Allocators today can’t predict the future state of the market, especially given recent volatility, needing to rely on several viewpoints and data benchmarks to reach their goal. This is true in the case of LACERA where Jonathan Grabel and his team manage over $70 billion in AUM.

In this episode of Improving Alpha – Innovation in Investing, ESG & Technology, Michael Oliver Weinberg, co-founder, Improving Alpha Podcast Series, is joined by Jonathan Grabel, Chief Investment Officer, LACERA. Learn about Jonathan’s career journey and how he has achieved a high degree of professional happiness by working in a public pension like LACERA.

Jonathan discusses: 

• How LACERA addresses market volatility today and how innovation plays into that strategic allocation focus. 
  
• How LACERA views ESG in a three-dimensional space and what factors help optimize LACERA’s fiduciary duties for their members.
  
• The intersection between technology and ESG and how human capital helps evaluate new investments.
  
• Moving from a monthly close to a daily NAV, and how it helped LACERA improve portfolio monitoring.
  
• LACERA’s co-investment program and the growth it has seen in outpacing its private equity allocations.
  
• Investment inefficiencies and innovating through investment seeding, and how it can provide a new revenue stream to LACERA.
  
• Observing investment teams that support DE&I and the performance impact to their investment strategies.
  
• And more
  

Resources:

• The End of the World is just the Beginning by Peter Zeihan
  

Connect with Jonathan Grabel:

• Jonathan Grabel
  
• LACERA
  

About Our Guest:

Mr. Grabel manages the multibillion-dollar defined benefit pension fund on behalf of LACERA’s active and retired members. He also oversees the investments for the LACERA-administered healthcare benefits program.

Prior to LACERA, Mr. Grabel was the CIO for New Mexico PERA, where he oversaw the investments for the agency’s $15 billion defined benefit fund and the associated PERA SmartSave deferred compensation plan. 

Previously, he was a general partner at a private equity firm focused on growth-stage investments in technology, networking industries, and digital communications. Earlier in his career, Mr. Grabel was an investment banker and licensed CPA (inactive). He received his Bachelor of Science in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Connect with Michael Oliver Weinberg: 

• Michael Oliver Weinberg
  
• Vidrio
  

About Our Host:

For three decades Michael has invested directly at the security level and indirectly as an asset allocator in traditional and alternative asset classes. Most recently he was a Managing Director, Head of Alternative Alpha, on the Investment Committee and a board member at APG, a Dutch pension provider. Previously he was the Chief Investment Officer at MOV37 and Protege Partners. Michael is also an Adjunct Professor of Economics and Finance at Columbia Business School, where he teaches Institutional Investing, an advanced MBA course that he created.

Michael is a published author, having written for The New York Times, international investment books and other publications. Michael has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, CNBC, Bloomberg and Reuters. He is a frequent panelist, moderator and lecturer for investment banks, institutional and family office organizations and business schools. 

The information covered and posted represents the views and opinions of the guest and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Vidrio Financial, and/or our host, Michael Oliver Weinberg. The Content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional investing advice. Always seek the advice of your financial advisor or other qualified financial service provider with any questions you may have regarding your investment planning.