.

In this episode of The Innovators Behind Disruption, we chat with Anthony Di Iorio. Anthony is founder and CEO of Decentral Inc. He funded and co-founded Ethereum, the decentralized smart contract platform. In this conversation, we discuss the ethereum blockchain, cryptocurrencies (ether/bitcoin), disruptive technologies, giving back to the community and helping solve problems.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:15 Opening remarks

0:50 Introduction to Anthony

1:37 How Decentral started

4:15 Who is the Decentral audience

5:25 Background of Di Iorio

8:00 The breakthrough of Crypto

10:30 Creating a win for the public

12:40 Anti-trust movement

16:10 What is Ethereum

17:45 What is required for crypto adoption

20:15 Is wider adoption of crypto coming?

22:15 Top disruptive themes in the next 5 years

23:15 Three influential people in Anthony’s life

25:30 Top podcasts

26:40 Closing remarks

Episode Length: 27:22

Learn about:

· Defining disruption and evolution

· Technological advancements in the banking industry

· Clientelligent services in the financial industry

· Deep learning for product recommendations

· Data-driven lead generation

· Deep learning model development

· Views on industries to watch for disruptive innovation

· Predictions on the adoption of evolutionary technology

Keynote Speaker:

Darren Cabral, Co-Founder & CEO, Clientelligent, Canada

Darren Cabral is a co-founder & CEO of Clientelligent, a machine learning company dedicated to helping financial services companies better engage with their clients. Prior to Clientelligent, Darren was a financial services executive. He spent the majority of his career as a Partner and Director at Connor, Clark & Lunn Capital Markets Inc. (CC&LCM), a retail investment management subsidiary of Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group, one of Canada's largest asset managers. Darren held several senior leadership roles at CC&LCM, serving as CFO and later as President after a controlling interest in the company was sold to Aston Hill. As a portfolio manager, Darren managed quantitative and derivative-based strategies for CC&LCM and two Canadian banks. Prior to CC&LCM, Darren worked in Canada and the UK for a boutique investment management company. Darren has an MBA and a mathematics (operations research) degree from York University. He is also a CFA charterholder and a recipient of the Canadian Operations Research Society diploma.

Episode Length: 32:58

Learn about:

· Overview of the Canadian and U.S. ETF markets

· Actively managed ETF strategies

· Smart beta strategies

· How the ETF market eclipsed the mutual fund market in Canada

· U.S. ETF market trends 

· Why financial advisors use ETFs in Canada and the U.S.

· Views on whether or not the ETF market is overcrowded

· Growing interests in thematic ETFs

· Institutional investors and ESG 

· Expectations on the growth of Canadian thematic ETFs

· Predictions on the future of the North American ETF market

· Favourite ETF tickers  

Keynote Speakers: 

Andres Rincon, CMT, Director, Equity Derivatives & ETF Strategy, TD Securities

Andres Rincon, CMT, is director of equity, ETFs and derivatives strategy at TD Securities. He advises institutional and wealth investors on ETF and option strategies, publishes a broad array of ETF and derivative publications, and works with TD's ETF market making team in facilitating ETF orders. He holds a bachelor of commerce degree in commerce, finance from the University of Ottawa

James Seyffart, CFA, CAIA, ETF & Commodities Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence

James Seyffart is a research analyst within Bloomberg Intelligence (Bloomberg LP's Research Department). He focuses on the research of the broader asset management industry with specialized expertise in the coverage of ETFs, Mutual Funds, Hedge Funds. Works with Bloomberg's commodity strategist in the research of cryptocurrencies and assists in the production of Bloomberg's ETF IQ, the only TV show fully devoted to all things ETFs. He has a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from The College Of New Jersey (TCNJ).

Episode Length: 24:11

Learn about:

· Views on the recent Capital One data breach

· Canadian law on data breaches 

· Global spending in the cybersecurity industry

· What CEOs are most concerned about regarding cybersecurity

· Outsourcing of cybersecurity services

· What banks are doing to protect themselves from security breaches

· The biggest shift in the types of cyber attacks 

· Sectors that may need to increase cybersecurity spending and efforts

· How ransom requests are being dealt with

· The importance of industrial cybersecurity

· Top predictions for the cybersecurity industry

Keynote Speaker: Stew Wolfe CISSP, CISM, CISA, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), Canadian Cybersecurity Practice Lead | Canada | Americas 

Mr. Wolfe leads the NTT Canadian Cybersecurity practice as well as the America’s pre-sales security Industrial and Internet of Everything go to market strategy. He has over 26 years in the IT field of which 20 were spent in security, including positions at IBM and Cisco. Mr. Wolfe has focused in various areas within the security field including ethical hacking, executive advisory consulting as well as industrial and healthcare security. 

Hosted by: Raj Lala, President & CEO, Evolve ETFs

Prior to founding Evolve ETFs, Mr. Lala served as Head of WisdomTree Canada – a division of WisdomTree Investments Inc., one of the world’s largest ETF issuers. Prior to this, Mr. Lala was Executive Vice President and Head of Retail Markets for Fiera Capital Corporation, a prominent Canadian investment management firm with over $100 billion in assets under management. Mr. Lala co-founded and served as President and CEO of Propel Capital Corporation (which was acquired by Fiera Capital Corporation in September 2014). Propel raised approximately $1 Billion in structured products in its five years of operation. Prior to Propel, Mr. Lala worked with Jovian Capital. Mr. Lala held several roles at Jovian including President of JovFunds Inc., an asset management division of Jovian Capital. Mr. Lala holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Toronto.

Episode Length: 20:09

Learn about:

· The catalysts for growth in the technology sector

· Differences between eGaming and eSports

· How revenue streams have changed in the gaming industry

· eSports leagues and teams

· Size and growth of the eGaming sector

· How 5G and cloud computing affects eGaming

· Global demographics of gamers

· eSports viewership

· Top predictions on the eGaming & eSports industry

Keynote Speaker: Robert Young, Director, Technology Equity Research, Canaccord Genuity Corp. (Canada)

Robert Young has covered the Canadian technology sector since 2008 and joined Canaccord Genuity as part of the integration of Genuity Capital Markets in 2010. Awards include Starmine’s No. 1 stock picker in Canadian IT Equipment. Previously, Robert worked as a technology strategy consultant with IBM and as a systems engineer for Nortel Networks. Robert holds an Masters in Business Administration from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario as well as a Bachelor of Engineering from McMaster University. 

Episode Length: 22:24

Learn about:

· How the Canadian cannabis market is changing 

· The role of retail in the cannabis space

· Recent developments in the U.S. cannabis industry

· Insights on legalization in the U.S.

· How the U.S market is developing in comparison with the Canadian market 

· The cannabis market in California

· Market projections for the Canadian and U.S. cannabis industry

· Latest company updates on MedMen

· Predictions on the top investment opportunities in the cannabis industry

Keynote Speaker: Vahan Ajamian, Managing Director of Analyst Relations, MedMen Inc. 

About Keynote Speaker: 

Vahan Ajamian is MedMen’s principal liaison with brokers and financial analysts covering investment opportunities in the cannabis space. Named a rising star in marijuana investment by Business Insider, he is a capital markets forerunner and expert in the cannabis sector with more than a dozen years of experience in equity research and analysis. Prior to joining MedMen, he was an analyst at Beacon Securities Limited, a full-service independent investment firm in Canada, and at TD Securities.

Hosted by: Raj Lala, President & CEO, Evolve ETFs

Prior to founding Evolve ETFs, Mr. Lala served as Head of WisdomTree Canada – a division of WisdomTree Investments Inc., one of the world’s largest ETF issuers. Prior to this, Mr. Lala was Executive Vice President and Head of Retail Markets for Fiera Capital Corporation, a prominent Canadian investment management firm with over $100 billion in assets under management. Mr. Lala co-founded and served as President and CEO of Propel Capital Corporation (which was acquired by Fiera Capital Corporation in September 2014). Propel raised approximately $1 Billion in structured products in its five years of operation. Prior to Propel, Mr. Lala worked with Jovian Capital. Mr. Lala held several roles at Jovian including President of JovFunds Inc., an asset management division of Jovian Capital. Mr. Lala holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Toronto.