AAAIM High ELI

Our guest for today’s podcast is Evelyn Chen, Founder and Portfolio Manager of Grand Alliance Asset Management, an asset management firm focused on growth equity in Asia with a specific expertise in Taiwan and China.

What I love about interviewing different portfolio managers is the individual stories on what it takes to be the best at their craft.  Growing up, Evelyn’s initial interest was to become a biologist given her love of insects and the patience required to be an expert in dissecting insects and understanding how they function.  Luckily for investors, she pivoted to become an equity analyst and, leveraging that same level of patience and precision required to be a biologist, refocused her skills to eventually become a top stock picker.  It is a cool story!

Joining me on this podcast as guest host is Meisan Lim, Head of Macro and Quantitative Strategies for Cambridge Associates, one of the top consulting firms in the hedge fund business.  When I asked Meisan for her thoughts on an awesome Asian female hedge fund manager, Evelyn’s name immediately came to mind.  Thank you again Meisan for inviting Evelyn.

Without further ado, here is my conversation with Evelyn Chen and Meisan Lim.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Maeley Tom, California State Legislature Extraordinaire and Founding Co-Chair of AAAIM.  I stepped aside for this podcast and asked Gordon Liao, AAAIM Board Vice-Chair and ELI Committee Chair, to conduct this interview given their long history and friendship.  In listening to Maeley’s story, I have to admit that a few (happy) tears came to my eyes, after hearing about her upbringing.

Maeley touches upon many important topics including being on her own from the age of 16, how she developed the grit to be successful, her views on the current Stop AAPI Hate Movement, how the idea for AAAIM was conceived, her personal journey in mustering up the courage to ask for the top job to become the Chief Administrative Officer of the California State Assembly, and the rationale for writing her book to inspire the next generation of leaders.

Atypical of Asian tendencies of “being humble, not speaking up, not being the nail that stands out, not talking about your achievements; Maeley shares why being the opposite was key for her success in a Western culture society”.  Be prepared to be inspired.

Without further ado, please enjoy Gordon’s conversation with Maeley Tom.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Susan Oh, a 25 year veteran at the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System, a $64 billion defined benefit pension plan.  Over her career at PSERS, Susan has been a serial entrepreneur and a true innovator for the fund including 1) establishing their $13 billion swap overlay program, 2) building out their currency hedging program, 3) launching their internally managed risk parity program leveraging Bridgewater, and 4) now taking on the new challenge of implementing ESG for impact and returns.  Susan is the epitome of GSD (Getting Stuff Done!)

Away from her personal accomplishments, we were inspired by Susan’s strong faith and her recognition that she has a higher calling.  Having shattered both the bamboo and glass ceiling, Susan is a role model for Asian Americans and women in the industry, a responsibility she cherishes and doesn’t take lightly. 

Joining me on the podcast as lead host is fellow AAAIM board member, Susan Soh, Chief of Strategy and Capital Development for the Private Investments arm of Two Sigma.

Without further ado, here is our conversation with Susan Oh.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Suzanne Yoon, Founder and Managing Partner of Kinzie Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on providing creative solutions through equity investments in lower middle-market businesses going through transitions.

Suzanne openly takes us through her personal journey overcoming tragedy at a young age after the death of her father and jumping head first into world of finance.  Through grit, determination, and a strong belief in “diversity and inclusion”, Suzanne successfully navigates the ultra competitive world of private equity, culminating in launching her own private equity firm in 2017.  Her story not only sends chills through my body but also brings a bright smile to my face.

Joining me on the podcast as lead host is fellow AAAIM board member, Susan Soh, Chief of Strategy and Capital Development for the Private Investments arm of Two Sigma.

Brace yourself and prepare to hear what it takes to be the best.  Without further ado, here is our conversation with Suzanne Yoon.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Kim Lew, Chief Executive Officer of the Columbia Investment Management Company, where she oversees over $11 billion in endowment and university assets.  Kim needs no introduction as she is by far one of the most admired investors and leaders in the world of investment management.  Kim joined Columbia in late 2020, a groundbreaking moment for the industry and something I applauded as a 2x graduate of the university.

Kim is a great “storyteller” as she is authentic and her leadership qualities just makes you want to follow her.  If there is ever a leader that you would ever want to charge up a hill to fight your final battle, Kim is that person.

Joining me on the podcast as co-host is fellow AAAIM board member, Susan Soh, Chief of Strategy and Capital Development for the Private Investments arm of Two Sigma.  I am excited to welcome Susan to the podcast as she is one of the most admired business development professionals in our industry.

I was honored to join the conversation with two awesome female leaders in the business.  Without further ado, here is our conversation with Kim Lew.

My guests for today’s podcast are Andrew Chen and Marcos Veremis.

Andrew is a Portfolio Manager at Lockheed Martin Investment Management Company where he focuses on the Absolute Return portfolio.  Andrew is an engineer by training and I was happy that he agreed to participate in this podcast given how much time he has spent learning and thinking about blockchain and the potential for the new technology.  Marcos is a partner at Evanston Capital, a leading fund of funds that he joined in 2020.  Previously, Marcos spent 14 years at Cambridge Associates where he led Cambridge Associates research on cryptoassets and blockchain including crypto manager due diligence in the venture and hedge funds spaces.

My guests for today’s podcast are Troy Dixon, Founder and CIO of Hollis Park Partners, a $750mn+ independent alternative asset manager that specializes in structured products and Greg Maddox, Head of Global Manager Research at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

I took a different approach for this podcast by asking my two guests to follow along with role playing the following scenario:  Let’s pretend that the three of us have recently started the “Emerging Manager Impact Fund” (EMIF), a new $1 billion fund focused on investing in top emerging and diverse managers.  We are being seeded by Priscilla Chan Zuckerberg and Oprah Winfrey with the dual purpose of delivering best in class risk adjusted returns while making an impact by investing in emerging and diverse managers.  (Note to audience, repeat - this is a role play so please don’t call us to ask for money!)

Given Troy’s and Greg’s wealth of experience and juxtaposition of perspective: retail vs. institutional, sell side vs. buy side, investment bank vs. independent emerging manager, portfolio manager vs. allocator, having designed an emerging and diverse program vs having won mandates from emerging and diverse programs – I found this conversation especially insightful for all players in the investment game.

Without further ado, please enjoy my conversation with Troy and Greg.

My guest for today’s podcast is James Chen, Founder and CIO of Ovata Capital, a $600mn+ multi-strategy, market neutral equities hedge fund headquartered in Hong Kong.  James takes us on his journey from being born in Mongolia to growing up in Long Island, NY through his formative years as a proprietary and customer trader at Credit Suisse, Bear Stearns, JP Morgan and Barclays.  In 2014, James made the decision to join Bluecrest where he established their equities business in Hong Kong.   Following Bluecrest’s decision to convert to a family office, James made the decision to start Ovata Capital, personally funding and underwriting the business hiring many of his former Bluecrest equities team members in Hong Kong.  James shares many lessons he learned over his career, providing valuable insight to portfolio managers who aspire to launch their own independent firms.  Joining me on this podcast as guest host is Christophe L’Ahelec, who most recently was a Senior Principal in the External Managers group at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, one of the most widely respected allocators in the business.  I leave it to Christophe to ask all the hard questions!  Without further a due, here is my conversation with James and Christophe.