2:00PM - 2:30PM Registration
2:30PM - 2:45PM Welcome and Introductions
2:45PM - 3:15PM Speaker: Shifting Bond Markets
Robert J. Costello III, CFA - Investment Director, Fixed Income, Putnam Investments
"A macro view on interest rates, inflation, and fixed income markets"
In the past, "too easy" monetary policy has led to significant mistakes by the Federal Reserve, as predictability is low and forecast errors can be significant during times of post economic shock. There is the potential for the Fed to make another misstep in their interpretation of economic signals which could bring higher volatility along the yield curve. We examine these past scenarios, assess the current macro environment, and discuss possible outcomes on rates and Fed policy.
3:15PM - 3:45PM Speaker: Fixed Income Strategies
Brad Young - Managing Director, Global Credit & Fixed Income, PineBridge Investments
"A micro view, exploring different strategies within the fixed income market"
What are the drivers of expected returns in a post-QE world and how do investors seek risk adjusted returns throughout the capital structure in 2014 and beyond. Are there implications of transitioning from benchmark thinking to go anywhere investing. How do investors evaluate risk and opportunity in EM and DM markets. Looking at all of these variables, how does a portfolio manager or investor navigate through this new landscape.
3:45PM - 4:00PM Networking Break
4:00PM - 4:30PM Speaker: Alternative Strategies
Wilbur Matthews - Principal, CEO, CIO, Vaquero Global Investment
"An alternative view, exploring diversification outside of traditional fixed income"
There are "alternative," opportunities that reside outside traditional fixed income indices. By digging into the details we find a very large pool of under-analyzed, "un-indexable" opportunities that offer compelling value in contrast to traditional fixed income. Rather than treat alternatives as a separate strategy, we suggest investors look at existing allocations to fixed income to target traditional and alternative strategies, tweaking allocations between these according to market conditions.
4:30PM - 5:00PM Panel Discussion / Roundtable
Ross H. Clary - Principal, Shepherd Kaplan LLC
"A roundtable discussion of different strategies for the fixed income allocation"
5:00PM - 6:00PM Closing Cocktail Reception
Additional details to be available soon
Date: April 22, 2014 from 2:00 - 6:00pm
Location: Winstead PC office in downtown Houston
Address: 600 Travis Street, 11th Floor
Validated Parking: at 601 Travis Street
Ross H. Clary Principal, Shepherd Kaplan LLC
Ross is a Principal of Shepherd Kaplan LLC (SK), a $10B Registered Investment Advisor based in Boston, MA. He has over 15 years of experience consulting to institutional retirement plans, family offices, and endowment and foundations in the areas of portfolio strategy, design, implementation and support. Prior to joining Shepherd Kaplan, Ross served as a senior consultant at RBC Wealth Management, where he was one of two senior consultants within the Institutional Consulting Group overseeing $1 billion in plan sponsor assets. He holds the Series 65 and Qualified Plan Financial Consultant (QPFC) designation and is a graduate of Texas A&M University.
Robert J. Costello III, CFA Investment Director, Fixed Income, Putnam Investments
Mr. Costello is an Investment Director in Putnam's Fixed Income group, dedicated to multi-sector core and unconstrained strategies. In this role, he is responsible for interpreting and communicating strategy, performance, and positioning to clients and prospects; developing and launching new fixed income products; and gathering and analyzing market intelligence on trends in the institutional marketplace. Mr. Costello, a CFA charterholder who holds his Series 7 and 63 licenses with FINRA, joined Putnam in 2011 and has been in the investment industry for 13 years.
Prior to joining Putnam, Mr. Costello was a Vice President in BlackRock's Global Client Group, serving as a fixed income client relationship manager to public and private pension plans, corporations, foundations, and endowments. He holds a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College.
Wilbur Matthews Principal, CEO, CIO, Vaquero Global Investment
Mr. Matthews is Vaquero's Founder and CIO with responsibilities for Portfolio Management, Trading, Research and Analysis. Established in 2007, Vaquero Global Investment is an investment advisory firm focused on emerging market credit opportunities with an emphasis on corporate finance, the largest and most dynamic segment of the emerging market fixed income universe. Today, Vaquero manages both traditional and hedged strategies through pooled and separate account vehicles. Prior to launching Vaquero, Mr. Matthews was a Portfolio Manager with AIG, where he built one of the largest EM credit efforts on Wall Street, generating consistently strong returns with below market volatility. With AIG, Mr. Matthews was able to structure numerous innovative, first-of-their kind financings and build a network of relationships spanning issuers, underwriters and investors throughout the emerging markets. Prior to AIG, Mr. Matthews was part of Chase's Institutional Investor #1 ranked EM Research Team where he was Sr. Economist for several Latin countries and a utility player in support of the Asian, European and America's Economics and Strategy teams. Mr. Matthews was individually ranked #1 for Peru coverage in 1999/2000 by Latin Finance. Prior to working in research, Mr. Matthews was a banker with Chemical/Chase, originating transactions for emerging market issuers. Mr. Matthews has 20 years of experience in finance and emerging markets, spanning a broad range of asset classes and has seen the market from various perspectives: as a portfolio manager, trader, sovereign analyst, corporate analyst and investment banker. Mr. Matthews holds a BA in Third World Studies and British History, University of the South at Sewanee, TN.
Brad Young Managing Director, Global Credit and Fixed Income, PineBridge Investments
Mr. Young joined PineBridge in 2010 in the Global Credit and Fixed Income division as an investment team member, and works closely with the global business development organization. Mr. Young is a seasoned investment management and global credit markets professional. His career spans over two decades in the financial services industry. His roles have included product management, business development, client portfolio management, and client relations. Mr. Young established and managed a distressed credit team at a boutique investment firm and has extensive experience in credit focused strategies. He received his BA in International Business and Economic Theories from the University of California Berkeley.