LaRoy Brantley is a managing principal at Meketa Investment Group. He has over 20 years experience in an investment consulting capacity. We first met when we joined Cambridge associates earlier in our careers. He has had multiple public fund board positions and has a particular focus on raising awareness of diverse investment managers. 

Ian McKnight is a long-time asset management CIO who currently holds a portfolio of roles, including as Chief Investment Officer of Tontine Trust, Senior Adviser of Cartwright, Hineni Capital and Giants Shoulders Capital as well as a series of other roles. He previously was Chief Investment Officer at Royal Mail for over 13 years.   

We are delighted to release as a bonus episode this conversation with long-time industry member, mentor and advocate Jennifer Strickland.  Over the course of Jennifer’s career she has held a series of roles starting out in the annuity space, moving into private wealth, hedge fund business development, alternative asset business development and most recently was Head of Business Development for Pretium, a $50 bn specialized asset manager focused on real estate, structured credit and legal opportunities. She is a Board Member of Women in Private Credit and an active advocate for mentorship and diversity within the financial services industry. 

Cathy Bevan is Head of Structured Credit at Benefit Street – Alcentra.  She has spent most of her career in credit structuring with roles on the sell side and buy side.

Erik Hirsch is Co-Chief Executive Officer of Hamilton Lane, where he is responsible for the firm’s strategic direction and operations. The firm currently has over $900 billion in assets under management and supervision and is committed to driving meaningful change in private markets for the institutions and other clients that it serves. 

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. 

Wendy Li is the co-founder and CIO of Ivy Invest, a FinTech asset management firm.  She previously worked in the investment office of the endowment of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. In our discussion we start with her immigrant background in Pennsylvania, and her ascent through studying finance to a role in an allocator. 

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.