Improving Alpha: Innovation in Investing, ESG and Technology

Institutional investors are not only concerned with searching for alpha opportunities in this market but how technology can aid in that search over time. In an age of digital transformation, how can investors become more competitive in their allocation decisions, and are they effectively adapting to geopolitical concerns, risk, inflation, and more?

In just a few days the second Trump administration will be sworn in to the office of the presidency. There has already been a lot of debate around security regulations and what that might mean for institutional investors. Could we see Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies go higher, how will carbon emissions be regulated and reported to investors, and how will active, index, and quantitative investors b...

Back in the 16th century, when paper money made its debut in Venice, skeptics doubted it could ever replace the clinking of metal coins. Fast forward to today, and we find ourselves seamlessly blending paper, coins, and cryptocurrency. This cutting-edge currency has skyrocketed to a market capitalization of $2-$3 trillion and continues to surge. Just last month, Bitcoin values were on the brink of re...

Last year, we were honored to have Chris Ailman as a guest on the Improving Alpha podcast. Fast forward 12 months, and lightning has struck twice for the Improving Alpha team, as we welcome Scott Chan, the current CIO of CalSTRS, to the guest chair. 

If you are a CEO at a large public company, who do you speak with when concerned about strategy, formulation of innovative ideas, or even execution of a plan to scale your business investments? Many believe that unless there’s a large activist event or news story, decision-making is solely your own. Is there a way to bring back active governance and drive engagement from board members and investors?<...

Information overload can occur in even the most skilled institutional investor when considering the amount of managers and intelligence competing for their time and attention. How can a leading endowment CIO or portfolio manager navigate the volume of financial statements, capital calls, risk/reward ratios, and more? How can they mentor junior analysts to find the diamonds in the rough to help genera...

Today there’s tremendous focus around the practice of good medicine, the advancement of healthcare innovations, and positive patient outcomes. One company that embodies these characteristics and provides services to the healthcare industry is The Doctor’s Company. The Doctors Company began in 1976 during a crisis period in medical malpractice claims that were skyrocketing. Formed out of historic legi...

Allocators face a barrage of ideas and debates around the use of artificial intelligence and large language models, better known as LLMs. How can huge amounts of investor data be transformed and enriched to solve challenges in asset allocations and improve an investment team’s strategy? Better yet, have we accumulated enough ‘scar tissue’ in artificial intelligence to understand what AI gets wr...

In an age of artificial intelligence, (AI) many allocators are realizing that humans alone, or software alone, can’t match or exceed the gains that occur when software and human expertise combine. Layer that into the ability of generative AI to do something better, faster, and more cheaply, and investors can begin to see a game-changing impact on business operations.