Overview

This year’s CAASA Annual Conference, also known as CAC26 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 3-4, 2026.

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


TBA
Please note that sessions from 11am to 5:50pm November 3, 2026 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 3, 2026
  • 11:00 am – 6:00 pm ET
  • November 4, 2026
  • 8:00 am – 7:00 pm ET

Where

Hôtel William Gray

421 R. Saint-Vincent, Montréal, QC H2Y 3A6

Room block: https://bit.ly/3TnNhf8

2026 Keynote Speakers

2026 Faculty

Educational Partner

2026 Agenda

Tentative – Please note this agenda is subject to change.

Day 1

  • November 3, 2026
  • 11:00 am – 6:30 pm

Day 2

  • November 4, 2026
  • 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

  • November 3, 2026
  • 11:00 am – 6:30 pm

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

11:00 am

Registration Opens – Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

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.

11:00 am

1:1 meetings

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

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

Lunch Service Begins

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

 

12:00 pm

Welcome Remarks

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

Welcome to the Eighth 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
Ranjan Bhaduri, Bodhi Research Group
Lauretta Chame, IMCO (Master of Ceremonies)

12:30 pm

Lunch Keynote – Evaluating Total Portfolio Performance: Pitfalls and Solutions

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

In this keynote address, Professor Betermier presents brand-new research showing that the more a fund departs from its reference portfolio to add value, the less reliably benchmark-relative performance measures skill. Separating skill from luck can require more than 20 years of data, far beyond the usual three- to five-year horizon. The talk proposes ways to interpret that uncertainty, isolate sources of value creation and improve benchmark selection.

Sebastien Betermier,
 McGill University

1:15 pm

Table Talk Session 1 (Managers)

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

2:15 pm

Break

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

2:30 pm

Top of the House: Integrating Asset Allocation, Portfolio Construction, and Risk Management

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

Decisions at the top of the house influence every part of the portfolio. As total portfolio approaches gain momentum, this panel examines how institutional investors are integrating asset allocation, portfolio construction and risk management, and what is proving effective in practice.

Han Yik, New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS)
Monica Firminger, Mastercard Foundation Asset Management
Bill Bobey, CPP Investments

3:15 pm

Table Talk Session 2 (Managers)

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

4:00 pm

Break

4:15 pm

Investment Opportunities across the Canadian Agricultural Ecosystem

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

This presentation will explore the private-market investment opportunity across Canada’s agriculture sector, with a focus on farmland and agtech. It will highlight key themes shaping investment across the agricultural ecosystem and provide an overview of FCC and FCC Capital’s role in supporting innovation, growth and investment in the sector.

Gabrielle Fangor, Farm Credit Canada

4:45 pm

All in the Family: Alpha Generation across Generations

Sponsors, Investors, & Speakers Only

Family offices invest with a perspective that often spans generations. This panel explores emerging trends across markets, managers and family priorities, and where family offices see opportunities for alpha today.

Louis-Philippe Roy, Joddes
Dennis Bobyk, Sagard Wealth
Loïc Julé, Richter
Anthony Berg, Forthlane Partners

5:00 pm

Registration Opens for All Delegates

5:15 pm

Welcome Reception and Networking – All Delegates

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.

  • November 4, 2026
  • 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. 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
Ranjan Bhaduri, Bodhi Research Group
Lauretta Chame, IMCO

8:45 am

Rates, Tariffs, Markets and Midterms: The Economic Landscape

Held the morning after the U.S. midterm elections, this session examines the forces shaping the economic outlook: interest rates, tariffs and trade policy, and market conditions. Two economists offer their perspectives on what lies ahead and the implications for investors.

Mark Shore, CME Group
Jean David Tremblay-Frenette, AIMCo

9:20 am

The Alpha Hunters: Best Ideas for 2027

The search for alpha never stops. Institutional investors share their highest-conviction investment ideas for 2027, from overlooked opportunities to emerging themes, and reveal where they see the most compelling prospects for generating returns in the year ahead.

Gerald Chen-Young, NPPFA – National Public Pension Fund Association
Adam Solan, Institute of Advanced Study
David Dong, University Pension Plan (UPP)

9:50 am

NowTalk: Climate Risk and Scenario Analysis

Climate risk is now a financial risk that allocators can model and manage. This session explains how scenario analysis helps investors translate climate uncertainty into measurable portfolio impacts, and what that means for risk management and decision-making.

Niall Whelan, Bodhi Research Group

10:15 am

Coffee Break

10:45 am

Credit Where Credit Is Due: Risk, Return and the Future of Private Credit

Private credit has become a core allocation in institutional portfolios. This panel of talented investment professionals examines the critical questions of risk, valuations, liquidity and returns, and how allocators are positioning their portfolios for what lies ahead.

Pierre-Philippe Ste-Marie, Bodhi Research Group
Aiman El-Nahas, University Pension Plan (UPP)
Matt Smagacz, Kansas State University Foundation

11:15 am

Investment Operations as a Strategic Function

Strong investment operations are a source of competitive advantage. This panel examines how operating model transformation, modernized trading and investment operations, and integrated risk and compliance enable investment teams to turn strategy into execution.

James Burron, CAASA
Bandhna Mamak, BCI
Cordell W. Thomas II , New York State Nurses Association Pension Plan and Benefits Fund (NYSNA)

11:45 pm

Lunch Service Begins

1:30 pm

Behind the Alpha: Hedge Funds in Depth, an Allocator’s Perspective

In this fireside chat, Hazlitt Gill goes behind the alpha with Yves Caron to explore how a major allocator selects managers, builds its hedge fund portfolio, and views the role of hedge funds in today’s markets.

Hazlitt Gill, BCI
Yves Caron, La Caisse

2:00 pm

1:1 meetings

3:00 pm

A MAP to Alpha: Managed Accounts as Allocator Best Practice

Managed account platforms offer institutional allocators enhanced transparency, control and governance. This panel explores how investors use managed accounts to strengthen risk oversight, customize mandates and access alpha more efficiently, and why the approach is increasingly regarded as best practice.

Caroline Bergeron, Innocap
Nicolas Lefevre-Laumonier, La Caisse
Christoph Dietrich, iA Financial Group (Industrial Alliance)

3:30 pm

An Analysis of Asset Returns Smoothing on Portfolio Performance and Volatilty Profile.

An analysis of the potential impact of asset returns smoothing on portfolio performance and volatility profile in up and down markets.

Jan Ericsson, McGill University
Pierre-Philippe Ste-Marie, Bodhi Research Group

4:00 pm

Protecting your tail from Correlation Risk

Do hedge funds really diversify? Drawing on 26 years of monthly index data, this research shows that hedge fund strategies vary widely in the benefits they offer. It proposes a framework for allocating to them according to a portfolio’s mandate and its exposure to correlation risk.

Mark Shore, CME Group

4:30 pm

Reception

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.

Service Provider

Members of CAASA

Register Now

Manager

Members of CAASA

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Investor

Members of CAASA

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Investor

Non-members of CAASA

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Thank You to Our 2026 Platinum Sponsor

Thank You to Our 2026 Gold Sponsors

Thank You to Our 2026 Silver Sponsors

Thank You to Our 2026 Bronze Sponsors

Thank You to Our 2026 Association Partner