hedgeweekLIVE US | #1 Hedge Event in 2020

Jeff Willardson is a Managing Director and Co-Managing Partner of PAAMCO’s Irvine office.

He is currently Head of Investments for PAAMCO Launchpad, the firm’s early-stage manager seeding platform. Jeff is also the Portfolio Manager for several of the firm’s institutional custom hedge fund solutions.

Throughout his career Jeff has conducted research, due diligence and risk monitoring for managers across all PAAMCO strategies with an emphasis on credit strategies, emerging markets, and real estate.

Prior to joining PAAMCO, Jeff spent five years at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in the Investment Management Division.

Jeff is currently Managing Director and Co-Managing Partner at PAAMCO.

Alexis N. Kwon is an Associate Director at the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA).

Based in NY, she is responsible for supporting AIMA’s US membership and working with its constituents to develop resources around asset raising, sound practices and industry education, and operational efficiency.

Prior to joining AIMA, Alexis was a Vice President at City Financial. She collaborated across City Financial’s global teams to manage business projects for the firm’s alternative strategies. Before transitioning to the buy-side, Alexis held sales and business development roles at Prudential, ING and Sanford C. Bernstein.

Alexis is currently Associate Director at AIMA.

Joel Press founded Press Management LLC in 2010, providing succession planning, compensation, operational guidance and start-up coordination services to entrepreneurs creating hedge funds, private equity and venture funds.

Previously, he co-founded hedge fund Festina Lente Capital Management serving as COO. From 2007-2010, he worked as Managing Director in the Prime Brokerage division of Morgan Stanley, focusing clients and identifying strategic opportunities for the firm.

Joel currently serves on the National Board of HedgeFundCares, the boards of RBaby Foundation Board of Trustees and Park Avenue Armory, and is the treasurer of the Citizens Committee for New York City.

Joel is currently Founding Member at Press Management.

Alison Graham is the portfolio manager of Voltan Frontier Markets Fund. She has over twenty years' experience in emerging markets finance, having traded through the 1995 Mexico crisis, the 1997 Asia crisis, the 1998 Russia crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis.

Alison began her career as a senior equity analyst for Latin America, later moving to Moscow where she advised local firms on regional investments. For the past ten years, she has managed Voltan’s equity and fixed income portfolio across frontier markets, taking advantage of the strong growth and high yields these early stage economies provide.

She holds a Master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley, is a Chartered Financial Analyst and is fluent in six languages.

Alison is currently CIO at Voltan Capital Management.

Kieran Cavanna is the Co-Founder and CIO of Old Farm Partners. Old Farm is a hedge fund allocation firm focusing on small and mid-sized hedge funds, as well as co-investment opportunities.

Prior to Old Farm, Mr. Cavanna worked at Soros Fund Management where he served as the Head of the External Manager Selection team. Mr. Cavanna and his team performed due diligence on and allocated to a select group of hedge funds that deployed a wide variety of hedge fund strategies.

Prior to Soros, Kieran was a Partner and the Head of Research at Titan Advisors, a $5b fund-of-hedge funds.

In total, Mr. Cavanna has allocated to hedge funds for 18 years.

Mr. Cavanna graduated from the University of Richmond with a BA and received an MBA from Vanderbilt University.

Kieran is currently the CIO at Old Farm Partners.

Ms. Kelner is a co-founder and the Senior Partner of Sandglass Capital Management, LLC, a global special situations hedge fund focused on investments across a range of tradeable assets in emerging and frontier markets.

Ms. Kelner was previously a Senior Partner and Strategist with Prince Street Capital where she led the firm’s business development and served on the firm’s investment committee.

Previously, Ms. Kelner spent 15 years in emerging markets as a portfolio manager and trader at hedge funds SAC Capital, Tudor Investment in New York, and Hermitage Capital in Moscow.

Michelle is currently Co-Founder and Senior Partner at Sandglass Capital Management.

Christopher Bodden is a Director of Harbour and is responsible for providing fiduciary services to fund clients, including serving as an independent director for such funds.

Chris began his career with Goldman Sachs Administration Services (GSAS) and was based in the Cayman Islands. He served as a director for a number of Goldman Sachs entities, including Goldman Sachs (Cayman) Trust, Limited and GSAS (Canada) Co.

In 2012 State Street Corporation acquired the GSAS business and he was appointed a Managing Director with responsibility for the Cayman Islands operations.

Chris is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and joined the Harbour team in 2015.

Christopher is currently Director at Harbour.

Eli is the founding partner of Axis Global Advisory LLC and AGA Securities LLC, advising on capital raising for funds and companies.

Prior to founding Axis in 2016, Eli was a founding partner, President and CCO of MeehanCombs. Eli was a founding member of Alden Global Capital, where he was a Managing Director and led the capital raising, business growth and strategy functions of the firm.

Previously, he served as Managing Director at Eos Partners; Director at Caxton Health Holdings; and at Goldman Sachs where he focused on raising capital for alternative investments.

Eli is currently Founding Partner at Axis Global Advisory, as well as Owner / Principal at AGA Securities.

Wayne founded BCK Capital Management LP over four years ago and serves as its CEO and CIO.

BCK Capital operates a global special situations strategy focused on equities via a differentiated approach to merger arbitrage and special situations investing.

With over fifteen years of experience in the strategy as well as six years of legal experience, Yu previously worked as a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager for the Condorcet Global Opportunity Fund (and predecessor entity) for Société Générale and its affiliates. Yu also worked at Citadel Investment Group in Chicago from 2002 to 2008.

Wayne is currently CEO/CIO at BCK Capital Management.

With over 20 years' experience in finance, Mr. Mahjouri is currently responsible for the overall investment and business initiatives at Blueshift Asset Management.

Prior to co-founding Blueshift, he served as CIO and Chief Strategist of Tradeworx, Inc. He was Global Head of Foreign Exchange at Sun Trading, LLC, where he ran its electronic market making operation in FX.

Mr. Mahjouri began his career at AQR Capital Management, where he became a senior member of the Global Asset Allocation team responsible for fixed income strategies.

Mani is currently CEO / CIO at Blueshift Asset Management.

Alex is a financial executive, with a 20+ year track record of helping firms institutionalize their businesses and create strategies to meaningfully grow assets.

Earlier this year, Alex launched his own firm, LEVVR who advises Funds on their operational, technical and strategic needs.

Previously, Alex was the Chief Operating Officer at Senvest Management overseeing all aspects of the firm’s operations. Prior to that, he was the Head of Operations & Partner at Buckingham Capital Management.

Alex started his career at GAMCO Investors (NYSE: GBL) as Assistant Director of Global Operations.

Alex is currently Managing Partner at LEVVR.

Michael Marrano is a cybersecurity professional focused on providing Virtual CISO and Cybersecurity services for clients.

With his boutique cybersecurity consulting and advisory firm, Riskigy.com, he provides high-quality services to organizations of all sizes. Michael has been honing his skills as a real-world technology and information security practitioner over the last three decades.

Early in his career Michael managed technology on trading floors such as NYSE, AMEX, PHLX and has been focused on technology and cybersecurity in the alternative investment industry since 2000.

Michael is currently CISSP / CISM / CISA at RiskIGY.

Kevin Neubauer is a partner in the Investment Management Group at Seward & Kissel LLP.

Kevin has extensive experience representing sponsors and managers of private investment funds, particularly private equity funds, private credit funds, venture capital funds and hedge funds, on the formation, structuring and offering of interests of such funds. Kevin also counsels investment advisers on fund restructurings, capital raising, and fund regulation and compliance.

He joined the Firm in 2009 and in 2012 left to work in the legal department at Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. before returning to Seward & Kissel. Kevin received a B.A. from Fairfield University and a J.D. from Boston College Law School.

Kevin is currently Partner at Seward & Kissel LLP.

Barbara Ann Bernard is the Founder & CIO of Wincrest Capital. Barbara Ann was named one of the top 50 Women in Hedge Funds globally by Ernst & Young and the Hedge Fund Journal in 2019. She co-founded the Variant Perspectives: Women in Value Investing Conference and was honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2018.

She has a passion for investing that goes back to her days of growing up in The Bahamas, when she persuaded legendary value investor Sir John Templeton, to take her on board for the first of what would become a series of summer jobs at Templeton Global Advisors.

Later, working in investment banking at Goldman Sachs, followed by alternative asset management at Deutsche Bank, and as an investment analyst at Holowesko Partners, she acquired a robust grasp of valuation and the hedge fund industry.

Today, she is the portfolio manager of the Wincrest Contraria Fund, a global long/short equity fund. Barbara Ann is a graduate of Li Po Chun United World Colleges in Hong Kong and the London School of Economics, where she Chaired the LSE Business Society. She currently serves on the Finance Committee of the Lyford Cay Foundation and Chairs the United World Colleges Bahamian National Committee.

Barbara is currently Founder & CIO at Wincrest Capital.

Michael Stein rejoined the Citi Private Bank in 2018 and is a Director and Senior Portfolio Manager on the Hedge Fund Research and Management team.

Mike’s prior experience at Citi was as a senior member of the Hedge Fund Research team where he held the roles of Strategy Head — Relative Value, Multi-Strat, and Fund of Funds as well as Head of Investment Due Diligence.Prior to Citi, Mike was Head of Business Strategy at Field Street Capital Management, LLC, a $3 billion AUM fixed income and global macro hedge fund.

At Field Street, he was responsible for business development and investor relations facing the firm’s mostly institutional client base, as well as implementing investment strategies and recruiting new investment talent. Earlier in his career, Mike held senior research and portfolio management roles at UBP and Battersby Capital. He began his career at D.E. Shaw & Co in 2002.

Mike was a John Carroll Scholar at Georgetown University where he graduated cum laude with a BS in Business Administration. He holds FINRA Series 3 and 7 licenses.

Michael is currently Director & Senior Portfolio Manager, Alternative Investments at Citi Private Advisory, LLC.

Faryan Amir-Ghassemi is a founder of Epsilon Asset Management and its Chief Investment Officer.

Prior to Epsilon, Mr. Amir-Ghassemi was a Director of Analytics and Quantitative Investment Strategies at Novus Partners. In that capacity, he worked with clients ranging from endowments and multi-billion dollar family offices to fundamentally focused multi-manager hedge funds, creating solutions around portfolio optimization and investment strategies.

Prior to joining Novus, he was a Hedge Fund Analyst at Cambridge Associates, focusing on hedge fund research for the firm's institutional investor clients.

Mr. Amir-Ghassemi graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in English Literature, earning an Honors Citation in his major and a Scholar's Citation in Business, Society and the Economy.

Faryan is currently Founder and CIO at Epsilon Asset Management.

Nicholas Nolan is the Senior Director of Solutions Consulting at SS&C Advent.

He primarily works with Hedge Funds, Assets Managers and Fund Administrators as they evaluate new operating models for middle and back office technology and services.

Areas of expertise include Complex Derivatives, Bank Loan/Credit and Debt processing, Reconciliation and Asset Servicing. Prior to that he worked at Fidelity Investments in Collateral Risk Management.

He is a graduate of Columbia University and currently lives in NYC with his wife and 2 children.

Nicholas is currently Senior Director, Solutions Consulting at SS&C Advent.

Michael Fastert, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer, joined Tiedemann Investment Group in June 2007 as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer overseeing all legal and compliance matters of TIG.

In January 2016, Mr. Fastert was appointed Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer responsible for assisting the President in collectively overseeing day to day operations of TIG, as well as continued oversight of legal and compliance matters.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Fastert worked for Seward & Kissel LLP representing and advising clients in the formation and distribution of domestic and offshore hedge funds, master-feeder funds and funds of funds pursuant to U.S. federal and state securities law from 2003 to 2007.

Mr. Fastert received a B.B.A. in Finance from the College of William & Mary and a J.D. from Boston College Law School.

Michael is currently Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer at TIG Advisors, LLC.

Daniel is a financial executive with over 25 years’ experience in helping emerging managers (both pre and post launch) effectively institutionalize their business and manage growth.

Late last year, Daniel joined Integrated Portfolio Intelligence (“IPI”) as a senior advisor.Previously, Daniel was CFO/CCO for Phillimore Investments. Prior to that, Daniel was Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at R&F Capital Advisors and prior to that was CFO at Anderson Global Macro.

Daniel started his career at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as an analyst in the Primary Dealer Division. Daniel earned a BA degree in Mathematical Statistics from Columbia University and an MBA in Finance from Fordham University.

Daniel currently serves on the Board of the Westchester Children’s Association.Daniel is currently a senior advisor at IPI.

Daniel is currently Senior Advisor at Integrated Portfolio Intelligence.

Mark Yusko is the Founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management. He is also the Managing Partner of Morgan Creek Digital Assets. Morgan Creek Capital Management was founded in 2004 and currently manages close to $2 billion in discretionary and non‐discretionary assets.

Prior to founding Morgan Creek, Mr. Yusko was CIO and Founder of UNC Management Company (UNCMC), the Endowment investment office for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before that, he was Senior Investment Director for the University of Notre Dame Investment Office. Mr. Yusko has been at the forefront of institutional investing throughout his career.

An early investor in alternative asset classes at Notre Dame, he brought the Endowment Model of investing to UNC, which contributed to significant performance gains for the Endowment. The Endowment Model is the cornerstone philosophy of Morgan Creek, as is the mandate to Invest in Innovation. Mr. Yusko is again at the forefront of investing through Morgan Creek Digital Assets, which was formed in 2018. Morgan Creek Digital is an early stage investor in blockchain technology, digital currency and digital assets through the firm’s Venture Capital and Digital Asset Index Fund.Mr.

Yusko received a BA with Honors from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Chicago.

Mark is currently Founder/CEO/CIO at Morgan Creek Capital Management.

Jack Seibald is Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Prime Brokerage and Outsourced Trading at Cowen Inc.

He’s responsible for directing and overseeing the firm’s global team across its offices throughout the US, UK, and Hong Kong.

He was a co-founder and managing member of Concept Capital Markets, LLC until its acquisition by Cowen Group, Inc. in September 2015.

He has been affiliated with the firm and its predecessors since 1995, and has extensive experience in prime brokerage, investment management, and research dating back to 1983.

Jack is currently Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Prime Brokerage & Outsourced Trading at Cowen.

Aaron Steinberg is a Director for BNY Mellon’s Pershing.

As Leader of Prime Services’ Sales and Relationship Management, Aaron and his team establish and maintain prime brokerage and financing relationships with hedge funds, mutual funds and other alternative managers.

Prior to joining Pershing in 2007, Aaron held roles for Bear Stearns’ Prime Brokerage Consulting group, Dreyfus and Mellon HBV Alternative Strategies, and Furman Selz.

Aaron is a board member of Assist NYC, a nonprofit which uses basketball to assist youth in need.

He earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the State University of New York.

Aaron is currently Director at BNY Mellon’s Pershing.

Russell Safirstein is Partner in Charge of Anchin Digital Risk Solutions LLC (ADRS), a newly formed subsidiary that delivers and develops technology-driven risk and compliance advisory, and analytics-based services.

A Senior Executive and a progressive thinker, Russell has been successful in bringing non-traditional solutions to an ever-changing work environment by combining audit, accounting, risk, compliance and technology in successful business engagements.

He is a proven risk, audit and technology leader with more than 25 years of experience advising clients in a wide range of industries, including financial services, healthcare and management consulting.

Russell is a highly regarded and sought after speaker on issues related to technology, audit and risk practices.

Russell is currently Partner in Charge at Anchin Digital Risk Solutions.

Jenny Kim DeSmyter is Director of Global Sales Strategy at SS&C Eze, a leading global provider of investment management software solutions.

With nearly 15 years of experience in the hedge fund space, Jenny is responsible for strategic relationships with buy-side institutions.

She joined Eze Software in 2007, and has held a number of leadership positions in sales and client services in New York and Boston. In addition, Jenny is the founder of The Network, SS&C Eze’s leadership development program for women.

Jenny earned her B.A. in Sociology and History, cum laude, from Duke University.

Jenny is currently Director of Global Sales Strategy at SS&C Eze.

Michael Pusateri launched Siepe in 2012 after spending 14+ years in the hedge fund sector and observing first-hand the technology struggles that buy-side firms were facing with managing their data workflows and infrastructure capabilities.

As a technology visionary with deep expertise in portfolio management, operations, accounting and technology, Michael created Siepe with the goal of offering public cloud managed services and data analytics designed specifically to address the hurdles that these firms were facing.

Before launching Siepe, Michael served as CTO for Carlson Capital, CTO and co-COO for Highland Capital Management, and database and web development lead for HBK Investments in Dallas

Michael is currently CEO at Siepe.

Ron S. Geffner is a founding member of the firm’s Executive Committee and also oversees the Financial Services Group.

He regularly structures, organizes and counsels private investment vehicles, investment advisory organizations, broker-dealers, commodity pool operators and other investment fiduciaries.

Mr. Geffner also routinely counsels clients in connection with regulatory investigations and actions. His broad background with federal and state securities laws, and the rules, regulations and customary practices of the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Commodities Futures Trading Commission and various other regulatory bodies, enables him to provide strategic guidance to a diverse clientele.

He provides legal services to hundreds of hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds organized in the United States and offshore.

Ron is currently Partner at Sadis & Goldberg LLP.

The industry outlook for hedge funds is positive, with assets on track to reach a new all-time high in 2020.

However, as the market becomes more saturated and global economic and political unrest continues to create uncertainty, start-up and emerging managers need to understand the potential risks that come with growth.

Following the success of our European Emerging Managers Summit in November 2019, Hedgeweek is excited bring the event stateside and online via Hopin.to — we hope you’ll join us.

The importance of the outsourced trading desk, the fund administrator, the outsourced risk provider and the compliance partner in supporting an alternative fund
How has the outsourcing model changed? What are the challenges/benefits?
Understanding vendor risk when using managed IT service providers
What do investors think about outsourcing - how have their views and expectations changed?
Can some strategies outsource more than others? i.e. equity strategies vs event-driven, distressed credit strategies

Missed this event? Register for the next one on 11-12 November!

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Managing a Start-up or Emerging Hedge Fund in 2020

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