Program

Subject to Change

2:00pm - 4:00pm

Registration and Check-In Room: Atrium

A few opening remarks about the conference, why we are here, what we will be doing with the Investment Institute going forward and the collaboration between JFNA and JFN.

Speakers

Major changes have transformed each of the three major participants in a successful investment program. The greatest change has developed at an increasing rate in the investment markets where many factors in technology, regulation, and globalization have changed importantly. Major changes have also impacted investment managers in ways that are more powerful than most recognize. And investors have changed, but not nearly enough to provide the effective governance needed by the funds for which they are responsible. We cannot change the markets and have little hope of changing managers, so the best way to succeed now and in the future will be through better and stronger long-term governance, the sooner the better.

Keynote
6:15pm - 7:15pm

Cocktail Reception Room: Honda Pavilion

This is an invitation-only private dinner.

7:00am - 8:00am

Breakfast Room: PGA Ballroom Foyer

Meet the CEOs of the Jewish Funders Network and the Jewish Federations of North America, representing the largest philanthropic network in the world. Hear about what keeps them up at night, and how we can work together to change the world by judicially granting and investing the $100 billion in Jewish philanthropic wealth that its members control.

Moderator
Panelists

After more than 10 years of steady US economic growth and nearly 11 years of a US equity bull market as measured by the S&P 500 Index, it is hard to imagine that both have room to grow. Yet that is our 2020 base case. We expect the US economy to benefit from a healthy consumer, favorable financial conditions and a lack of notable imbalances, either economic or financial. With risk of a recession low this year as a result, we recommend remaining invested in US equities given the odds have overwhelmingly favored doing so during past economic expansions.

Speaker

Over the past 65 years, Israel has built a reputation as one of the most innovative and technologically advanced countries in the world. It has been dubbed the startup nation, and enjoys a reputation as generating advances in information technology, engineering, health, agriculture, water, and energy. Learn from this distinguished panel how Israel is taking bold and strategic steps to support business development and transform it from a startup to global nation, with an unparalleled reputation as a global leader and how this can all be monetized and sustained.

Moderator
Panelists
10:45am - 11:15am

Break Room: PGA Ballroom Foyer

Wall Street is having an ever-growing influence on philanthropy and we are fortunate to have an intimate chat with one of the legends. From his roots growing up in the South Bronx, understand how this son of immigrants from Poland grew to become voted the number one portfolio strategist in the Institutional Investor "All-America Research Team" survey, then went on to signing the Giving Pledge and forming the Leon and Toby Cooperman Family Foundation.

Keynote
Interviewer

To support spending and maintain purchasing power in perpetuity, trustees and investment committees have very high investment return targets, making it critical to build resilient portfolios and align policies with the mission. In this session, Commonfund experts will share insights, research, and techniques, and provide trustees, investment committee members, and senior leadership with a guide for understanding which governance and investment practices best position your organization to achieve its mission.

Moderator
Panelist

(1) Why key performance indicators (KPI's) are important to nonprofit organizations. (2) How to best communicate financial results to stakeholders. (3) Identifying peer groups and insight into peers' metrics and practices. (4) Identifying trends to assess financial health. (5) Meaningful comparisons for strategic planning, operations, governance and impact.

Facilitators

This table discussion will touch on issues and questions that are on top of the minds of fiduciaries as they relate to the investment program:

- How do I invest in a low yield environment?

- Is diversification worth it?

- Where can excess returns be created?

- What if returns of next decade aren't as good the past decade?

- Is there value in private capital?

- What practical steps can be taken to reduce fees?

- What’s a good way to balance continuity and succession planning?

Facilitator

The Jewish community has been largely missing from the impact investment space. Meanwhile, anti-Israel activists are appropriating the language of socially responsible investment and corporate social responsibility to advance a political agenda. The responsible investing arena has begun to succumb to this pressure, with billions of dollars of divestment on the way. How can the Jewish community claim a seat at the table? What is the nature of the threat posed by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement within the world of institutional investment?

Facilitators

Many Americans Jews proudly stand with the State of Israel through their Philanthropic support of Pro Israel causes and organizations, but there is an underutilized avenue to support the Israeli economy. We will explore how Israeli stocks have historically impacted the development of the Israel economy, and often added long term growth and decreased the volatility to investment portfolios. In other words, we will discuss how adding Israeli stocks to your portfolio is not only beneficial to you as the investor, but how it is supportive to the overall Israeli economy and the Modern State of Israel.

Facilitator

Not all OCIOs deliver the same services, so you need fee transparency for an accurate comparison. This session will discuss the pros and cons of different service models and provide helpful tips for comparing provider fees – Fresh Fruit Included.

Facilitator

Israel is rapidly becoming the world's leading source of impact tech, with global investors, corporates and governments coming to Israel to identify technology solutions to challenges in health, food security, environment and climate change. Find out what innovations are fueling this trend, which sectors are hottest, and how impact investors are achieving venture returns for their portfolio while making meaningful and global impact.

Clear measurement standards, high-grade operations, specialized products, and more training for entrepreneurs can make impact investing a more influential practice. Join these industry leaders to explore how your portfolio can do good while maiming your fiduciary responsibilities.

Moderator
Panelists

An OCIO can provide research, investment, and analytic capabilities with a deep understanding of beliefs and objectives to create customized solutions. Learn how best to keep your investment committees engaged and why outsourcing this important function makes fiduciary sense.

Moderator
Panelists

Join this interesting conversation on portfolio modeling and management strategies. In traditional financial analysis, investment management tools allow investors to evaluate the return and risk of individual investments on their portfolios. Are the tools the same to analyze investment performance across the third dimension that includes impact? Bring your viewpoint, and see how it matches up to our panel of experts.

Moderator
Panelists

Impact investing refers to an investment strategy that not only generates financial returns but also creates constructive outcomes. The strategy actively seeks to make a positive impact by investing, for example, in nonprofits that benefit the community. Israel is on the forefront of this thinking and our panel explores the whys and how’s of creating such investments, along with an endowments perspective to determine portfolio viability.

Moderator
Panelists
3:20pm - 3:40pm

Networking Break Room: PGA Ballroom Foyer

What is the ideal asset allocation? Is it the mix of investment from most aggressive to safest that will earn the highest possible total return over time? Learn to ask the questions of what that mix of stocks, bonds, cash or money market should be and what will happen when you add a dash of alternatives. If you had the luxury of starting from scratch, would your portfolio be the same? These and other question will be answered by our panel. Or at least have you thinking a bit differently on how you approach assets classes.

Moderator
Panelists

Sustainable portfolios have become more than one-off allocations, PRIs, or simple exclusions. They are in many cases multi-asset portfolios that span active and passive management, public and private markets, and all asset classes. But the reality of putting these portfolios into implementation raises challenging questions which this session will address: What is an organization’s responsibility in the Investment Policy Statement? Can an asset allocation truly reflect the “traditional” corpus’s risk and return objectives? How can managers be classified across level/type of sustainability, and how can Fiduciaries accurately measure impact across disparate sections of the allocation?

Speaker

Many believe that impact and sustainable investing is a niche in the investment industry reserved for religious, environmental and social impact foundations. There is also the perception that “impact investing” involves sacrificing investment returns to “do good”. This panel will explore how neither of these presumptions are true and how you can become socially conscious and still adhere to your investment strategies.

Moderator
Panelists

Israel is a tiny country with a population of around 8 ½ million, has earned the moniker of “Startup Nation” mostly because it has largest number of startups per capita in the world, around 1 startup for every 1,400 people. How did that happen? What is it about Israel that makes it such a good investment? Why would an ancient land, under constant barrage and political quagmires, nonetheless become the silicon valley of the Middle East?

Join former Ambassador Shapiro on these thoughts on how US-Israeli investments will fare pending elections both here in the U.S. and Israel. The coming elections will give the winners control over booming economies that have challenges that need to be addressed to maintain growth. Whether in the heartland of America or the periphery of Israel, learn what is needed to create impact and sustainable growth for both countries.

Interviewer
Keynote

As a member of PIMCO’s Americas Portfolio Committee, Libby is well suited to help us understand the risks and opportunities created by recent developments awaiting us as the upcoming presidential election nears. Her discussion will touch on a wide range of policy issues, such as trade and foreign policy, as well as the resulting implications for financial markets both here in the U.S. and the global economy.

Speaker
6:30pm - 7:30pm

Cocktail Reception Room: Masters Terrace

7:30pm - 9:30pm

Sponsor Dinners Room:

Most Federations have exposure to Private Equity but with purchasing multiples rising and fundraising at an all-time high, many are still asking if the illiquidity premium exists? This table topic will discuss the current market and where we still see opportunities to capture excess return in a crowded market.

Facilitator

There are many objections to values-based investing. Luckily, Jewish tradition already raised them two thousand years ago. Join Rabbi Jacob to explore a rich Talmudic debate that ranges from the role of business and investment capital, to fiduciary responsibility, concessionary returns, and appropriate risk sharing between investors and entrepreneurs.

Facilitator

Join this discussion on how best to prepare your portfolio for the next prolonged bear market. It’s inevitable, so what asset allocations should you consider and what investment strategies can you employ? How best to handle investment policy preparations and effective coordination with your board and/or investment committees? Take a deep dive into best practices, capturing institutional memory and share what contingencies you may have or looking to put in place.

Facilitators

Coming off a bountiful year and decade, endowments and foundations are looking to lay the groundwork for the next 10 years. As of late, concerns have mounted around the impact of robust markets on expanding operating budgets, and organizations are trying to understand how to position themselves so that the continued success of their investment programs provides them with the resources and flexibility they need to accomplish their mission and goals. Although each endowment and foundation is unique in its goals, philosophy, construction and investment approach, they all share the same three pillars of a successful investment plan: mission fulfillment, governance and investment management.

Facilitator

In this session, we will address the realities of the industry and present a best practice approach to the selection and evaluation of OCIO providers. Gregory Metzger will address the realities, shortfalls, and challenges within the industry backed by over 20 years of experience running searches for service providers. You'll walk away with tips for a successful DIY search, helping you avoid the pitfalls and sidestep the hazards to get the results your organization needs.

Facilitator

Many banks don’t make money – usually not on purpose. But what about a bank that actually sets out not to turn a profit? Come hear from Ogen, Israel’s first not-for-profit social impact bank, about its vision for financial inclusion in Israel. Hear your personal funds, foundation or endowment can make an “impact deposit” and directly finance low-interest loans to credit-starved small businesses and non-profit organizations in Israel, and pave the way for a full-service digital bank that creates a fairer and stronger economy for all Israelis.

Role Unassigned

To address the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges, trillions of dollars need to be mobilized from both the public and private sectors over the next 10 - 15 years. Institutional capital is a critical component in narrowing this capital gap via commercially viable, market-based mechanisms, including impact investing. This session will explore industry-level trends and the investments used with regards to global impact investor market activity.

Moderator
Panelists
9:50am - 10:15am

Break Room: PGA Ballroom Foyer

Solid but modest growth is expected for the US economy in 2021. Where do America's international relationships (and lack thereof) play a role and what dangers may lie ahead? And how are domestic challenges being inflamed by partisanship and incivility and how might disagreement actually be a good thing for democracy? This temperature check of the state of our union will offer enlightening analysis of the unique American Moment in which we find ourselves.

Speaker
12:00pm - 1:30pm

Networking Lunch - Town Hall Meeting / Closing Remarks Room: PGA Ballroom Foyer