The CFA Society New York (CFANY) hosted the “Single Employer Corporate Pension Chief Investment Officer Roundtable” on August 4, 2016. This is the 6th highly successful program in the Asset Owner Series with presenters collectively managing $960bn in retirement capital. The Asset Owner Series has already hosted senior investment industry leader attendees and speakers who directly and collectively oversee over $8.5 trillion in AUM across Insurance, Family Offices, Endowments, Foundations and Private Banks.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation estimates that about 30 million Americans are earning or receiving single employer pensions from the roughly 44,000 single employer pension plans in the US. While the financial crisis greatly impacted the funded status of these plans, they have recovered significantly since 2009. The discussion took the retirement challenges head on, starting with a keynote by Gina Wilson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at TIAA. Ms. Wilson spoke about the worldwide retirement crisis as one of the defining challenges of the 21st century caused by lack of adequate savings, decline in traditional 
pension plans in the private sector and global aging. The Financial crisis only exacerbated the effects of these factors driving rates to historic lows and putting pressure on retirement programs. She further elaborated the unique ways in which TIAA is creating solutions in this difficult environment.
The keynote was followed by a panel with Jason Bastedo, Director, Investments & Risk Management, Novartis; Jean Grisi, CIO and President, Nokia; Barbara Lupo, Director of Investment Management, Advance Publications and David Slifka, Senior Portfolio Manager, YMCA Retirement Fund. The panel was moderated by Diane Garnick, Managing Director, Chief Income Strategist, TIAA and Trustee, CFA Institute Research Foundation who recently published research on the gender gap in retirement. The panelists presented their personal outlook of markets & economy as it relates to the pension plans in the context of consensus views. The speakers tackled the question of Retirement Readiness and Lifetime Income from a participant perspective, especially with respect to the awareness & sophistication among plan participants regarding the plan options available to them. Knowing that participants don’t always make the best decisions, the speakers discussed steps their organizations have taken or plan to take to improve the governance process to help ensure financial security in retirement.
CFANY’s Asset Owner Series includes 10 evening programs in 2016 featuring asset owner CIOs who collectively oversee roughly 10 trillion assets. The Series will culminate with an Asset Manager CIO Roundtable featuring roughly 10 trillion in direct AUM oversight. According to OEDC and World Pensions Council estimates, there is approximately $95 trillion in institutional investor (asset owner and asset manager) AUM globally. CFANY’s Asset Owner Series will feature industry leaders who collectively and directly oversee roughly $20 trillion in AUM, or more than one-fifth of total institutional assets globally.
The Series is being spearheaded by volunteer leaders Thomas Brigandi, who founded the Asset Owner Series for CFANY; Deepika Sharma, CFA; Patrick Holert, CFA, CAIA; Jae Yoon, CFA; Roberto Peralta, CFA; Michael Oliver Weinberg, CFA; Robert Discolo, CFA, CAIA; Maria Weitzer, CFA; Alan Fields, CFA, CAIA, CPA; Kevin Maxwell, CFA; Gabriel Doz, CFA; Evelyn Yeow, CFA; and Christopher Cutler, CFA.
About CFANY
With a membership of nearly 9,000, the CFA Society New York, Inc. (CFANY) is the largest CFA® society in North America and a founding member of CFA Institute. Founded in 1937 by value investing pioneer Benjamin Graham, CFANY is a leading forum for the financial services industry and a provider of professional education and career development. In addition to delivering more than 200 events annually for its members, investment professionals and the general public, CFANY prepares hundreds of candidates to obtain the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) designation. CFANY is committed to promoting best practices and the highest ethical standards in finance. Visit www.cfany.org for more information.
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