CFA Society San Francisco Podcast

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Pooja Malik, CFA, Founding Partner and Managing Member at Nipun Capital. Nipun Capital is a specialized asset management firm that focuses on alpha extraction from Asia and emerging markets.

Pooja founded Nipun based on the outlook that Asia ex-Japan equity markets would double in size from 2010 to 2030 as a portion of global mar...

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Julian Vogel, Assistant Professor of Finance at San Jose State University.

Dr. Vogel earned his PhD in Business Administration, Finance from The University of Texas at El Paso, and has lived, studied, and worked in several countries and regions across Europe and the United States. In his research and teaching, he focuses on c...

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Nadia Patel, CFA, Executive Director at Pacific Alliance Group (PAG). PAG is an Asian investment firm that manages multiple asset classes, including private equity, private debt, real estate and hedge funds.

Prior to joining PAG, Nadia served as director and head of west coast distribution for BlackRock’s Financial Institutions G...

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Don Hejna, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Sr. Principal Data Scientist at Accenture and Managing Director at Stantum LLC. He specializes in quantitative finance, big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and portfolio optimization. 

He is an active member of CFA Society San Francisco and serves as co-chair on the Member Programming A...

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Michael Firestone, CFA, Founder and Managing Partner at Fire Capital Management ("FCM"). FCM is a boutique investment management firm that provides High Net Worth private wealth management, Ultra High Net Worth multi-family office advisory, and private foundation investment & impact OCIO services.

In addition to his...

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Jennie Chen, Managing Director at X1 Asset Management LLC - an algorithm driven alternative investment firm specializing in spot Forex. 

At X1, Jennie plays a key role in developing and managing client-risk-profile specific investment strategies with quantitative portfolio optimization, dynamic risk mitigation, and algo-driven ca...

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Steve Biggs, CFA, CFP, CAIA, Managing Director - Head of Alternative Investments at The Mather Group. 

Steve joined The Mather Group through the acquisition of HC Financial Advisors in August 2022, where he operated as the Chief Investment Officer and a Principal. Prior to HC Financial Advisors, he was a Senior Analyst of Zacks I...

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Liz Morley Olinger, CFA, Treasury Manager at Zscaler. Prior to joining Zscaler, she was a Treasury Manager on the Capital Markets team at Cisco. 

In addition to holding the CFA designation, Liz is pursuing her MBA at Berkeley Haas. She is an active member of the CFA Society San Francisco Young Leaders Council (YLC). 

Listen to the full inte...

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Lily Taft, CFA, Portfolio Manager for Main Street Research.

Lily serves on the Investment Policy Committee for Main Street Research where she analyzes client-specific asset allocations, sector exposures, and security selections. She is also actively involved in decision-making related to managing, executing, and implementing trading strate...

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Stan Rudoi, CFA, Vice President of Growth and Analytics at Pollen VC. Stan is an expert in finance, product management, and marketing, with a focus on the mobile gaming, fintech, and SaaS industries.

At Pollen VC, Stan plays a key role in developing cutting-edge revenue-based lending products, managing client relationships, and leading the...

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Nicholas Borst, CFA, Vice President and Director of China Research at Seafarer Capital Partners. Prior to joining Seafarer, he was a senior analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, covering financial and economic developments in Greater China.

Nicholas moderated the "U.S. & China Economic Conflict: Implicati...

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dominic Bilotti, CFA, CFP, Vice President and Regional Consultant with State Street Global Advisors/SPDR ETFs.

Dominic works with Broker Dealer Financial Advisors regarding portfolio construction, business development, and client messaging. He is an active CFA Society San Francisco member and sits on the Society's Young Lead...

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with John Ailanjian, CFA, General Partner and CIO for Next Play Capital. John has been instrumental in expanding the firm’s quantitative models to screen and perform due diligence on company investments. He also plays an integral role in the programming and education of Next Play Capital’s Fellowship program. 

Prior to joining Next Pl...

On this month’s episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Christopher Browne, CFA, Chief Investment Officer and Partner at Democracy Investments. The Democracy International Fund assesses democratic factors in countries and allocates based on these criteria with the intention of increasing economic growth for democratic countries.

Prior to joining Democracy Investments, Chris wa...

On the September episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Yanrong Chen, PhD,  Business Analyst at EasyAUM. Yanrong is a current Level III candidate in the CFA Program. 

Prior to moving into finance, Yanrong was a history lecturer at KU Leuven in Belgium and was a post-doc researcher at the University of San Francisco. Her research was on communication between Europe and East As...

On the Season 3 premiere of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Octavio Sandoval, CFA, CAIA, Director of Investments at Illumen Capital. Illumen Capital is an alternative investment firm, working to reduce racial and gender bias and help its managers identify, evaluate, and invest in entrepreneurs who have been overlooked and underestimated. 

Prior to Illumen Capital, Octavio was a l...

Hear from Society Board President-Elect, John Jordan, CFA in this special featured episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast.

This podcast is produced by CFA Society San Francisco, a not-for-profit professional association, providing professional learning and career resources to over 13,000 investment industry professionals worldwide. To learn more about CFA Society San Francisco, visit our website or connect with us on ...

On the Season 2 Finale of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Lana Ariue, CFA, Senior Manager of Insights and Intelligence at Splunk. Splunk is a software firm, specializing in data visualization and machine learning. 

Prior to her transition into the Technology industry, she held positions at various asset management firms including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Parnassus.

Liste...

On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Reggie Sanders, CFA, CAIA, Managing Director of Investments at W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Board Member of Rock the Street, Wall Street. He was previously Manager of Pension Investments for Eastman Kodak Company.  Mr. Sanders is a graduate of Florida A&M University and Harvard Business School, where he was a Robert A. Toigo Fellow. H...