Multi-Asset Strategies

STEFANO CAVAGLIA
Senior Managing Analyst
State of Wisconsin Investment Board

Stefano Cavaglia is a Senior Portfolio Manager at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board where he is spearheading an initiative on factor premia and total portfolio management. He holds a PhD in Finance from the University of Chicago. Under the mentorship of Gary Brinson, he led the restructuring of UBS Asset Management’s Global Equity investment platform with a view to emphasize the importance of industry factors in the construction of global equity portfolios. His team’s research work supporting the initiative was featured in the Financial Analyst Journal and is now referenced in the CFA curriculum. Subsequently, he founded and managed a $1.3b hedge fund at UBS O’Connor, Chicago corroborating his empirical findings.

STEPHEN A. GORMAN
Head of Multi Asset Portfolio Management
Wellington Management Company

Steve is co-head of our Multi Asset Platform within the Investment Strategy Group. He serves as the head of Multi Asset Portfolio Management. The team has two objectives: (1) to design multi-asset, multi-manager portfolios to meet a diverse set of client objectives, and (2) to manage these portfolios on an ongoing basis to ensure consistency with these objectives. He works closely with the Multi Asset Research and Strategy Team, helping to guide and to implement the active asset allocation process, and the Fundamental Factor Team, leveraging their manager research platform. He also partners with the Global Risk Analysis Team to supplement his team’s portfolio analytics and infrastructure. He serves as a member of the EAF Advisory Group and the Hedge Fund Review Group.

Prior to joining Wellington Management in 2008, Steve worked as chief investment officer and director of research at 2100 Capital Group (2004 – 2008). Before that, he held a variety of positions at Putnam Investments (1994 – 2003), including co-head of Asset Allocation and associate director of Fundamental Equity Research. Before joining Putnam, he held financial analyst positions at Pell Rudman, Applied Economics, and Investment Dealers’ Digest.

Steve earned his MBA, with high distinction, from Dartmouth College (Tuck, 1994) and his BA in economics, magna cum laude, from the College of the Holy Cross (1989). He went on to earn a PhD in finance from EDHEC Business School with a focus on alternative risk premia. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the Chicago Quantitative Alliance.

BRIAN JACOBSEN
Multi-Asset Strategist
Allspring Global Investment

Brian Jacobsen is a senior investment strategist for the Systematic Edge Multi-Asset team at Allspring Global Investments. In this role, he conducts research on risk premia and factors; leads the thought leadership efforts by collaborating with team members across the organization; consults on product development, enhancement, and management; and serves as one of the resident experts on the economy, politics, and the markets for internal and external publications and appearances.

Brian joined Allspring from its predecessor firm, Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM). He participates on a number of investment councils and research councils and is also a frequent guest on national and international television and radio networks, including CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business News. Brian is often cited in the press as a source on the Federal Reserve, world economies, and the global markets. He is also an instructor of practice at Marquette University. Brian began his investment industry career in 1994. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He also earned a law degree from Marquette University Law School. Brian has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®), CFP®, and CAIA designations.

EUGENE PODKAMINER
Head of Research
Franklin Templeton Investments

Gene Podkaminer is executive vice president and head of research for Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. In this role he directs research activities across markets and asset classes, strategic and tactical asset allocation, manager due diligence and selection, using quantitative and fundamental approaches, and incorporating insights from investment teams throughout the firm. Mr. Podkaminer chairs the Investment Strategy Research Committee which informs asset allocation strategy across the solutions organization. He also serves as a portfolio manager for the Franklin Global Allocation Fund.

Prior to joining Franklin Templeton in 2018, Mr. Podkaminer was senior vice president in the Capital Markets Research group at Callan where he was responsible for assisting clients with their strategic investment planning, conducting asset allocation studies, developing optimal investment manager structures, and providing custom research on a variety of investment topics.

Previously, Mr. Podkaminer spent nearly a decade at Barclays Global Investors. As a senior strategist in the Client Advisory Group, he advised some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated pension plans, non-profits, and sovereign wealth funds in the areas of strategic asset allocation, liability driven investing, manager structure optimization, and risk budgeting. As chief strategist of Barclays' Chief Investment Officer (CIO)-outsourcing platform he executed CIO-level functions for corporate pension plans and endowments.

Mr. Podkaminer received a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of San Francisco and an MBA in finance and investment management from Yale University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Society of San Francisco and CFA Institute, where he consults on curriculum development. He is a frequent speaker on investment related topics and has been featured in numerous publications; in 2014 he was named CIO Magazine's “Consultant of the Year.” “Risk Factors as Building Blocks for Portfolio Diversification: The Chemistry of Asset Allocation,” was published by the CFA Institute, “The Education of Beta: Can Alternative Indices Make Your Portfolio Smarter” and “Real Interest Rate Shocks and Portfolio Strategy” were featured in the Journal of Investing, and both “Smart Beta is the Gateway Drug to Risk Factor Investing” and “Preparing a Multi-Asset Portfolio for Shocks to Economic Growth” appear in the Journal of Portfolio Management.