Overview

This year’s CAASA Annual Conference, also known as CAC23 is our flagship, premier, and most coveted conference.

In partnership with Bodhi Research Group, founding educational partner, in the CAC series, CAASA is delighted to welcome you back to Montréal from November 7-8, 2023 at Hôtel William Gray.

Air Canada Booking Code for CAC 2023: – Delegates are encouraged to use this code for discounted Air Canada flights (10%-15% – Domestic; 12-15% International) which permits a travel window of 7 days before and 7 days after the event.: NTMRVM61

Who Attends?

The CAASA Annual Conference brings together speakers and participants from private and public pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, single and multi-family offices, consulting firms, investment dealers, Canadian and global investment management houses, and affiliated service providers. Panels and break-out sessions will focus on key issues facing investors and managers in Canada and elsewhere including structuring, legal & tax issues, IT and operational areas, and investments – including: hedge funds, CTAs, private equity, private lending, real estate, infrastructure, and crypto-assets/blockchain-related investments.

All content is subject to Chatham House Rule.

When

Please note that sessions from 11am to 5:50pmNovember 7, 2023 are exclusive to Speakers, Sponsors, and Investors.  The Welcome Reception from 5:30pm – 6:30pm is open to all registered delegates of the conference.  Due to capacity constraints, we are NOT providing a networking-only option – one must have a full-conference pass to attend any of the sessions.

  • November 7, 2023
  • 11:00 am – 6:00 pm EST
  • November 8, 2023
  • 8:00 am – 7:00 pm EST

Where

Hôtel William Gray

Hotel William Gray, 421 Rue Saint Vincent, Vieux-Montréal, QC H2Y 3A6

2023 Keynotes

2023 Faculty

Educational Partner

2023 Agenda

Please note this agenda is subject to change.

Day 1

  • November 7, 2023
  • 11:00 am – 6:30 pm

Day 2

  • November 8, 2023
  • 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

  • November 7, 2023
  • 11:00 am – 6:30 pm

Day 1 – Sponsors, Speakers & Investors Only + General Reception

11:00 am

Registration Opens – Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers ONLY

We welcome all CAASA members who are sponsors of the event as well as all speaker and investors (e.g., those employed by pensions, E&Fs, SWFs, single family offices, and certain wealth managers).

All other registered delegates are welcome to the General Reception in the evening.

12:00 pm

Welcome Remarks, Lunch & Content

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

Welcome to the Sixth CAASA Annual Conference in Montreal!

The growth of CAASA has occurred much because of the success of this event and this is due a great deal to the talent and hard work of Ranjan Bhaduri of Bodhi Research Group who organizes our programming for this (and predecessor events at another organization), our flagship, conference.

James Burron, CAASA
Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri, Bodhi Research Group

12:15 pm

Lunch Keynote – CIO Corner: Benchmarking and asset allocation in a volatile market

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

In a period of cross asset correlation breakdown and high sectoral volatility, both asset allocation needs to be re-examined and benchmarking, which is the foundation on which asset allocation is built,  also deserves serious thought. Jean-Francois Pepin and Pierre Belanger, two veteran CIOs, provide their insights on asset allocation and benchmarking.

In a period of cross asset correlation breakdown and high sectoral volatility, both asset allocation and benchmarking, the foundation on which asset allocation is built, deserve to be re-examined evaluated. Jean-Francois Pepin and Pierre Belanger, two veteran CIOs, provide their insights on asset allocation and benchmarking.

Pierre-Philippe Ste-Marie, Bodhi Research Group
Pierre Bélanger, Régime de retraite du personnel des CPE et garderies conventionnées du Québec (RRCPEGQ)
Jean-François Pepin, Bimcor

1:30 pm

Table Talks (managers) – Two x 25min session

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

Table Talks from the following sponsors:
Table 1 – Lyxor Asset Management
The Case for Investing in Diversifying Strategies Through a Managed Account Platform

Table 2 – Group RMC
Understanding Real Estate Royalties – Creating wealth from the ground up

Table 3 – Romspen Investment Corporation
Ask us Anything

Table 4 – HGC Investment Management
Ask us Anything

Table 5 – Cameron Stephens Equity Capital
The State of the Multi-Family Residential Real Estate Market in Canada

Table 6 – Capital Fund Management
Accessing alpha through multi-strategy futures strategies

Table 7 – Clifton Blake
Opportunities in Real Estate Thanks to Higher Rates

Table 8 – Cross Ocean Partners
The growing wave US and European bank sales of illiquid debt

Table 9 – Highbrook Investors
Barbell Opportunities in US & European Real Estate

Table 10 – Metori Capital Management
Using correlation in portfolio construction: does it add or destroy value?

Table 11 – MGG Investment Group
Why U.S. Non-sponsored Lending is Entering a Golden Era as Regional Banks Retrench

Table 12 – Farm Lending Canada
Planting Prosperity: The Canadian Agricultural Debt Market

Table 13 – Patrizia
Infrastructure Debt: A Formidable Friend in Turbulent Times

2:30 pm

Keynote – China’s Rise as Superpower: Deciphering Beijing’s Domestic Politics

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

The rivalry between China and the United States has come to a head. Western leaders talk of economic de-risking while Beijing speaks of the need to restore stability in trade relations. How did China transform from a poor, developing country to become the world’s second largest economy in the first place? How does the Chinese Communist Party maintain control over society and what are the political risks associated? As Canada navigates one of the thorniest periods in its relationship with China, it is imperative to take a deep dive into Beijing’s domestic politics. This Keynote lecture will take you there.

Dr. Diana Fu, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and Dept of Political Science, University of Toronto

3:15 pm

Quantum Computing Applied to Portfolio Management

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

With the rise of GPT and other language models, we have seen an immense interest in the AI space and its potential impacts on finance. We discuss another developing technology with the threat of being equally as disruptive: quantum computing. From breaking encryption to accelerating the speed of portfolio optimization, quantum computing is a challenge, but has the potential for increased advancement.

Dr. Niall Whelan, Bodhi Research Group

3:45 pm

Afternoon Break

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

Quick refresher before we get back to more great content!

4:00 pm

Absolute Return Portfolios

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

With increased uncertainty in the long-only markets, absolute return portfolios may play an even more prominent role in total portfolios. This panel of esteemed PMs discuss different strategies, their portfolio priorities, and portfolio construction techniques.

James Burron, CAASA
Raj Kohli, University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP)
Oleg Mogilny, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO)
Razvan Tonea, CAAT Pension Plan
Christoph Diedrich, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP)

4:45 pm

Effective Risk Management

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

This expert panel will examine risk management in a multidisciplinary and  multidimensional manner.  Preventive risk management via operational due diligence pre-investment in both public and private markets, legal & regulatory risk, reputation risk, market risk, and geo-political risk will be examined.

Harry Pagel, HedgeFacts
Stacy Joe, University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP)
Barbara Boucher, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)
Ju Hui Lee, United Nations Join Staff Pension Fund
Cordell Thomas II, General Motors Asset Management (GMAM)

5:00 pm

Registration Opens for All Delegates

5:30 pm

General Welcome Reception

All registered delegates are invited to this opportunity to meet and perhaps begin a more fulsome evening.

6:30 pm

End of day

We suggest that delegates use the conference messaging app to reach out to fellow conference goers if they wish to arrange other meetings/dinners.

The conference app will open on October 31st.

CAASA staff NEVER provide individuals’ contact information.

  • November 8, 2023
  • 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

Day 2 – All Delegates

8:00 am

Registration & Breakfast

Please arrive during this 30 minutes so we can start on time and keep to our busy schedule.

8:30 am

Opening Remarks & Curriculum Overview (for all delegates)

We’ll give you a brief overview of the day and how we created the curriculum for the day.

James Burron, CAASA
Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri, Bodhi Research Group

8:45 am

Economic Outlook – The Holy Grail: A normalized investing environment

We may all have forgotten what a normal investing environment used to look like: Positive real rates, an upward sloping yield curve, inflation that stabilized at relatively low levels, and the key to it all:  sustained higher economic growth.  Stock market leadership could be geared to current earnings, fueled by sustained economic growth, rather than mega-cap tech relying on sustained earnings growth.

Could equity leadership finally change?  This session will be a discussion of factors required, and developments to watch for.

Constance Everson, Capital Markets Outlook Group, Inc.

9:15 am

Keynote – Legends Lounge with Jim Keohane

Jim Keohane, retired President and CEO of HOOPP, and current Board Member of  AIMCO and Trans-Canada Capital, was the architect of HOOPP”s Liability Driven Investing. In this exciting CAASA session, Mr. Keohane will share his insights on inflation and provide nuggets of wisdom.

Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri, Bodhi Research Group
Jim Keohane, Former President and CEO of HOOPP

10:00 am

Private Eye

With an eye towards the privates, these industry experts, with different lenses, confer on its current state.

Annie Sorich, PSP Investments
Skip Cooper, Cooper Family Office
Eric Lemieux, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)
Tarik Serri, Trans-Canada Capital

10:45 am

1:1 meetings

This is everyone’s opportunity to meet – either as established via our conference meeting & messaging app or ad hoc.  We do not require a minimum number of meetings/interactions and encourage everyone to network at their own pace.

11:45 am

Machine Learning in Portfolio & Risk Management

This session dives into machine learning and its role in portfolio and risk management.

Dr. Niall Whelan, Bodhi Research Group
Dr. Tolga Cenesizoglu, HEC Montréal
Mohamed Khalfallah, PSP Investments

12:15 pm

Climate Change in Real Estate

Rising carbon levels have led to a surge in climate-related risks, which has injected significant uncertainty into financial markets, particularly physical assets, such as real estate and financial instruments that possess geographical components. This presentation will shed light on the latest evidence regarding these risks and provide valuable insights into managing climate-related financial uncertainties in real estate.

Dr. Erkan Yonder, John Molson School of Business – Concordia University

12:45 pm

Lunch Keynote – Legends Lounge II: The evolution of the Canadian derivatives market

The Canadian derivatives market has grown leaps and bounds since its origins in the 1980’s. Join us as Jean Turmel, a legend of the Canadian investment industry, brings us through its history and provides us with a vision of what could be its future.

Pierre-Philippe Ste-Marie, Bodhi Research Group
Jean Turmel, Nymbus Capital

Lunch served until 1:15pm only.  Keynote will be approximately 45 minutes.

2:00 pm

Table Talks (service providers) – Two x 25min session

Come join the discussions with the following CAASA members:
Table 1 – Preqin
The Future of Alternatives

Table 2 – Polymath
Tokenization: Why is Larry Fink so excited?

Table 3 – Sandbox Ltd.
Using interactive, visual technology to uncover unique fund attributes and build better portfolios

3:00 pm

Portfolio Perspectives: Navigating uncertainty in the current environment

This panel examines current opportunities and challenges in managing a portfolio through these turbulent times.

Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri, Bodhi Research Group
Mohamed Farid,
World Bank Pension
Matt Freedman, Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System

3:30 pm

1:1 meetings

This is everyone’s opportunity to meet – either as established via our conference meeting & messaging app or ad hoc.  We do not require a minimum number of meetings/interactions and encourage everyone to network at their own pace.

4:30 pm

Closing Reception

Thank you for being a part of this year’s CAASA Annual Conference.  We encourage those who are not otherwise engaged (e.g., heading to the airport) to find a friend and enjoy all that Montréal has to offer!

6:00 pm

End of Conference

Until next year!

Registration

End Investor means pensions, foundations/endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and single family offices. Intermediary investors means Multi-family offices, investment advsiors/dealers, wealth managers, and investment consulting companies and +1 means the first delegate is gratis but each additional delegate attracts a small charge. Manager and service provider delegates must be CAASA members in good standing and pay the requisite per person fee for their appropriate sub-category. Core service providers include prime brokers, fund administrators, and accounting and legal firms.

Member – Investor

Complimentary Registration for End Investors

Event Registration Closed

Non-Member – Investor

Complimentary Registration for End Investors

Event Registration Closed

Member – Service Provider

Event Registration Closed

Member – Manager

Event Registration Closed

Should you wish to register for this event, please contact Paul Koonar at paul@caasa.ca for additional information.

Thank You to Our 2023 Sponsors