Rethinking Asset Allocation 

Prof. Russell Napier

Professor Russell Napier is author of The Solid Ground investment report for institutional investors and co-founder of the investment research portal ERIC- a business he now co-owns with D.C. Thomson. Russell has worked in the investment business for over 30 years and has been advising global institutional investors on asset allocation since 1995. Russell is author of the book Anatomy of The Bear: Lessons From Wall Street’s Four Great Bottoms (‘a cult classic’ according to the FT) and is founder and course director of The Practical History of Financial Markets at The Edinburgh Business School.

Russell is Chairman of Mid Wynd International Investment Trust a GBP500m market cap. closed end investment vehicle listed on the London Stock Exchange. He is a member of the investment advisory committees of three fund management companies, Cerno Capital, Kennox Asset Management and Bay Capital.

In 2014 Russell founded the charitable venture The Library of Mistakes a business and financial history library in Edinburgh that now has branches in India and Switzerland.

Russell has degrees in law from Queen’s University Belfast and Magdalene College Cambridge. He is a Fellow of The CFA Society of the UK and is an Honorary Professor at The

University of Stirling and a Visiting Professor at Heriot-Watt University. He is a contributing columnist for The Toronto Star newspaper. His second book – The Asian Financial Crisis 1995- 1998: Birth of the Age of Debt- was published in July 2021.

Olivier Rousseau

Olivier Rousseau is executive director at Fonds de réserve pour les retraites (FRR), France’s pension reserve fund, where he also chairs the asset manager selection committee. Before joining FRR in 2011, he was attached to the French Embassy in Sweden as an economic advisor, a position he took up after two years on the board of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. Olivier Rousseau began his career at the French Treasury, eventually joining BNP Paribas where he spent 11 years working in international banking and finance in Paris, Tokyo, London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney offices. He graduated from the French National School of Administration (ENA) in 1986. He also holds a degree in political sciences and master degrees in law and economics from the University of Aix-en-Provence.

Grégoire Haenni, PhD

Grégoire Haenni, PhD is the Chief Investment Officer of the pension fund of the state of Geneva (CPEG) he joined in June 2014. He is responsible for the pension fund’s asset allocation efforts for all multi-asset classes. Prior to that, he was the CIO of the pension fund of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, based in Geneva, Switzerland. During his almost 5-year time at CERN, he put in place an in­vestment framework today acknowledged as the CERN Investment Model. Before that, Grégoire headed the Research and Investment Department of Bank of China (Suisse) Fund Management SA. He also founded Bedrock Alternative Asset Management SA, a subsidiary of Bedrock Group where he led the research and portfolio management activities. From 2001 to 2007, Grégoire was a fund manager and a senior analyst at Pictet & Cie’s Alternative Investment Department. He started his career in 1997 as a financial analyst and portfolio manager at Merchiston Management SA.

Grégoire holds a PhD in Mathematical Statistics of the Econometrics Department of the University of Geneva where he specialized in multi-dimensional statistics giving lectures to BSc. and MSc. students.

Dominik Irniger, PhD

Dominik Irniger, PhD, ist Leiter des Teams Asset Management und Mitglied der Geschäftsleitung der Pensionskasse der SBB. Das Team ist verantwortlich für die Herleitung der Entscheidungsgrundlagen zur Festlegung der Vermögensallokation. Weiter nimmt es die Auswahl der externen Vermögensverwalter (Manager Selektion) vor und ist zuständig für Verwaltung eines direkten Immobilienportfolios in der Schweiz.

Vor der Pensionskasse SBB war er 12 Jahre bei der Zürcher Kantonalbank tätig, wo er die Bereiche Fondsresearch (2001-2008), Quantitatives- und Bondresearch (2008-2010) und das quantitative Portfoliomanagement (2010-2013) leitete. Weitere wichtige Stationen waren die Credit Suisse Group (1995-2000), wo er verschiedenste Projekte im Rahmen der Weiterentwicklung der Reporting- und Analysesysteme im Global Custody und im Asset Management betreute.

Seine Ausbildung absolvierte er an der Universität Zürich (lic. oec. publ., Betriebswirtschaftslehre, 1989-1994) und der Hochschule St. Gallen (Dr. oec. HSG, Finanzmarktökonomie, 1995-2000). Er ist CAIA (Certified Alternative Investment Analyst) Charterholder. 

Stefan Hepp, PhD

Seit Januar 2021 ist Stefan VR-Präsident und Mitglied der Geschäftsleitung der INIZA Capital AG. Bis Mitte 2019 war Stefan Global Business Leader Private Markets bei Mercer, einem Marsh & McLennan-Unternehmen (MMC). Er übernahm diese Rolle nach dem Verkauf seines Unternehmens, der SCM Strategic Capital Management AG (SCM) an MMC Anfang 2015. Davor war Stefan fast 18 Jahre lang CEO des auf Privatmarktanlagen für institutionelle Anleger spezialisierten Unternehmens, welches mit einem AuM / AuA von mehr als 9 Mrd. USD und Standorten in der Schweiz, Großbritannien, Luxemburg, Hongkong und Seoul weltweit tätig war. Vor der Gründung der SCM Anfang 1996 war Stefan Mitglied des Management Komitees von Morgan Stanley und leitet seit mehreren Jahren das institutionelle Aktiengeschäft des Unternehmens in der Schweiz. Zuvor war er mehrere Jahre in der Abteilung für Aktienderivate von Morgan Stanley in London sowie im globalen Obligationen-Research für Salomon Brothers (London) sowie Meeschaert-Rousselle in Paris and JP Morgan in Zürich. tätig. Stefan schloss seine Ausbildung 1990 mit einem MBA an der University of Chicago Booth School of Business ab, welcher er noch während seiner Dissertation begonnen hatte. Er promovierte 1989 in Wirtschaftswissenschaften an der Universität St. Gallen. Davor studierte er Banking und Finance an der Universität Birmingham und graduierte 1986 mit einem Master of Social Sciences. Sein Grundstudium in Betriebswirtschaftslehre absolvierte Stefan an der Universität St. Gallen. Stefan hat ausführlich in Finanzzeitschriften und Zeitungen publiziert und eine Reihe von Büchern verfasst oder mitverfasst und war Berater der Weltbank in Washington, DC und des American Enterprise Institutes.

Stefan ist Adjunct Professor at the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business. 

Malene Christensen

Malene Christensen is an Investment Specialist Sustainable Investing, acting as a liaison between the SI Center of Expertise and internal departments. Prior to joining Robeco in 2020, Malene worked in Orsted’s Sustainability Department with a special focus on Green Bonds and ESG ratings. She joined Robeco in 2020. During her studies for a Master’s in Applied Economics and Finance from Copenhagen Business School she held roles in ESG and SDG Engagement.

Julia Rees, CFA

Julia Rees, CFA is head of the EMEA and Asia Strategic Advisory Solutions Portfolio Strategy team at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. As a Senior Portfolio Strategist, she advises financial institutions and intermediaries on investment policy and strategy. 

Prior to joining the Portfolio Strategy team, Julia worked in quantitative investment strategies (QIS) product management with an emphasis on alternative investing. Prior to joining the firm, Julia worked at a mid-stage private biotechnology company bringing a medical device to market. There, she focused on the firm’s expansion strategy and evaluated potential mergers and acquisitions. 

Julia holds a B.S.E. in mechanical engineering with minors in computer science and robotics from Princeton University. She is a CFA charterholder. 

Prof. Claudia Zeisberger

Professor Zeisberger is an advisor to corporations, institutional investors and governments. She has over 30 years of experience as a finance professional and is an expert with deep experience in risk management, private equity and venture capital, and portfolio construction. As a Professor at INSEAD, the business school with campuses in Singapore, France, UAE and the US, she is a global citizen and award-winning author as well as an angel investor.

At present, she is a member of KKR’s Sustainability Expert Advisory Committee (SEAC) and sits on the Advisory Boards of Standard Chartered Ventures (SCV), Linzor Capital, BG Ventures and KaizenVest and acts as a volunteer board advisor to Girl Rising, a non-profit focused on girls' education and empowerment. 

Claudia is one of the best-networked people in the Private Capital space with extensive experience in bringing her academic and professional background to inform boards. She is an expert on Responsible Investing and ESG strategy implementation and is often invited in the role of ‘Professional Devil’s Advocate’. She is also the author of the bestselling business finance book “Mastering Private Equity: Transformation via Venture Capital, Minority Investments and Buyouts” as well as “Private Equity in Action – Case studies from Developed & Emerging Markets”

Jacob Hegge, CFA

Jacob Hegge, CFA, vice president, is a member of the Global Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities (GFICC) group.  Based in London, Jacob is an investment specialist and is responsible for global aggregate and government bond strategies. He is responsible for communicating investment strategy, decisions and performance across various fixed income products to clients, consultants, prospects and internal partners.  An employee since 2015, he previously supported the U.S. Broad Markets team in Columbus, OH.  Jacob holds a B.A. in economics, Chinese, and Spanish from Kenyon College and is a CFA charterholder.

Emily Foshag, CFA

Emily Foshag, CFA is a portfolio manager at Principal Real Estate, the dedicated real estate unit of Principal Asset Management. She is responsible for the firm’s global listed infrastructure capability and is also a member of Principal Asset Management’s ESG Investment Council. Emily joined the firm in 2019. Prior to her current role, Emily served as a portfolio manager and research analyst for the listed infrastructure strategy at Franklin Templeton, where she was a member of the investment team since the strategy’s inception. At Franklin Templeton, she held primary responsibility for the research and analysis of listed infrastructure securities in Europe, Asia and Latin America in addition to global portfolio management and risk management responsibilities. Emily led the integration of ESG factors in listed infrastructure and REITs investment processes and co-led the Alternatives Sustainable Investing Platform. She also oversaw the research of private infrastructure strategy investments on behalf of institutional clients globally. Emily received a bachelor's degree in accounting from New York University and an MS degree with distinction from New York University with a concentration in global energy and environmental policy. Her master’s thesis research focused on Germany’s renewable energy transition and as part of her degree requirements she conducted sustainability-related fieldwork in the UAE, Chile, Russia, California. Emily is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts.

Prof. Donato Scognamiglio

Donato Scognamiglio (1970) ist CEO und Mitinhaber der IAZI AG. Er studierte in Bern und an der William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration in Rochester (NY) Betriebs- und Volkswirtschaftslehre sowie an der ETH Zürich Statistik. Er promovierte an der Universität Bern, ist Dozent für Real Estate & Finance und Titularprofessor der Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Bern. 2014 lancierte die IAZI AG in enger Zusammenarbeit mit dem Swiss Finance Institute den CAS in Real Estate Finance, ein Ausbildungsprogramm, das den Wissens- und Erfahrungsaustausch zwischen der Finanz- und Immobilienwelt fördert.

Manoj Pradhan, PhD

Manoj Pradhan, PhD is the founder of Talking Heads Macroeconomics, an independent research firm based in London, and co-author of the “The Great Demographic Reversal” with Charles Goodhart. Manoj was most recently Managing Director at Morgan Stanley where he led the Global Economics team, driving macroeconometric research into global economic themes and coining the term “the Fragile Five”. He joined Morgan Stanley in 2005 after serving on the faculty of George Washington University and the State University of New York. He has a PhD in economics from George Washington University and a Masters in Finance from the London Business School.