Global Fiduciary Insights

Colin Lynch, Managing Director and Head of Alternative Investments at TD Asset Management, joins Chris Battaglia to discuss how culture, fiduciary discipline, and diversification shape effective decision-making in private markets. Drawing on his background as a professional musician, Colin explains how performance, preparation, and the ability to “read the room” directly inform his investment approach. Central to TD’s philosophy is a collaborative team culture built around an “obligation to dissent,” designed to challenge assumptions, avoid groupthink, and ensure ideas are rigorously tested before capital is deployed.

Taking cues from Canada’s large pension systems, Colin highlights the importance of diversification, focus, and clarity around the investor-versus-operator role in private markets. He outlines how these principles guide TD Asset Management’s positioning in infrastructure, energy transition, and private credit, with an emphasis on quality assets, predictable cash flows, and inflation protection. He points to renewable energy, power storage, ports, and selective real estate opportunities as areas of continued interest, while addressing how AI-driven growth is reshaping infrastructure demand. He also shares insights from working with Japanese institutional investors navigating a shift from decades of deflation to a more inflationary environment, underscoring the value of bottom-up underwriting, asset quality, and liquidity in preserving long-term returns.

Host Chris Battaglia interviews Keiko Honda, an adjunct senior research scholar at Columbia University and a prominent figure in global investment. Keiko shares insights from her experience in management consulting, academia, and leadership roles, including as CEO and CIO of the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. They discuss the evolution, challenges, and importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing, exploring regional perspectives on ESG, particularly in Japan and the U.S.

The podcast was recorded ahead of the Global Fiduciary Symposium which took place from November 11th to 14th in Tokyo, Japan.

Host Chris Battaglia interviews Elizabeth Fernando, CIO of NEST. The two discuss the history and growth of NEST, which was established in 2010 to address the lack of workplace pensions and the need for affordable retirement savings.

The podcast was recorded ahead of the Global Fiduciary Symposium which took place from November 11th to 14th in Tokyo, Japan.

Key Notes:

• NEST was created following the 2008 Pensions Act which introduced auto-enrollment to ensure every employer in the UK offers a workplace pension.
• The organization now manages over £43 billion in assets and serves more than 13 million members, including workers from the gig economy and self-employed individuals.
• The podcast explores the possibility of introducing compulsory pension contributions, like Australia's superannuation system, but notes the UK's more cautious approach to enrollment.
• NEST uses a sophisticated governance structure with multiple layers of oversight to ensure effective decision-making and stakeholder involvement.
• The organization focuses on long-term growth in private markets, aligning with asset managers who share similar goals, avoiding large buyouts, and steering clear of performance fees.
• Elizabeth also discusses NEST's approach to impact investing, prioritizing responsible, sustainable investments that avoid harmful sectors and reflects on the lessons NEST can learn from global pension systems, particularly in Japan.

On this episode of Global Fiduciary Insights, host, Chris Battaglia, interviews Professor Takatoshi Ito from Columbia University about the future of Japan’s asset management business. The podcast comes ahead of Professor Ito's keynote speech at the Global Fiduciary Symposium on November 12th in Tokyo, Japan. 

Topics also discussed:

• Professor Takatoshi Ito discusses Japan’s recent interest rate changes and their impact on the yen-dollar exchange rate.
• Japan’s "Asset Management Nation" initiative aims to shift household savings from low-yield deposits to diverse global investments.
• Japan is striving to attract foreign asset managers to Tokyo, enhancing its status as a financial hub.
• Reforms in corporate governance have improved Japanese equity performance, drawing increased global investor interest.
• Japan's "Emerging Manager Program" (EMP) seeks to develop a more independent, innovative asset management industry.
• The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) faces challenges in meeting its target allocation to alternative assets, remaining at only 2%.
• Professor Ito emphasizes the need for transparency in ESG and impact investing, ensuring clear goals for returns and social impact.

In today’s episode, Chris Battaglia welcomes back economist and author of “Money Magic: an Economist’s Secrets to More Money, Less Risk & Better Outcomes”, Larry Kotlikoff, to discuss interest rate protection strategies and products investors may want to consider.

Specific strategies they discuss include:

• Alternatives to investing in the stock market to protect against interest rates and taxes, including Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS)
• How Larry thinks about the percentage allocation to inflation protected strategy by TIPS
• The importance of balancing risks in investment strategies, particularly between TIPs and Social Security income
• How to weigh the risk of different products inside your portfolio

In today’s episode, Chris Battaglia welcomes back economist and author of “Money Magic: an Economist’s Secrets to More Money, Less Risk & Better Outcomes”, Larry Kotlikoff, to discuss inflation, rising interest rates and the effect they may be having across different elements in investors’ portfolios.

They discuss several strategies homeowners may want to consider:

• Using IRAs, Roth IRAs or even savings to pay down mortgages
• Major tax breaks available to homeowners that have nothing to do with your mortgages
• The benefits of using software – particularly Maxifi Planning Software – to help with financial decisions
• Different levers to consider when deciding whether or not to buy a home, including children, education costs and more.

In this episode, host Chris Battagia and Larry Kotlikoff provide a critical perspective on various aspects of financial planning, emphasizing the need for more realistic and economically sound approaches to planning for longevity and retirement.

They also discussed:

• The importance of planning for longevity and the economic challenges it presents, emphasizing the need to plan for one's maximum age of life rather than just life expectancy.
• Critiques of the current state of the financial planning industry, highlighting its disconnection from economic theory and its tendency to recommend patently absurd financial behaviors.
• Parallels between the issues in personal financial planning and corporate pension and retirement planning. 
• The use of averages in both personal financial planning and pension fund investments.
• The consequences of ignoring risk and the challenge of accurately accounting for inflation.
• The concept of upside investing, which involves a combination of safe assets and stock market investments, ensuring a floor for living standards and potential for upside growth.
• The role of the stock market in individual financial planning and the need for a balance between safety and growth.
• The relationship between fiscal policy, printing money, and potential inflation.