The Allocators Playbook

Former Publica CIO Stefan Beiner joins host Muskan to unpack repo as a liquidity tool, why geopolitical risk sharpens diversification questions rather than driving big allocation shifts, and the governance discipline behind long-term pension investing.00:00 – Intro00:24 – Introduction to Stefan Beiner00:47 – Building on PUBLICA’s Investment Strategy02:52 – Expanding into Private Markets05:27 – Managing Geopolitical Risk07:47 – How Repo Transactions Work09:52 – Introducing Repo for Pension Funds10:41 – Defense Investing & Exclusion Policies12:50 – Currency Risk & Regional Diversification15:53 – Swiss Pension Reform & Asset Allocation17:59 – What Stefan Would Do Differently as CIO20:04 – Closing Thoughts#MarketsGroupPodcast

Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System CEO and CIO Tim Reese discusses the investment philosophy behind the pension system's evolving portfolio, including his approach to emerging managers, why he favors lower- and middle-market private credit over private equity, how a total fund view has reshaped the system's fixed income portfolio and why PMRS is building AI fluency from the top down before deploying the technology across its investment operations.00:12 Introducing Tim Reese and PMRS01:09 Investment culture and supporting emerging managers05:02 How experience shapes manager selection and governance09:34 A total fund view versus a TPA approach11:52 Rethinking the 60/40 portfolio after 202213:59 Market concentration and signals to watch16:04 Private equity, private credit and infrastructure20:24 Measuring risk across the whole portfolio22:39 Volatility, AI and diversification27:14 How institutional portfolios may change29:09 Bringing AI into the investment office34:37 Leadership and institutional memory36:06 The book that shaped Tim’s investment thinking#MarketsGroupPodcast

After nearly four decades overseeing investments for the West Virginia Investment Management Board, Craig Slaughter has learned that staying independent means avoiding being “whipsawed by politics.” The longtime CEO and CIO discusses why public funds stumble when governance breaks down, how history helps investors keep their cool in turbulent markets and why he prefers to hire people smarter than himself — an approach that has helped the fund generate $4.8 billion more than the median public pension fund over 25 years.

00:00 - Intro

00:12 - Introduction to Craig Slaughter and His Achievements

01:24 - Proud Moments and Organizational Integrity

03:23 - The Influence of History on Investment Philosophy

05:35 - Navigating Market Challenges with Historical Insight

06:57 - Maintaining Investment Philosophy in Emotional Markets

08:15 - Concerns About the Economy and Political Landscape

10:47 - Divesting from China: Strategy and Implications

15:27 - Future Investment Opportunities and Strategies

17:48 - Reflections on Market Changes

21:03 - Building a Strong Organizational Culture

26:24 - Leadership Philosophy and Influences

30:37 - The Importance of Governance

33:55 - Maintaining Confidence in Volatile Markets

37:06 - Common Mistakes in Institutional Investing

Migros Pension Plan CIO Stephan Bereuter joins Allocators Playbook to break down how the CHF 30bn Swiss fund turned a 2023 insurance-linked securities trade into one of its best contrarian bets — bought when everyone else was selling — and why he's not chasing the next "ILS moment." He also talks through where MPK is hunting for opportunities now: cooling conviction on data centers despite being early movers, a cautious re-entry into international real estate, and selective deals in student housing and logistics — plus why the fund just pushed gold to 3% as a liquidity hedge.

00:12 - Introduction to MPK and Stephan Bereuter

01:05 - The Benefits of In-House Management

03:34 - Tactical Allocation & ILS Opportunities

08:40 - Why ILS Remains Attractive

09:54 - Equity Allocation & Diversification

12:40 - Gold as a Liquidity Hedge

14:50 - International Real Estate Opportunities

16:34 - Data Centers & Market Dynamics

21:44 - Managing a Concentrated Swiss Real Estate Portfolio

23:41 - Defense Investments & Ethical Considerations

25:02 - Closing Thoughts

With September and October typically times of market volatility, this episode will give tips on preparing a strategic portfolio in time for defensive and opportunistic investments.

State Investment Officer Matt Clark, a self-described contrarian, is storing cash and waiting to invest at the bottom of the market. According to his team’s research, only a few times in history have markets been this expensive, and those times were right before a crash.

Learn how he navigates the pain of pulling out early in order to wait for the perfect opportunity. The $21.5 billion South Dakota Investment Council plan is now 100% funded, and he and his investment team navigate risk and reaps larger rewards by buying at the bottom of the markets to give his pensioners the best Cost of Living Adjustments that they can.

How should institutional investors think about portfolio construction in an era of market concentration? Dawn Jia, president and CEO of UBC Investment Management, joins The Allocators Playbook with an unusual answer: stop investing by the label. Just as a diet isn't really about meat, carbs and vegetables but about protein and vitamins, Jia argues portfolio construction should look past asset class labels to the economic exposures underneath — a lens that lets UBCIM spot a valuation gap between public REITs and private real assets and, she says, pocket a 30% return in twelve months.

In conversation with Markets Group Deputy Editor Lauren Bailey, Jia explains why index concentration has become a structural ceiling on active management — beat a top-heavy benchmark and you'd have to be more concentrated than the benchmark itself — and where she's hunting for uncorrelated alpha as de-globalization regionalizes the opportunity set. She also details why UBCIM redesigned a quant manager's strategy around a climate-aware benchmark instead of dropping the manager over weak proxy voting, and why social risk is t

Henrik Olejasz Larsen, the chief investment officer at €47B Sampension is rebuilding the portfolio for a world where falling rates are no longer a given,

What matters most, governance structure or market insight? In this in-depth conversation with up-in-coming CIO Hall of Famer honoree, John Skjervem, learn his leading takeaways from doubling the AUM in Oregon, what it was like to switch to a 97% funded Utah Retirement System, and how he helped to ready Northern Trust for institutional clients. 

TimeStamps:

00:12 - Introduction to John Skjervem and His Achievements

03:20 - Defining Fiduciary True North

12:18 - Navigating Pressures as a CIO

13:26- Revamping Oregon's Investment Systems

16:13 - Leadership vs. Management: The Rowboat Analogy

18:22 - The Importance of Governance in Investment Outcomes

21:48 - Offense vs. Defense in Investment Strategies

24:26 - First Impressions and Pressure Testing in Utah

26:25 - Misunderstandings in Managing Retirement Systems

30:31 - Systemic Issues in State Pension Funds

35:01 - Legacy and Impact as a CIO

What's better at predicting markets, quant, practiced intuition or deep analysis? How would you track it? Similar to what was seen on the hit show Billions, CIO Mark Steed discusses his proven, high conviction method for pension fund investment teams that has gotten the team to top decile returns and one of the fastest growing funds in the USA. The New Strategy Award winner also discusses due diligence for sports investing, AI applications and how he brought his team together collectively.

#Billions #institutionalinvestor #allocator #chiefinvestmentofficer #pensionfund #highconvictioninvesting

Part 2: CIO Hall of Famer Ash Williams discusses the changes he made once he returned to the Florida SBA after the Great Financial Crisis, and fields questions from CIOs in the industry.