Chelsea Smith is Senior National Director, Family Office Services at Bernstein Private Wealth Management, based in Chicago. She started her career as an equity trader, and in recent years has been heavily involved in diversity initiatives designed to attract a more diverse pipeline into the finance industry. 

Jennifer Ryan is Head of North American Distribution at Lazard Asset Management.  She previously was Head of UK Institutional Sales at BlackRock and Head of the US Institutional Pensions at Blackrock, and started her career at Goldman Sachs.

In our conversation we tackle the craft of fund distribution, and Jennifer highlights the importance of understanding client ecosystems, building trust, and adapting to evolving client needs. She stresses the significance of team-based approaches and mentorship in her success. 

Cary Carbonaro is an award-winning financial advisor, a women and wealth expert and a CFP board ambassador. She is currently senior vice president of Advisors Capital, where she was noted in the 2024 NASDAQ Advisor Council and as a Top Advisor in 2023 Investopedia.

Colin Robertson is an independent advisor to two LGPS funds – London Borough of Tower Hamlets and London Borough of Harrow, within a portfolio career that he has had since 2013. He previously held the role of Global Head of Asset Allocation for Aon Hewitt and previously at Mercury Asset Management. He has extensive experience in working with a wide range of institutional clients. 

Zia Uddin is President of Monroe Capital LLC, an asset management firm headquartered in Chicago, which invests in middle market companies in North America through a range of products. Prior to joining Monroe he focused on middle market private equity investing for...

John Bowman is executive Vice President of the CAIA Association, and a prolific writer and commentator on the investment management industry. He has written about the subject of culture, restoring the virtuous reputation of the industry and ensuring that dialogue and education are maximized, particularly in the area of alternative investing.

Kristin Staffeldt is a Senior Portfolio Analyst in the Real Assets area at the University of Chicago endowment, which has around $8.5 bn in assets under management. She has spent most of her career in a range of roles in real estate, having focused on land economics in her university degree.

A deep dive into the characteristics of the real estate asset class, how to approach it as an institutional investor and perspectives of the profession for a mid-level vantage point.

Stuart Dunbar is a Partner at Baillie Gifford, based in Edinburgh, where he has worked since 2003. He previously held a range of institutional marketing roles, but before that there were some unexpected interests and pursuits.

Jen Choi is CEO of ILPA – the Institutional Limited Partners Association, where she has spent over a decade. She previously spent over 7 years at the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association.