2025 MMI Alternative Investments Forum

Playing to Win: The CEO Perspective

Don’t miss our opening session when three top CEOs will share their unique insights on merger and acquisition opportunities, key product innovation and structuring trends, top investment strategies, and private wealth investment and growth.

Moderator: 
Alison Nest, Managing Director, Head of Investment Solutions Products, Morgan Stanley

Panelists: 
Lawrence Calcano, Chairman and CEO, iCapital
Kipp deVeer, Partner and Co-President, Ares Management Corporation, Chief Executive Officer, Ares Capital Corporation
Erik Hirsch, Co-CEO, Hamilton Lane 

Alternative Investment Integration 2.0: A Connected Ecosystem

This session provides perspective on the key challenges faced by asset managers, wealth managers, and service providers in the context of the overall growth of alternative investments. Our panel will discuss the key roles that service providers and other intermediaries play in driving a better client experience across the end-to-end investment life cycle – subscriptions, investor communications, valuations, performance reporting, re-registrations, and redemptions – as well as advisor desktop integrations. 

Moderator:  
Amanda Saulean, Executive Director, Head of Alternative Investment Client Solutions, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Panelists:  
Lance Christofferson, Senior Vice President, Transfer Agent - Retail Alternatives, Ultimus Fund Solutions  
Helen (Yankilevich) Flood, Vice President, Head of Fund Operations, Partners Group  
Kartik Srinivasan, President, Advyzon Institutional 

Alternative Investments in Defined Contribution Plans: Current and Future State

Alternative investment managers perceive a growth opportunity to provide alternative investment exposures via defined contribution plans. However, challenges exist, including recordkeeper support and plan sponsor openness to such exposures, which are more expensive than traditional product and don’t offer the same liquidity – with the existing alternatives product set mostly focused on private real estate. This panel will outline a roadmap for the broader delivery of alternative exposures to DC plan participants, who are otherwise locked out of private capital markets.

Moderator:  
Anne Lester, Author, Your Best Financial Life

Panelists:  
Tripp Braillard, Senior Vice President, Head of Defined Contribution, Clarion Partners 
Rob Crothers, Managing Director, Head of U.S. Retirement, BlackRock 
Anne Thibeault, Senior Vice President, Head of Empower Advisory Group, Empower 

Next Era of Product Solutions

The pace of innovation and evolution – driven by the commitment of platforms, asset managers, and tech participants to deliver differentiated products and strategies in ways that meet client needs – has been impressive. This session addresses where we are in terms of preferred strategies and structures and, very importantly, what the next era of product development may look like. The session starts with a broad view of the vehicles that gatekeepers are seeking and how we can help clients with more tax-efficient structures. Then we drill down into more specific structural and investment trends, such as conversion of private to registered funds and infrastructure strategies.

Moderator:
Brendan Finn, CAIA, Managing Director, Constitution Capital Partners

Panelists:
Matt Doyle, AVP, Head of Alternative Investments Due Diligence, LPL Financial 
Bill Duffy, Vice President, Alternative Investments, Fidelity Institutional
Milissa Hutchinson, CAIA, Managing Director, Head of U.S. Wealth Distribution, Macquarie Asset Management

Cracking the Code on Private Markets

Speaker:
Jeff Yabuki, CEO, InvestCloud 

Unlocking Models: Making Alternatives Available in Model Portfolios

The next advance in delivering private alternative solutions to individual investors lies in the inclusion of private alternatives in model portfolios. With more alternative investment solutions available than ever before, model portfolios can help streamline how advisors consider private market allocations and provide a single ticket solution that helps meet clients’ goals based on their risk tolerance and profile.

Moderator:
Kunal Shah, Managing Director, Head of Private Asset Research & Model Portfolios, iCapital

Panelists:
Eve Cout, Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Design and Solutions, US Wealth, BlackRock 
Adam Howarth, Partner, Co-Head of Portfolio Management, Partners Group
Shawn Khazzam, Managing Director, Head of Private Wealth Alternatives, Americas, JP Morgan 

Regulatory Developments in Alternative Investments

Recent changes in the Administration and SEC leadership will bring fresh perspective to regulations affecting the offering of alternative investments in managed accounts and afford the opportunity to address some of the regulatory “potholes” that have complicated use of alternative investments in managed accounts. Our expert speakers will discuss the different approaches to offering alternatives in managed accounts and the corresponding regulatory requirements, navigating allocation and reallocation issues given limits on investment and redemption windows, evolving SEC guidance under the Marketing Rule on performance calculation and presentation, and state minimum net worth and concentration issues for certain alternatives subject to state regulation.

Speakers:
Christine Lombardo, Partner, Co-Head, Financial Institutions Practice Area, Morgan Lewis
Steve Stone, Partner, Morgan Lewis 

Navigating Private Markets: Strategic Asset Allocation and Portfolio Construction Considerations

Private markets are increasingly appealing to investors as both a potential return enhancer and a risk diversifier. With private credit providing access to less liquid markets while ensuring strong asset-liability matching, investors are eager to expand their exposure across private capital markets. However, effective portfolio management is crucial when constructing a diversified portfolio in this complex landscape. This panel focuses on the essential strategies and considerations for managing private market investments, emphasizing informed asset allocation decisions that lead to optimal portfolio performance.

Moderator:
Andrew Snyder, Managing Director, Investments, Head of Manager Selection, CAIS

Panelists: 
Jeff Bennett, Senior Portfolio Manager, Head of Manager Selection, Invesco 
Fran Golden, Managing Director, Head of Product Specialists, Blackstone 
Max Tanner, Principal, Head of Private Wealth Internal Sales, Blue Owl Capital 

The Financial Advisor Perspective

Hear from industry-leading financial advisors as they share their experiences using alternative investments. Learn how their teams determine product usage, client suitability, and investment performance and how they work with asset managers to incorporate new strategies.

Moderator: 
Bill Golden, Managing Director, Head of Product Solutions, Voya Investment Management

Panelists: 
Nick Altieri, Managing Director, Private Wealth Advisor, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management
Robert Calabretta, Director of Investments, Coastline Wealth Management
Michele McCallion, Senior Vice President, Wealth Management, Private Wealth Advisor, Senior Portfolio Manager, UBS Financial Services 

Closing Remarks

Forum Co-Chairs: 
Bill Golden, Managing Director, Head of Product Solutions, Voya Investment Management 
Alison Nest, Managing Director, Head of Investment Solutions Products, Morgan Stanley

Arlen Oransky, Executive Vice President, Chief Membership Officer, Money Management Institute