Ranjan Bhaduri

PhD, CFA, CAIA

Founder & CEO – Bodhi Research Group

Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri (he/him) is the Founder & CEO of Bodhi Research Group, an advisory and consulting firm dedicated to research and education in the investments industry. Under Dr. Bhaduri’s leadership, Bodhi Research Group has served clients on five continents and worked with over a dozen pension funds.

Dr. Bhaduri is a leading voice and recognized authority in shaping best practices of the alternative investments industry. Dr. Bhaduri has 25 years of experience in manager research, portfolio construction, due diligence, structuring, and implementing managed account solutions. At Morgan Stanley, Dr. Bhaduri performed due diligence and played a crucial role in developing customized portfolios of alternative investments. He also served in an advisory capacity at the East-West Center, an American think tank focused on U.S.-Asia-Pacific relations.

Dr. Bhaduri has been a featured speaker at both industry conferences and prestigious educational institutions, educating both entrants and seasoned professionals in the field. He has addressed diverse topics ranging from entrepreneurship strategies to advanced portfolio and risk management techniques. Dr. Bhaduri’s academic contributions extend to publishing papers on a variety of topics including liquidity, portfolio construction, managed account platforms, hedge fund strategies, and risk management in esteemed publications.

Dr. Bhaduri holds both the CFA and CAIA charters. Previously, he served on the All About Alpha Editorial Board and held roles such as Executive of the CAIA Chicago Chapter and currently serves as Executive of the CAIA Toronto Chapter. He has also contributed to AIMA Canada as a Board Member, co-chair of the Managed Futures Committee, and member of the Global Research Committee.

Dr. Bhaduri has demonstrated a strong track record of leadership and mentorship. Several of his former analysts and interns have achieved notable success, securing positions at renowned organizations.

Sandy Poiré

CFA, MBA

Senior Investment Officer – CN Investment Division

Sandy Poiré is a Senior Investment Officer for the absolute return team at the CN Investment Division. In her current role she is responsible for the allocation to external managers for the hedge fund portfolio. Sandy joined the Division in 2011 and was initially responsible for the industrials sector for the Divisions’ European, Asia-Pacific and Emerging Markets equity portfolios.

Sandy graduated from the John Molson School of Business (Concordia University) with a Bachelor of Commerce degree and was the Valedictorian of her graduating class. She also received the Calvin Potter Fellowship from Concordia’s Kenneth Woods Portfolio Management Program. Sandy is a CFA charterholder since 2014 and completed a Master’s in Business Administration at Queen’s University in 2017.

Sandy is Vice President and chair of the governance committee of the board of CFA Montreal and is also an ambassador for Fillactive, an organization aiming to promote physical activities to young Canadian women.

Vincent Zhou

CFA, FRM

Portfolio Manager, External Manager Selection – Redjay Asset Management

Vincent is a portfolio manager at Redjay Asset Management, a spin-out asset management firm from a Toronto based single family office. As a PM, he’s responsible for portfolio construction and manager selection for Redjay’s external funds program. Prior to joining Redjay in 2021, Vincent was a director at Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund where he was responsible for manager selection for the $2B absolute return program.

Vincent has a Mathematics degree from University of Waterloo. He’s also a CFA Charter holder.

Jim Geoghegan

CFA

Deputy Head of Investments – Prime Quadrant

Jim is the Deputy Head of Investments of Prime Quadrant.

Jim has a wealth of experience gained from his 15-year tenure at CPP Investments as well as from his position as a Visiting Researcher at Bodhi Research Group. While at CPP Investments in Toronto and Hong Kong, Jim gained broad and diverse experience across several areas including investment research and due diligence, asset allocation, portfolio construction, financial modeling, relationship management and business planning. A notable highlight of Jim’s CPP Investments tenure was his experience building and managing a variety of global investment portfolios, and he was a key contributor to the growth of the firm’s emerging market portfolio. Jim’s investment experience spans both public and private markets.

Jim received a Bachelor of Arts in Honors Business Administration from the Ivey Business School and holds the CFA charter.

Outside of work, Jim can be found paddleboarding, cycling with his family, or attending Paw Patrol concerts with his young daughters. He has also enjoyed supporting efforts to expand life-saving stem cell donations.

Kevin Craney

Relationship Manager – Milburn Services, LLC – Family Office

Kevin Craney is a seasoned investment professional with extensive experience managing alternative investments, client relationship management, business development, and portfolio management. Currently serving as a Relationship Manager with a single-family office in Charlotte, NC, he is responsible for overseeing investment portfolios for family office clients, conducting ongoing due diligence on investment managers, regularly participating in investment committee meetings, and serving as secretary. Kevin brings a wealth of experience in hedge funds and other alternative investment strategies.

Kevin’s career has also involved leadership roles at OASIS Investment Strategies, LLC, where he was an integral part of a team that launched a hedge fund-managed account platform.  At OASIS, Kevin was responsible for business development, raising capital from institutions, family offices, and HNW investors. Kevin actively participated in hedge fund due diligence. Kevin has also worked as an investment and derivative consultant, where he led portfolio management, execution of futures trading strategies, risk management initiatives, macro market analysis, client onboarding, and relationship management.

Nirupa Muthurajah

Associate Director, Public Equity – University Pension Plan

As Associate Director, Public Equity at University Pension Plan, Nirupa leads the construction and oversight of the Active Public Equity portfolio for UPP. In her role, she is responsible for research and due diligence of long-only equity managers as well as the long-term strategic direction of the Active Public Equity Portfolio.

Nirupa’s career spans Canada’s top pension plans, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and CPP Investments, as well as a prominent Canadian Family Office. Her experience encompasses diverse roles across private and public markets, covering various asset classes. She has helped build and maintain global systematic investment strategies, structure hedge fund and fixed income external manager portfolios, spent time in Hong Kong supporting direct lending activities to companies in the Asia-Pac region and has experience investing in early to late-stage private equity as well as public investment strategies.

Nirupa holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Financial Mathematics with Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. Outside of her professional pursuits, Nirupa enjoys spending time with her family, including her two young daughters, and is a proud ambassador for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, an organization dear to her heart.

Harry Pagel

Senior Vice President – HedgeFacts

Harry Pagel serves as the Senior Vice President at HedgeFacts, bringing with him an extensive career spanning nearly three decades in the financial industry. His journey commenced on the iconic Wall Street, where he gained invaluable experience at Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc., specializing in Middle Market Institutional Equity Sales.

Harry’s professional trajectory includes over a decade spent at SCT Capital Management, a trailblazing machine learning hedge fund, where he held the esteemed position of Managing Director in Sales & Trading. In this capacity, he not only spearheaded business development efforts but also assumed responsibility for overseeing the firm’s execution trading operations, showcasing his multifaceted expertise.

Throughout his illustrious career, Harry has made notable contributions to various financial organizations, including Typhon Capital Management and Oppenheimer & Co. He also embarked on an entrepreneurial journey that lasted for four years, co-founding a boutique asset management firm and demonstrating his entrepreneurial spirit and innovative approach to the industry. Harry Pagel’s wealth of experience, coupled with his proven track record in sales, trading, and business development, positions him as a seasoned leader in the financial sector. His enduring commitment to the field and diverse professional background make him a valuable asset to HedgeFacts and a respected figure in the financial community.

Lauretta Chame

CFA

Senior Associate, IMCO

Lauretta CHAME, CFA is a francophone financial professional with a unique global perspective, having lived, studied, and worked across four countries—Cameroon, France, the USA, and most recently Canada—spanning three continents over the past 18 years. Her interest in foreign languages, including English, German, and Spanish, reflects her dedication in connecting the world through her global insights and cultural fluency.

Lauretta began her career 8 years ago at BNP Paribas in Paris, where she held various roles in both public and private investments markets, including a leadership position. A year ago, she relocated to Toronto, where she currently serves as a Senior Associate in the infrastructure department at IMCO, primarily supporting the deal team and preparing performance reports for clients.

She is a CFA Charterholder and holds a master’s degree in Finance. Additionally, she is an active member of the CFA Society Toronto’s Institutional Asset Management Committee.

Pierre‐Philippe Ste‐Marie

Visiting Researcher – Bodhi Research Group

Kristaps Licis

Director of Exams – CAIA Association

Kristaps Licis has served as the Director of Exams at the CAIA Association since 2022 and as the Senior Associate Director of Exams from 2008 until 2022. He works in all areas of the examination process, including, but not limited to, managing CAIA’s exam team, item development, exam design, item analysis, and exam delivery. Prior to joining the CAIA Association, Kristaps worked at Alternative Investment Analytics as a senior analyst.

Cordell W. Thomas II

Director of Operations – New York State Nurses Association Pension Plan and Benefits Fund

Cordell is the Director of Operations at the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) Pension Plan and Benefits Fund.  He is responsible for leading operational due diligence reviews and broader operations functions within NYSNA.

Prior to NYSNA, Cordell served within General Motors Asset Management’s (GMAM) Enterprise Risk Management team; and was responsible for leading operational due diligence reviews on both alternative and traditional asset managers within GM’s Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution plans across the US, Canada, Belgium, and the UK.

Prior to GMAM, Cordell worked at Mercer Sentinel, Mercer Investments’ operational due diligence consulting group.  While at Mercer Sentinel, Cordell performed operational due diligence on alternative and traditional asset managers for both external and internal clients.

During his over 20 years’ experience in the asset management industry, Cordell has served in various roles within reputable firms including Citco Fund Services, Société Générale and BNY Mellon Wealth Management.  He has worked with both alternative and traditional asset managers of various sizes and geographic locations including North America, Europe, and Asia.

Derek Lublin

MBA

Senior Director, Global Alpha, External Managers – PSP Investments

Derek Lublin is Senior Director in the Global Alpha group at the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments). Based in New York, Mr. Lublin’s responsibilities are focused on external manager investments, including fund and special investment opportunities. Mr. Lublin identifies and evaluates managers, strategies, and co-investment opportunities globally across asset classes, and designs portfolios to meet the organization’s return, risk, and liquidity objectives.

Prior to joining PSP Investments, Mr. Lublin was a Portfolio Manager in the Absolute Return Strategies group at General Motors Asset Management. His primary responsibilities included asset allocation and manager research, selection, and oversight for various General Motors entities.

Mr. Lublin has previous experience with Tribeca Global Management and Citigroup Alternative Investments, a multi strategy hedge fund where he was responsible for manager evaluation, risk management and portfolio construction. Prior to Citigroup, Mr. Lublin founded the investment advisory firm DML Capital Management.

Mr. Lublin received his undergraduate degree from University of Michigan and earned his MBA from Columbia Business School.

Angela Lin-Reeve

CFA

Senior Portfolio Manager, External Managers Program – HOOPP

Angela Lin-Reeve joined the Investment Management Team at Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) in 2023 as Senior Portfolio Manager, External Manager Program.  In this role, Angela oversees a portfolio of absolute return strategies that intends to complement HOOPP’s internal trading capabilities and provides exposure to a wide range of strategies and asset classes.

Prior to joining HOOPP, Angela held the position of Director, Pension Investments at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) where she managed external manager portfolios in public and private equities, infrastructure, and hedge funds.

Angela began her career at Russell Investments, taking on increasingly senior roles as Portfolio Analyst, Associate PM and Director, Product Development and Strategy.

Angela holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Philippe Trahan

FCIA, ICD.D

ILS Institutional Investor

Philippe Trahan is one of the longest-tenured ILS institutional investors, having developed and overseen ILS portfolio  for Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) between 2007 and February 2024.  During that time, he built and oversaw one of the largest and most diverse ILS portfolios, with US$3.5B assets invested across Natural Catastrophe, Specialty, Runoff and Life strategies.  He backed numerous innovations aimed at developing the ILS marketplace, notably being the first London Bridge investor, the first ILS investor active in cyber, casualty, runoff and nuclear risks.  Prior to OTPP, Philippe spent five years at Aon Re Canada in actuarial and broking roles.  Philippe is involved in a number of cross-industry initiatives, including the Sustainable Financial Action Council, the United Nation’s Climate Insurance-Linked Resilient Infrastructure Financing and the SBAI’s ILS Working Group.  Philippe is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Kirk Sims

CFA

Managing Director of Emerging Managers Program – TRS Investment Management Division

Kirk Sims heads TRS’ Emerging Manager Program. Since being established in 2005, TRS has committed $5.9 billion to one of the largest programs of its kind. An additional $4.6 billion has been invested directly with EM Program graduates. Each graduate was selected as a result of consistent outperformance among a group of more than 218 EM managers.

Sims joined the Teacher Retirement System of Texas on March 1, 2019. Before joining Texas Teachers, he was a Senior Investment Officer for the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois. Sims had oversight and management responsibility of TRS’s Emerging Manager Program, a $750 million evergreen pool of capital designed to identify and invest in emerging investment managers across all asset classes.

Prior, Sims worked at Prudential Retirement where he was responsible for a manager of manager’s retirement platform as well as an open architecture investment platform.  He also has a background in asset management and has held various positions with both large and small asset managers.

Sims is a CFA charter holder and holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.  He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University in Washington, DC.

Maria Clara Rendon

Senior Director, Responsible Investing – University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP)

Maria Clara Rendon is a noted responsible investing specialist, with more than 12 years of experience in the assessment and management of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in a wide variety of industries. Her work focuses on the implementation of responsible investing practices by asset owners and managers in both North America and Latin America.

As Senior Director, Responsible Investing at University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP), Maria Clara supports the development and execution of UPP’s Responsible Investing (RI) strategy. She works closely with internal and external partners to ensure a seamless integration of ESG factors into UPP’s investment process and implementation of stewardship practices on behalf of over 37,000 UPP members.

Maria Clara holds a Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering from the National University of Colombia and earned a Master of Science, Sustainability Management from Columbia University in New York, NY.

Wagner Dada

CFA, PhD

Managing Director, Systematic Strategies Group, Capital Markets & Factor Investing – CPP Investments

Wagner oversees a global portfolio of systematic absolute return strategies in the macro space focusing on interest rates, currencies, and commodities at CPP Investments. Before his current role, he was previously focused on portfolio construction efforts in the global tactical and asset allocation group.

Prior to joining CPP Investments, Wagner was a Quantitative Portfolio Manager responsible for the development, research and management of a global macro multi-asset systematic strategy at Tudor Investment Corporation. 

Wagner holds a PhD degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge. He is a CMT and CFA charterholder.

Shael Soberano

CFA

Chief Investment Officer – Sharno Group Inc.

Shael Soberano, CFA, is the Chief Investment Officer of Sharno Group, a privately owned independent principal investment group and family office focused on identifying strategic, value-add investment opportunities across a wide range of traditional and alternative asset classes and strategies.

Shael is also the President & CEO, Portfolio Manager & Chief Compliance Officer of Sharno Capital Corporation, a registered Exempt Market Dealer and Portfolio Manager with the Ontario Securities Commission, and distributes securities in Ontario to eligible Accredited Investors.

Prior to Sharno Group, Shael Soberano was Vice President, Senior Analyst at Vision Capital Corporation, a leading Toronto-based Hedge Fund manager focused on publicly traded real estate related securities. Shael first joined Vision Capital as an Analyst in 2009, shortly after its inception. He was promoted to Vice President, Senior Analyst in 2014, and was registered as an Advising Representative with the Ontario Securities Commission in 2017. With a wide range of roles spanning both business development and investment management initiatives, Shael’s contributions were integral in growing Vision Capital’s assets under management and contributed to its award-winning risk-adjusted performance over that period.

Shael is a CFA Charterholder and completed the Bachelor of Management and Organizational Studies Honours Degree with a Specialization in Finance at the University of Western Ontario. Shael completed the Partners, Directors, and Senior Officers (PDO) Course in 2019 and the Canadian Securities Course (CSC) in 2010, provided by the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI).

Jamy Kallikaden

Managing Director, Portfolio Design & Construction – CPP Investments

Jamy is the head of the Sustainable Design team within the Total Fund Management Department. She is responsible for incorporating climate change into CPP Investment’s Strategic Asset Allocation and provides guidance on both public and private investments as a member of CPP Investment’s Sustainable Investing Committee. She has more than a decade of experience in energy markets and sustainable finance, having worked in capital markets, trading energy commodities, and value-based investing. Jamy joined CPPIB in 2015, after working on the physical oil and natural gas desk for Macquarie’s Energy Markets Division in Houston, Texas. Jamy holds a BA in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from the University of Waterloo.

Niall Whelan

PhD

Risk Executive – Bodhi Research Group

Niall Whelan is a risk executive with over twenty years experience implementing new and emerging industry practices and regulations. He is a trusted change agent, experienced at leading complex cross-functional initiatives. Areas of specialisation include climate scenario modelling, enterprise risk, enterprise stress testing, credit modelling for IFRS 9 and CECL, and models for market and counterparty credit risk. Niall is a thought leader who has presented in industry forums, has led training sessions, has published peer-reviewed papers, and teaches the next generation of risk leaders.

He has been a trusted mentor and coach for numerous individuals throughout his career, many of whom are now in senior roles across the industry. Niall coordinates the risk course at the Master’s of Mathematical Finance at the University of Toronto as well as serving on the academic advisory board of the Masters of Quantitative Finance at the University of Waterloo.

Prior to joining forces with Bodhi Research Group, Niall spent over 20 years at the Bank of Nova Scotia leading teams involved in various aspects of risk. Previously he was an academic researcher, investigating the boundary between classical and quantum physics. He is the author of dozens of research papers which have garnered thousands of citations. His research took him to leading research institutes in Copenhagen and Paris.

He holds a PhD in theoretical physics from Yale University.

Yves Caron

CFA, MBA

Senior Director, Funds Private MarketS – CDPQ Funds Management

Yves Caron is a Senior Director, Funds Private Markets, at CDPQ Funds Management. Currently focused on private credit, he has experience across liquid and illiquid markets, emerging managers and GP stakes. Prior to CDPQ, he was a portfolio manager at a multi-family office and at a FOHF.

Yves’ experience in finance is complemented by knowledge of information technology. He worked as a consultant in IT strategy at Deloitte and founded a digital archiving service. He has a MBA from HEC Montreal and a bachelor of science (honors biochemistry) from McGill University.

Jeremy Heer

CFA, CAIA

Managing Director, Investment Research and Engagement – University of Illinois Foundation

Marc Gauthier

CPA, CMA

University Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer – Concordia University

Mr. Gauthier is responsible for the corporate finances oversight and management of Concordia University, including, for its investments portfolio, the Pension Plan and Intergenerational Fund but as well the University’s capital investments, financing and corporate risk portfolios. He has been employed by Concordia University for 34 years and has obtained his CMA and graduated from Finance and Accounting at Concordia University as well as from Queen’s Executive Program.

Jason Taylor

CFA, CAIA, MBA

Founder & CEO – Climate Finance Advisors

Jason Taylor is a capital markets professional with over 20 years of experience and founder of Climate Finance Advisors a boutique sustainable investing and environmental finance firm. In recent years he led the development of the sustainable finance strategy for two Canadian banks working in close collaboration with groups across the bank and capital markets. A frequent conference panelist and public speaker covering topics ranging from transition finance, taxonomies, sustainable finance regulation, Jason has also participated in a number industry standard setting workstreams to accelerate the mainstreaming of sustainable finance in Canada.

He is an advocate for using the power of capital to influence systemic change and contribute to building just, faire, and resilient communities. Experienced in ESG integration, thematic investing, and sustainable investing, his work focuses on crowding-in capital to shrink the funding gap in a financially efficient manner. He completed an MBA focused in sustainability, strategy, and innovation management at McGill/HEC Montreal, where he was named to the Poets & Quants 2019 100 best & Brightest list. He has completed certificate programs on topics ranging from ESG reporting, ESG integration, climate finance, GHG accounting, and energy innovation. He is a CFA and CAIA charterholder. His recent volunteering experience relates to mentoring student-athletes in the Parcours Leadership Carabins program at the University of Montreal founded by Robert Dutton, through the McConnel Foundation’s Solutions Finance Accelerator in 2020, and as a board and investment committee member of the Foundation of Greater Montreal.

Hugues Bessette

CFA

Chief Investment Officer – Innocap

Hugues Bessette serves as the Chief Investment Officer at Innocap since 2017. In this role, he leads a global investment team dedicated to empowering asset managers with strategic allocation insights. Hugues is committed to providing allocators with unparalleled access to and oversight of absolute return strategies.

Prior to joining Innocap, Hugues was the Managing Director and Head of Internal Absolute Return at PSP Investments in Montreal from 2004 to 2016. During his tenure, he played a key role in PSP’s Public Markets Investment Committee and managed the Public Markets overlay portfolio.

Prior to PSP, he gained valuable experience as a Strategist at Bear Stearns International in London, covering central banks and hedges funds, as a fixed-income portfolio manager at CN Investment, and in the Treasury department of the National Bank of Canada.

Hugues hold a bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Sciences and a Master’s in Finance (M.Sc) from Laval University as well as a CFA designation.

Hazlitt Gill

Managing Director, Partnership Portfolios – BCI

Hazlitt Gill joined BCI’s Partnership Portfolio team in 2022 and leads the group’s absolute return fund program. Prior to joining BCI, Hazlitt spent over 13 years at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, most recently as Senior Vice President and Head of Alternatives Manager Research. Hazlitt also worked as CIO of RLJ Select Investments and Vice President of Alternative Investments at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management. Hazlitt has more than 25 years of capital markets experience primarily in alternative investments.

Jean-François Bérubé

PhD

Vice President, Quantitative Strategies and Data Science – CDPQ

Jean-François has over 15 years of professional experience in digital technology and quantitative investment. He held various leadership roles at Hexavest and Desjardins International Asset Management before joining CDPQ in January 2022.

As Vice-President, Quantitative Strategies and Data Science, Jean-François is responsible for developing and managing systematic and quantitative investment strategies. He is also responsible for pre- and post-investment analytics on liquid and illiquid CDPQ’s portfolios. Lastly, he has the mandate to accelerate and expand the integration of data science into the organization’s investment processes.

Jean-François holds a PhD and Master’s degree in computer science from University of Montreal (2008 and 2004), as well as a Master’s and Bachelor’s in Economics from University of Montreal (2000 and 1999). In addition to his experience at Hexavest and Desjardins International Asset Management, Jean-François served as Quantitative Analyst at CDPQ from 2007 to 2009 and was a Research Professional at CIRANO from 2000 to 2003.

Zarqaa Shaikh

CFA, MBA

Managing Director, Completion Portfolio Strategies, Total Portfolio Management – OPTrust

Zarqaa Shaikh is Managing Director of Completion Portfolio Strategies in the Total Portfolio Management (TPM) group at OPTrust. With net assets of $25 billion, OPTrust invests and manages the OPSEU Pension Plan, a defined benefit plan with over 110,000 active members and retirees.

In her role, Zarqaa is responsible for co-leading the public markets portfolio to complete the Total Fund’s risk factor exposure and enhance the Fund’s risk and return profile. In addition, Zarqaa provides strategic direction on the Plan’s externally managed public-market investments. Zarqaa also manages several venture capital relationships within TPM’s technology incubation portfolio.

Before joining OPTrust in September 2017, Zarqaa spent close to four years working in private equity at Starling Group, a family office in Dubai, and allocating capital across North America, Europe and Asia.

 Zarqaa holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. She is also a CFA Charterholder.

Steve Mahoney

CFA, CAIA, FSA, PRM

Chief Investment Officer – NS Pension

Guillaume Lavoie

Director, Strategic Asset Allocation – PSP Investments

Guillaume has been serving for over a decade at PSP Investments in various roles in to Total Fund management and asset allocation. Currently, he is responsible for creating mandates and benchmarks for all asset classes and is directly involved in establishing PSP’s long-term strategic asset allocation, including the integration of climate considerations. In his functions, he plays a key role in researching and developing of all new asset classes and strategies with the various investment teams.

John Simitzis

Senior Director, Pension Fund Investments – Kruger Inc.

John Simitzis is Senior Director of Pension fund investments at Kruger Inc. In this capacity he manages the investment team and reports to the different stakeholders such as Management, the Investment Committee, the Public Board of Directors as well as representatives of the 16 underlying defined benefit pension plans. In his 12 years at the firm, he previously oversaw the Hedge Fund allocation and built up the non-IG credit and lending portfolio (fixed income alternative).

He also ran an equity long short portfolio and helped develop a large-scale Bitcoin mining operation for Kruger Inc.

John holds an M.Sc. in Financial Economics from HEC Montreal.
He taught a Bachelor’s degree derivatives class at HEC Montreal as a lecturer in 2016.

Louis-Philippe Roy

Director of Investments – Joddes

Louis-Philippe Roy joined Joddes in August 2021 as Director of Investments. He has spent over 15 years in various roles that span private markets due diligence, portfolio management, risk management and sell-side trading at various Canadian institutions. In his current role, he is responsible for the day-to-day management of the investment portfolio, including asset allocation as well as manager sourcing in both public and private markets.

Prior to joining Joddes, Louis-Philippe worked at TD Asset Management Inc. (TDAM). As part of the Quantitative Equity team, he co-managed TDAM’s quantitative equity portfolios, with a focus on the systematic alpha mandates.

Before joining TDAM, Louis-Philippe worked as an Associate Director of Proprietary Risk & Investments for a large Canadian financial institution, where he was responsible for trading, hedging, and risk management.

Louis-Philippe holds a Master of Financial Economics from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. He also holds the Chartered Investment Manager designation.

Kabil Jaa

Director of Transversal Risk – PSP Investments

Loïc Julé

Head of Public Markets, Hedge Funds and Direct Investments Transactions – Richter Family Office

Mr. Loïc Julé has more than 25 years of experience in financial markets, he spent most of his career working for large Canadian pension plans. Mr Julé currently serves as the head of public markets, absolute return and direct investment transactions at Richter Family Office overseeing all investments made through external managers as well as direct and co-investments. Prior to Richter, Mr Julé spent 14 years at PSP Investment where he served as the Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets Alternatives in his last role, overseeing a portfolio composed of an externally managed portfolio of absolute return strategies as well as an internally managed Opportunistic / Special Situations portfolio. Prior to joining PSP Investments, Mr. Julé spent four years at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) as an Analyst in the Absolute Return group.

Prior to CDPQ, Mr. Julé was a derivatives sales trader at BNP Paribas Equities, France, in Paris. He began his career at the Compagnie Parisienne de Réescompte (CPR) in Paris, working in its brokerage unit.

Mr. Julé earned a Master degree specialized in Financial Engineering from the Institut Supérieur D’Études Financières et d’Ingénierie – Groupe École Supérieure de Commerce de Marseille – France in 1998.

James Burron

CAIA

Founding Partner

James co-founded CAASA in response to industry support for a Canadian alternatives association to serve all aspects including: hedge / alternative strategies; private lending; private real estate; private equity; plus emerging areas where Canada is a leader such as digital assets / blockchain and robo-advisors.

Prior to CAASA, James was the Chief Operating Officer of AIMA Canada where his team of three worked with 12 committees to produce 50-60 events per annum across Canada, organize 100+ committee meetings, and increase member numbers over his 7-year tenure from 66 to 164 corporate entities.

James also has experience in research and writing for the CAIA Association as well as serving on CAIA’s Exam Council and as a grader for the Level II portion of the exam. He also had roles in institutional sales and FoHF structuring in Seoul, South Korea, as a Product Manager at ICICI Wealth Management, and an Investment Advisor at RBC Dominion Securities. He graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BBA (Finance).