Sandra Ackermann-Schaufler Managing Principal, Portfolio Strategist

Meketa Investment Group

Ms. Ackermann-Schaufler joined Meketa Investment Group in 2020 and has been in the investment industry for more than 20 years.  She is an accomplished capital allocation and investment executive with many years of experience managing assets across market capitalization and geographic regions for institutional clients, pension plans, foundations, endowments, and retail clients.  As Portfolio Strategist and Consultant, Ms. Ackermann-Schaufler provides portfolio solutions and services for discretionary and non‑discretionary clients.

Ms. Ackermann-Schaufler is a member of the firm’s Marketable Securities Investment Committee, the ESG Investing Committee, and the Emerging and Diverse Manager Committee.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Ackermann-Schaufler spent over 10 years at SEI Investments as senior portfolio manager covering global, international and emerging market equities.  She was responsible for managing portfolios as well as overseeing research selection and ongoing evaluation within SEI funds.  Previously, Ms. Ackermann-Schaufler was a senior international equity analyst and portfolio manager of Merrill Lynch’s multi manager strategies.  Earlier in her career, she served as chief investment officer and lead portfolio manager for three international closed-end mutual funds at Deutsche Asset Management.  She has also worked in diverse roles related to asset management at HVB Capital Markets, Deutsche Asset Management, and Allianz Asset Management in the US and Germany.

Ms. Ackermann-Schaufler is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, a member of 100 Women in Finance and a frequent speaker at industry conferences.  She earned a Master of Science in International Economic Sciences from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.  She is fluent in English, German, French, and Spanish.

Sunita Advaney Director, National Accounts

Principal Global Investors

Sunita Advaney is a Director for National Accounts at Principal Global Investors (PGI).  PGI is the asset management division of the Principal Financial Group.  Sunita joined the firm in April 2014 and is responsible for developing new national account relationships across Sub-Advisory, Mutual Fund, ETF, VIT, CIT & Private Real Estate Fund opportunities. Prior to her current role, Sunita was a Director at Munder Capital Management, Wells Capital Management and VP at Deutsche Asset Management.  In all of these capacities, she was charged with building the Sub-Advisory, DCIO & Trust/Private Bank distribution channels.  She has 20 years of industry experience developing various institutional business lines.  She received a bachelor's degree in International Business from Hofstra University.  She holds licenses for Series 3, 6, 63 and 7.

Julie Allecta Independent Trustee

Salient-Forward Funds and Litman Gregory Masters Funds

Laurent Auchlin Managing Partner

Anglo-Swiss Advisors

Laurent Auchlin is Managing Partner and co-founder of Anglo-Swiss Advisors, a consulting firm dedicated to Manager and Fund Selection for Private Banks, Pensions and Family Offices, he has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry.

He has spent nearly all of the past 25 years in manager and fund selection. He was most recently in charge of a new service dedicated to ultra-high net worth individuals at Credit Suisse in Zürich – where he set-up the first SMA platform in Europe.

Between 2000 and 2015, Laurent co-launched and headed one of the largest and most influential manager and fund selection teams in the industry, the Open Architecture Department at Swiss private bank Lombard Odier in Geneva. He launched several propositions – such as multi-manager, manager of managers, single strategy and multi-asset vehicles. More recently, he established the white-labelled SICAV dedicated to external managers (PrivilEdge SICAV).

Laurent has been asked to join several international panels as a manager selector expert. He has also been in charge of direct equity portfolio management and multi-manager programmers.

Brian Bader Partner, Senior Vice President

Axiom Investors

Partner, Senior Vice President /Client Service and Marketing, Axiom Investors, 2016-Present Principal & Head of Sales, Rainier Investment Management, Inc., 2007-2016 Senior VP, Head of Sub-Advisory and National Accounts, US Trust, 2003-2007 Director, Head of Sub-Advisory, Deutsche Asset Management, 1999-2003 VP, Business Manager for Equity Businesses, Bankers Trust, 1995-1999 Operations Manager, Bankers Trust, 1993-1999 Senior Consultant, Price Waterhouse Management Consulting, 1991-1993 Vice President, Citibank, 1987-1991 Manager, Mutual Fund Accountants, Bradford Trust Company, 1983-1987 B.S., Economics, State University of NY at Albany

Tim Baldes Partner, Investment Manager Research

Edward Jones

Edward Jones Principal Tim Baldes leads the Edward Jones Investment Manager Research team, which provides branch teams with guidance on the firm’s mutual fund, exchange-traded fund and separately managed account (SMA) offerings. The team is also responsible for the recommendations and performance of the sub-advisers in the Bridge Builder Mutual Funds and Edward Jones Money Market Fund.

In his role leading the team, Tim is responsible for the overall performance of the investment recommendations across a variety of investment solutions that help clients meet their long-term goals and objectives. He also serves on the Advisory Investment Committee, which is responsible for the investment oversight of Edward Jones Advisory Solutions, Bridge Builder Mutual Funds and Edward Jones Money Market Fund. He was named an Edward Jones principal in 2019.

Tim began his Edward Jones career in 2008 in Investment Advisory, providing investment advice for the firm’s advisory programs. He joined Investment Manager Research in 2011 and was responsible for providing recommendations for invest-ment strategies across a number of different asset classes. In 2015, he joined the Portfolio Construction Team as a portfolio manager responsible for asset allocation and investment selection and in managing the discretionary multi-asset portfolios within Edward Jones Advisory Solutions®. He also helped launch and manage a number of the Bridge Builder Mutual Funds, a suite of multi-sub-adviser funds utilized in the firm’s advisory investment platforms.

A native of St. Louis, Tim graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University Chicago with a finance degree and earned an MBA from Loyola's Quinlan School of Business. He is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA Society of St. Louis. He also holds the CAIA® professional designation.

He and his wife, Courtney, have two daughters, Josie and Emerson.

Robert Boyda Former Head of Capital Markets & Strategy, Senior Portfolio Manager

Manulife Asset Management

Robert Boyda is the former head of Capital Markets and Strategy, senior portfolio manager, and co-head of the asset allocation team at Manulife Asset Management. Bob was responsible for capital markets strategy including all economic and forward-looking asset class views. During his 24 year tenure, Bob pioneered the development and growth of the firm’s manager due diligence processes, and over US $100bn in asset allocation solutions for individual and institutional investors in the US, Canada, and Asia.

Jayson Bronchetti President

Lincoln Investment Advisors

Jayson Bronchetti is President of Lincoln Investment Advisors Corporation (“LIAC”) and SVP, Head of Funds Management for Lincoln Financial Group. In this role, he is responsible for the leadership and strategic direction of Lincoln’s $150 billion mutual fund platform. His team of portfolio managers, research analysts, client investment strategists, and business management professionals are focused on due diligence of sub-advisors, portfolio construction, asset allocation, and development of equity, fixed income, and alternative investment funds. Jayson is Chair of the LIAC Investment Committee and the primary liaison between LIAC and the Board of the Lincoln Variable Insurance Product (“LVIP”) Trust, of which he is also President. 

Jayson is also responsible for the oversight of Lincoln’s $70 billon General Account Public Corporate Bond portfolio. In this capacity, he leads a team of portfolio managers and analysts in the development and execution of Lincoln’s long-term investment strategy, portfolio construction, active credit risk management, and trading activities.

Prior to assuming his current responsibilities, Jayson was Head of Manager Selection & Investment Research for LIAC. He joined Lincoln in 2013 as Portfolio Manager of Alternative Investments and Private Debt Strategies for Lincoln’s General Account.  In that role, he also provided broad based asset class expertise and thought leadership for Lincoln’s overall General Account investment strategy.

Before joining Lincoln, Jayson was Executive Director of Debt Capital Markets for J.P. Morgan in New York.  He has also held positions in private equity, fixed income asset management, credit research, and trading with Macquarie Investments and Bank of America.

Mr. Bronchetti currently serves on the Board of Directors of Millennium Capital & Recovery Corporation as well as CITRS, Inc., a 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on the advocation of character education and development. He is also a founding Chapter Executive of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (“CAIA”) Society of Philadelphia.

Jayson received his bachelor’s degree in finance, with a minor in economics, from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is also a graduate of the Executive Development Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Jayson is a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia, and holds his Series 7, Series 79, and Series 63 securities licenses.

He resides in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania with his wife Erin Todd Bronchetti Ph.D. and their five children.

Zoë Brunson Senior Vice Presidnet, Investment Strategies

AssetMark

Zoë Brunson oversees the Investment Strategies Group. She is responsible for overseeing all due diligence on investment strategists on the AssetMark platform and the management of AssetMark’s turnkey platform solutions. She is a portfolio manager of the GuidePath Funds, Guided Portfolios (GPS Solutions and GPS Selection Solutions) and Market based strategies.

Zoë has over 20 years’ experience and joined AssetMark in 2007. Previously Zoë was at Standard & Poor’s where she led the investment advisory services team responsible for manager due diligence and creation of multi-manager strategies.

Zoë is a member of Institutional Investor’s Sub-Advisory Institute Advisory Board, where she lends her industry expertise and insight on the changing investment objectives of institutions to help providers and buyers of sub-advised strategies navigate shifting trends.

Zoë holds a BSc (Hons) in Business Information Technology from Kingston University, U.K. and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Josh Charlson Director, Manager Selection

Morningstar

Josh Charlson, CFA, is a director, manager selection, for Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. Charlson provides fiduciary services for retirement plans and is responsible for selecting and monitoring portfolio managers and mutual funds. He specializes in target-date, alternative, and domestic equity asset classes. Previously, Charlson was a director of manager research focused on alternatives research for Morningstar.  And prior to that, Charlson was a strategist for the multi-asset team.

Charlson holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, as well as a master’s degree and doctorate from Northwestern University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Adam Choppin Assistant Portfolio Manager, Multi Manager Strategies

Xponance

Adam Choppin is Vice President and Assistant Portfolio Manager, Multi-Manager Strategies at Xponance. Xponance is a multi-strategy investment firm with approximately $12 billion in assets under management servicing institutional investors in fixed income, passive, and active international multi-manager equity strategies.  Adam joined the firm in May 2013 and is the Assistant Portfolio Manager for multi-manager strategies. Adam is also Chairman of the Board of the Association of Professional Fund Investors, the sole global non-profit professional association whose members are all professional allocators, fund investors, and manager research analysts.

From 2008-2013, Adam founded and ran a boutique investment advisory firm which advised on private investments in South America, Africa, and the Middle East. Previously, he worked as a trade and financial markets analyst for the U.S. government including as an economic affairs liaison in Iraq, Afghanistan, Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Mozambique. In 2008 he organized the first official U.S. Government trade mission to Iraq in over 25 years.

Adam earned his B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC); his M.A. in International Economics and Business from Yale University; and a post-graduate Diploma in Finance from the London School of Economics. While a student at USC, Adam also read in Latin American economics and politics at the Universidade de São Paulo. He speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and English.

Tim Clift Chief Investment Strategist

Envestnet Asset Managment

Mr. Clift serves as Chief Investment Strategist at Envestnet | PMC and is responsible for research and portfolio services for the organization. He leads a team of analysts who are responsible for the selection and monitoring of investment managers and a team of portfolio managers who manage a suite of investment products for the Firm. Clift co-chairs PMC’s Investment Committee and is instrumental in setting investment policy for the Company. 

Prior to joining Envestnet | PMC, Clift was the Chief Investment Officer and Chairman of the Investment Committee at FundQuest. He joined FundQuest in 1994 and maintained overall responsibility for the firm’s investment management programs for separately managed accounts, mutual funds, alternative investments, exchange traded funds and annuities.

Clift possesses over 30 years of industry and investment management experience. He received a Master’s in Business Administration in Finance from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Allegheny College.

Luis Diez Fixed Income Manager Research Team

Northern Trust

Luis is responsible for manager identification, research and due diligence, and investment monitoring for fixed income strategies and team leader for WMBE manager research. Luis is also a member of Northern Trust’s enterprise-wide sustainable investing council focused on developing business strategies to address the growing global demand for responsible investing investment solutions.

Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2006, Luis worked for Commonfund Asset Management where he was an Associate Director supporting all areas of the Fixed Income and Commodities Team including portfolio construction, research and analysis for all the fixed income, distressed debt and commodities investment programs.  Prior to that he was a Senior Trade Support Analyst at UBS Warburg responsible for NASDAQ trades.  He also worked at Evaluation Associates, an investment consulting firm, as Senior Analyst, Fixed Income and Currency Research.  At Evaluation Associates, he was responsible for the oversight of domestic and global fixed income, emerging markets debt and currency asset classes.  Luis also served in the CT Army National Guard from 1992 to 1995.

Luis received his Masters of Business Administration from Fordham's Graduate School of Business with honors.  He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance with a minor in Accounting from Western Connecticut State University. 

Luis is a member of the Stamford Council of the United Way of Western Connecticut.  He is also a board member of the Northern Trust Latin Heritage Leadership Council and serves as co-chair of the LHLC Professional Development committee.  In addition, he was a founding member of the Northern Trust Investments Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council.

James Dunham Director of Financial Institutions and National Accounts

William Blair Investment Management

James Dunham is the Director of Financial Institutions and National Accounts (FINA) at William Blair Investment Management. Based in New York, he’s responsible for the firm’s relationships with financial institutions and the sub-advisory market. James has 25 years of experience in the investment management industry with expertise across the full spectrum of strategies, clients, and geographies.

Before joining William Blair, he was Managing Director and Global Head of Sub-Advisory at Perella Weinberg Partners. Before that, he served as Vice President in the Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs & Co. Previously, he was Managing Director and Head of Sub-Advisory at Principal Global Investors in New York. Jamie spent six years at Bankers Trust and Deutsche Bank in Australia before joining Principal in the United States in 2000.  

He is a graduate of the University of South Australia where he holds both a Bachelor of Business Degree majoring in Banking and Finance and an Associate Diploma of Business with a major in Credit Management. He also holds the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Series 7 Securities License, the Series 63 Securities Agent Law License and the Series 3 Commodity Futures License.

James is a regular speaker at industry conferences and has been a guest on Bloomberg TV. He’s also a former Chairman of Financial Research Associates Sub-Advised Funds Forum. Outside of work, he’s married with two children, has completed over 30 marathons and is a four-time Ironman Triathlete.

William Blair is a premier global boutique with expertise in investment banking and investment management. The investment management business manages $56 billion in assets across U.S equity, non-U.S equity, fixed income, multi-asset and alternatives.

David Eisenberg Managing Director - Pensions

Cambridge Associates

David Eisenberg is a Managing Director at Cambridge Associates. Based in Boston, he serves as an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO). David serves pension clients in both fully discretionary and non-discretionary assignments. With over 35 years of investment experience, David has worked with corporate, public, union, and not-for-profit pension plan sponsors, and other multi-asset investors. His investment experience includes both defined benefit and defined contribution investment programs.

Previously, David served as North America Director of Client Consulting and as Senior Portfolio Manager at Mercer, as well as Chief Equity Officer at John Hancock Advisors and Portfolio Manager at Trinity Investment Management. He has also held leadership roles at Meketa Investment Group and NEPC. David is a regular speaker at investment industry conferences.

His recent speaking topics have included evaluating, selecting, and managing sub-advisors, investment governance, the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment factors with decision making, and other topics directly impacting the pension industry.

Jena Gruenebaum Senior Product Consultant

Nationwide Financial

Alex Gurvich Director of Investment Research

PFM Asset Management

Alex has over 20 years of experience in finance, investment research, portfolio management, alternative investments, private equity and venture capital, and strategic consulting.

At PFM, Alex manages the Investment Research, Asset Allocation and Manager Selection teams. He is a member of the Investment Committee, Valuation and Liquidity Committee, and Economic and Capital Markets Outlook Committee.

Prior to PFM, Alex was a director of quantitative research at Commonfund, an asset management firm for endowments and foundations. Before that, Alex was a quantitative equity portfolio manager at The Rockledge Group, a quantitative equity investment management firm that he co-founded. At Rockledge he managed portfolios for institutional and individual investors. There he launched a mutual fund and a long/short exchange traded fund. He has also worked as venture capitalist for GE Capital and as a strategy consultant for Bain and Company in Moscow, London and Stockholm.

Alex has been an adjunct professor and a lecturer at Pace University and Stevens Institute of Technology, teaching graduate and undergraduate finance courses, such as investment management, alternative investments, valuation of the firm, and corporate finance.

Alex earned a B.A. in Physics at the University of Chicago, an MBA in Finance and Business Strategy at INSEAD in France, an M.S. in Financial Engineering from New York University Polytechnic Institute and he is a Ph.D. candidate in Financial Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Arnaud Heymann Senior Portfolio Manager & Analyst

Edmond de Rothschild

Arnaud Heymann is senior portfolio manager and analyst at Edmond de Rothschild (EdR). He oversees European Equity funds and sub-advisory manager selection, as well as ESG integration within multi-management. Arnaud is a well a board member of EdR’s Swiss Pension Fund. He joined the Bank in 2011 as deputy head of fund advisory. His experience in alternative investments dates back to 1998. Before joining EdR, he was global co-head of hedge fund investments for Standard Chartered Bank, formerly American Express Bank. Arnaud began his career as an auditor at Arthur Andersen in 1996. He holds a master's in applied econometrics from the University of Geneva.

Lars Jensen Former Managing Director-Head of Americas International

Legg Mason

Lars is an Asset Management Executive who most recently led the Americas International Unit of Legg Mason, overseeing the Wealth Management and Institutional business throughout the Americas. His team serviced retail, advisory, and institutional clients throughout the region, including the Caribbean, Canada, US NRC, and Central and South America. He was responsible for all activities related to distributing Legg Mason capabilities to its clients. In order to manage the wide territory of clients, his team was dispersed among office locations in Sao Paulo, Santiago, Miami, and New York.

Lars joined the Miami office in 2001 as a salesperson covering the West Coast NRC business and then transitioning to broader responsibilities in sales leadership. Over his tenure with Legg Mason, he had built a strong client network locally in Miami and throughout the Americas region and developed the quasi-institutional business within South Florida. Prior to that, he began his career at First Union where he worked within the bank, insurance, and securities groups.

Lars received a Bachelor of Science from Wake Forest University and an MBA from the University of Miami, with a double concentration in International Business and Finance.  

Rebecca Kamsin Vice President, Senior Analyst – Alternatives Due Diligence

RBC Wealth Management

Rebecca serves a Senior Analyst performing Alternatives due diligence for RBC Wealth Management’s Global Manager Research team, focusing on private credit and private real estate. Prior to her current coverage, she worked on traditional fixed income at RBC, as well as equity hedge funds at Slocum & Associates (since acquired by Mercer). Previously, she also spent time on the client side, assisting in institutional client portfolio management. 

Rebecca received a bachelor’s degree in business from Bethel University in Minnesota and has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst® designations. She is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Minnesota. Additionally, Rebecca serves on the Membership Committee for the CFA Society of Minnesota and the Board of Trustees for the College of Saint Benedict.

Jonathan Kreider SVP, Head of Great-West Investments

Great-West Investments

Jonathan Kreider is Senior Vice President and Head of Great-West Investments™. He leads the team responsible for product development and product management of GWI proprietary investment solutions. His team is responsible for the management and distribution of the Great-West Funds’ series of proprietary mutual funds; our stable value businesses; and the broader due diligence, monitoring and selection of investment options for company platforms.

Jonathan joined the organization in 2012. Prior to joining GWI he worked as a consultant with JDL Consultants, LLC, a boutique management consulting firm specializing in strategic and analytical work for mutual fund boards. Before that, he served as a senior research analyst at Lipper, Inc.

Jonathan has spoken at industry conferences on manager due diligence and subadvisor selection, retirement income, the practical interpretation of investment risk metrics, and other topics. He has been quoted in numerous financial publications including the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Money and SmartMoney. In 2016, he was named as a Rising Star of Retirement Under 40 by LIMRA.

Jonathan holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an MBA from the University of Colorado. He is a member of the CFA Society of Colorado and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder.

Alena Kuprevich Managing Director

Disciplina Group

Alena J. Kuprevich is a Managing Director for Disciplina Group and is responsible for sourcing, due diligence, portfolio construction and monitoring of all of the illiquid investments. She is also on the Investment Committee for Disciplina. Alena previously held the position of Managing Director of Private Investments at Vanderbilt University’s Office of Investments where she was responsible for building and maintaining a portfolio of private investments in private equity, venture capital, natural resources and real estate. These investments accounted for approximately 40% of the $4 billion endowment portfolio. As a key member of the investment office responsible for sourcing, assessment and oversight of all private market related investments within the endowment portfolio, Alena managed a concentrated and global portfolio.

Prior to working at Vanderbilt University, Alena worked with the FINRA endowment to build out the alternatives portfolio. Alena started her endowment career at Emory University in 2002 where she worked with the team to diversify the private investments in the portfolio along with a focus on the international equities and REIT portfolios. Over her career, she has committed over $1 billion of capital globally to private investment firms.

Alena holds a Bachelor of Business degree (2000) and a Master of Business Administration degree (2005) from Emory University, Goizueta Business School. Throughout her career Alena has been a speaker at various industry conferences along with maintaining numerous Investor Advisory seats for investment managers.

Shaun Lesvesque Consultant and Board Member

Shaun Levesque is an independent consultant and Board member.   He spent over 30 years in the investment management business as Head of Institutional Sales at Schroders Investments, U.S.; as a founder of fund-of-hedge funds Twin Lights Capital; as Executive Vice President at the former Nvest, now Natixis Asset Management, where offices in London, Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore reported to him; as Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing at Baring Asset Management, and as a Marketing Director at Fidelity Investments.  

Shaun is currently a Senior Advisor to a 30-year-old hedge fund and is working with a $10B manager to optimize its distribution.  He has worked with various Asian managers on their entry into the U.S.   He also sits on various non-profit Board, one investment committee and has helped three institutions with selecting consultants to their endowments.

He has a B.A. from Washington & Lee University, an M.A. from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. from Northeastern University.  He is currently pursuing a certificate in non-profit management from the Kennedy School at Harvard University.

Gene Liu Principal

Genesys Research

Gene Liu is the founder of Genesys Research, a consulting firm providing a wide array of expertise to asset managers and insurance companies including 15C reporting, sub-advisory market research, variable annuity trends, DCIO platform analysis and market surveys.

Before founding Genesys Research in 2002, Gene was a managing director at Strategic Insight where he was charged with launching a variable annuity research department and developed successful products including Simfund VA, Annuity Insight and variable annuity consulting.

Lucy Liu Research Analyst, Global Manager Research

RBC Wealth Management

Mark Meisel Senior Vice President, Senior Investment Product Manager, Multi-Manager Investments

Northern Trust

Mark Meisel is a Senior Vice President and Senior Investment Product Manager for Northern Trust Asset Management’s Multi-Manager Solutions group. Mr. Meisel joined Northern Trust in 2012.  Mark is responsible for product management, product development and investment communications used to support manager of manager solutions for high net worth and institutional clients. Mr. Meisel has product management responsibilities for external manager solutions delivered through mutual funds, common & collective funds, limited partnerships, and separately managed accounts.

Mark has over 25 years of experience in manager research, portfolio construction, investment communications and product management. Mr. Meisel worked at Citigroup for 17 years in their brokerage research and asset management divisions. Mark was Head of the Investment Research unit for Citicorp Investment Services and an Investment Product Specialist at Citigroup Asset Management. Prior to joining Northern Trust, he worked at UBS Wealth Management for 8 years where he oversaw manager research communications and investment product strategy. 

He received his B.A. in Psychology from Colgate University, and his M.B.A. degree in Finance from New York University. Mark has obtained his CFP® certification. Mr. Meisel holds the FINRA Series 7 and Series 63 licenses.

Kristine Mogollon Director, Investment Product Management

Thrivent Financial

Kristine Mogollon is Director of Investment Product Management for Thrivent Financial. She is responsible for the selection and monitoring of investment managers for both sub-advised portfolios and fee-based advisory accounts. In addition, her responsibilities include product management, product development and field-facing marketing for investment products (including mutual funds, variable annuity sub-accounts and discretionary managed account programs). Before joining Thrivent in 2003, she was a Vice President and Senior Product Manager for U.S. Bancorp Asset Management. Prior to that, she held positions as an Investment Analyst for General Mills and for the Minnesota State Board of Investment. She began her career with Sit Investment, and also worked for Cronin & Company and American Express Financial Advisors. She is a CFA charterholder and received her BSB and MBA degrees from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.  She also holds the FINRA Series 7, 63, and 66 licenses.

Olivier Paccalian MD - Wealth Management Solutions

Societe Generale Private Banking

Olivier Paccalin began his career in 1998 at the Head Office of SGPB where he contributed to the creation of the Business Line.

In 2005 he joined SGPB France as Marketing Manager for Portfolio Management Solutions. In 2007 he developed the entity’s Investment Advisory team, becoming head of the team which joined Advisory Managed in 2009. In 2011 he was appointed local head of Investment Solutions (now WMS) with responsibility for financing, life insurance and real estate before being appointed Chief Investment Officer for SGPB France in 2012.

In September 2015, he was appointed Head of Wealth Management Solutions for Societe Generale Private Banking and joined the Executive Committee of the private bank.

In summer 2019, he expands his prerogatives by taking over the commercial direction in addition to the investment solutions.

Olivier Paccalin is a graduate of the Paris Dauphine University, member of the SFAF and is a certified by the Certified International Investment Analysts.

Item 37 Director, Senior Portfolio Manager & Head of Act

Allianz Global Investors

Mr. Pietranico is a portfolio manager and a director with Allianz Global Investors, which he joined in 2005. As a member of the Multi Asset US team, Mr. Pietranico is a portfolio manager for the target-date portfolios, as well as for other asset-allocation portfolios, including 529 college-savings plans. He previously worked at Charles Schwab & Co., focusing on research related to portfolio simulation, optimization and construction; asset allocation; retirement planning; and investment-manager due diligence. Mr. Pietranico has a B.S. in physics, an M.A. in philosophy of science, and an M.S. in engineering economic systems and operations research from Stanford University. He is a CFA charterholder.

Elina Ploskin Director - Manager Selection

Columbia Threadneedle Investments

Elina Ploskin is a director of Manager Research for Columbia Threadneedle Investments and is responsible for external manager selection covering alternatives. She joined the firm in 2019. Prior to joining Columbia Threadneedle Investments Ms. Ploskin was a vice president and senior analyst in the Liquid Alternatives group at Credit Suisse. She was responsible for due diligence and monitoring of funds in the Event Driven and Equity Long/Short space. She was also part of the investment committee managing a Best Ideas UCITS fund. Prior to that, she was a vice president at Cliffwater where she covered and conducted due diligence on equity long short and event driven funds. Ms. Ploskin began her career at Fox Pitt Kelton as a investment banking analyst. Ms. Ploskin received a B.S. from Rutgers University and MBA from New York University.

Amit Popat Partner & International Business Leader, Wealth Management & E&F

Mercer

Paul Ricciardelli Managing Director

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Paul Ricciardelli is a Managing Director and head of Wealth Advisory Solutions for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.  In this role, he oversees several functions including portfolio construction for the firm’s discretionary multi-manager solutions, Impact and ESG Solutions, High Net Worth, Packaged/Digital Solutions, and Municipal Bond Research. In addition, he serves as CEO for the firm’s Pathway family of mutual funds and sits on the investment committee for the firm’s Global Investment Manager Analysis (GIMA) team which is responsible for the analysis and evaluation process for investment management firms across the Morgan Stanley’s investment advisory programs.  Prior to this, he spent 12 years at Merrill Lynch, initially as an analyst responsible for investment manager research, and advancing to various leadership roles within investment manager research.  He also spent time in capital markets with Prudential Securities.  Paul graduated from Boston College with a B.S. in Finance and Marketing and received his M.B.A. from the Ohio State University.  He is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute.

Fernand Schoppig CEO

FS Associates

Fernand Schoppig is the CEO of FS Associates an international financial and investment management consulting firm established in 1988. The firm functions as a bridge between the United States and Europe and to a lesser extent Asia in the active exchange of investment management expertise. The firm is specializing in money management counseling with a main focus on boutique money managers around the world. Furthermore, FS Associates has a strategic business consulting practice that specializes in advising money management firms on their cross‐border business development and marketing strategies in the money management arena, particularly between the United States and the rest of the world

Before establishing FS Associates in 1988, Mr. Schoppig ran the Private Banking and Asset Management Department of Bank Leu's New York Branch, where he was responsible for establishing global investment policy and the development of unique "niche" products in international financial planning, geared towards foreign and domestic high net worth individuals. Prior to joining Bank Leu, Mr. Schoppig was a co‐founder and an Associate Director of SBC Portfolio Management International, New York, an affiliate of UBS's predecessor Swiss Bank Corporation, specializing in global asset management for institutional clients. He was also the firm's compliance officer, directly responsible for all legal administrative and strategic planning matters. In Switzerland, Mr. Schoppig was a global investment strategist with the Swiss Bank Corporation and other leading banks.

Fernand Schoppig was born in Basel, Switzerland where he received his basic education in banking and investment management. He was awarded the Swiss Federal Banking Diploma, the highest educational degree in Swiss banking. Mr. Schoppig is also a Certified Financial Planner, a Certified Investment Management Analyst and a Certified Investment Management Consultant.

 Mr. Schoppig, is a sought after domestic and international speaker on issues pertaining to the global investment management industry. Mr. Schoppig is a past

Amanda Tepper CEO

Chesnut Advisory Group

Amanda Tepper is the founder and CEO of Chestnut Advisory Group.  Amanda honed her expertise in asset management business development throughout her investment management career.  Prior to founding Chestnut, Amanda served as Global Director of AllianceBernstein’s senior portfolio management team, a group that crafted and delivered the firm’s investment insights to institutional and retail clients and consultants. Amanda developed deep experience in sell-side equity research as Associate Director of Equity Research at Bank of America and as an Institutional Investor All America Team-ranked analyst at JPMorgan. Before moving to the sell-side Amanda spent five years as an investment banker in JPMorgan’s retail industries group  She began her investment career on a corporate bond trading desk.

Amanda holds an MBA from Wharton and a BA from Brown University, Phi Beta Kappa. Amanda is a member of the Investment Advisory Committee for the Endowment of the Art Students League of New York. She also serves on the Andover Development Board of Phillips Academy.

Martin Vogel Chief Executive Officer Europe

DMS Governance

CEO
MDO Management Company

Philip Wellman Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer

MML Investment Advisers

Philip Wellman is Chief Compliance Officer for the MassMutual Select Funds, MassMutual Premier Funds, MML Series Investment Fund, and MML Series Investment Fund II, as well as for MML Investment Advisers, LLC, a member of the MassMutual Financial Group. He is responsible for managing the compliance and ethics programs for the mutual funds and investment adviser, including policies and procedures, regulatory matters, conflicts and risk management, and service provider due diligence.

Prior to joining MassMutual, Mr. Wellman was Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at Advest, Inc., in Hartford, Connecticut, a regional brokerage firm that provided brokerage, trading, and investment banking services to retail and institutional investors. He served as Advest's senior litigation counsel. He handled regulatory investigations for the company and was responsible for customer arbitrations, securities class actions, non-complete and trade secret disputes, general litigation, and privacy matters. He also held the title of Director with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., which acquired Advest in December, 2005. Before moving in-house, Mr. Wellman practiced with Day, Berry & Howard LLP, where he was a member of the Firm’s Commercial Litigation Department and Technology and Intellectual Property Department.

Mr. Wellman received a B.A. with honors in political science from Trinity College and a J.D. with honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he was an Articles Editor for the Connecticut Law Review. He is the author of articles and papers on securities fraud litigation, antitrust developments, and various other topics. He also has moderated panels or participated as a speaker at many legal and industry conferences.

Mr. Wellman is an A/V-rated lawyer who is a member of the bars of the State of Connecticut, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the federal courts for the District of Connecticut, the Southern District of New York, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. He is an active member of the American Bar Association, the Connecticut Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel, the Investment Company Institute, and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Past President of the ACC's Connecticut Chapter and Past Chair for the ACC’s Financial Services Committee; a member of the ICI’s Chief Compliance Officer Committee; and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Connecticut Bar Foundation.

Keith Wirtz Vice President & CIO

Union Savings Bank

Keith brings more than 30 years of experience in the investment industry, with a specialty in portfolio management, fiduciary oversight and security analysis, to the USB team. Most recently, Keith was a Principal and Senior Portfolio Manager for Walrus Partners LLC, a boutique money management firm based in Minneapolis. Previously, he served as the Chief Investment Officer for Fifth Third Bank’s Wealth Division and as President of Fifth Third Asset Management Inc., overseeing more than $34 billion in AUM’s. Currently, Keith serves as a trustee for the First Western Trust Funds and is a board member and Investment Committee Chair for ASU Enterprise Partners.

He has earned a BS in Finance from Arizona State University and an MS in Investment Management & Security Analysis from Creighton University.  He is a CFA Charter Holder and a member of the CFA Institute.