CIOS 2020: Managing institutional portfolios in 2020 – The importance of ETFs

Del Stafford, CFA, Managing Director, is Head of iShares Portfolio Consulting for BlackRock. This team consults directly with institutions across the Americas to develop tailored portfolio solutions primarily through asset allocation and risk analysis. This is executed across multiple asset classes and product structures, focusing on solutions comprising alpha-seeking, factor and index strategies, with expertise in iShares ETFs. Mr. Stafford previously held the position of Head of the Model Portfolio & Solutions (MP&S) business. The team is responsible for managing an array of strategies offered as model portfolios. In this role, he was a member of the model management team, the investment committee and research approval board. Additionally, Mr. Stafford served as a portfolio manager on a series of Blackrock iShares Variable Insurance Funds.

Mr. Ailman has been the Chief Investment Officer of the $250+ billion CalSTRS, for 20 years. Mr. Ailman leads an investment staff of 175. He joined CalSTRS in 2000 and is one of the longest serving public CIO in the country. He has over 35 years of institutional investment experience. Annually, he is listed as one of the top ten CIO’s in the USA and globally by the institutional investment media. integration of the standards in security analysis and portfolio construction.

He has served on several boards and advisory boards in the U.S. and U.K. such as PRI, ICGN, PPI, EDHEC, and most recently as the inaugural Chair of the SASB Investor Advisory Board and the Pacific Asset Management center at UCSD Rady School. He is currently the North American Chair of the “300” CIO Club and the Milken Global Capital Markets Committee. He has received numerous awards and recognitions over his career, from CIO of the Year in 2000, the NAA Latino service award, 2011 Large Plan CIO of the year, and Investment Innovator of the Year in 2011 and again in 2013, all culminating in 2017, with receiving the inaugural Institutional Investor Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2018, he was named the top CIO in the world by Chief Investment Officer Magazine.

Mr. Ailman is a regular guest on the TV and radio, CNBC, Bloomberg, and Nightly Business Report. He is frequently quoted in in major financial publications such as the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Barron’s. He has a BA from UCSB, an FSA, the Fundamentals in Sustainable Accounting credential from SASB. He has been married for 35 years with three adult daughters and is a committed Promise Keeper.

Stephen Laipply, Managing Director, is the Head of U.S. iShares Fixed Income ETFs for BlackRock. His cross-functional team is responsible for supporting client engagement for both institutional and wealth investors, creating thought leadership on fixed income markets and fixed income ETFs, driving new product innovations, and partnering with fixed income broker/dealers. Mr. Laipply is also a member of BlackRock's Investment Strategies and Insights team and has authored and co-authored articles on fixed income markets and investing that have been published in the Journal of Portfolio Management, the Journal of Index Investing, and the Journal of Trading.

Previously, Mr. Laipply was the Head of U.S. iShares Fixed Income Product Strategy and was a member of BlackRock's Systematic Fixed Income Product Strategy Team. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2009, Mr. Laipply was a senior member of the Interest Rate Structuring and Strategic Solutions groups at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he helped to develop investment and risk management solutions for institutional clients across interest rate, credit and securitized exposures.

Mr. Laipply earned a BS degree in finance from Miami University, and an MBA in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Marina Mets heads up Fixed Income and Multi Asset Product Management in the Americas. Building on her prior role in the Research team leading the Canadian Fixed Income business, Marina works closely with FTSE’s partners and key clients, including major asset owners, fund managers and investment banks to develop and broaden FTSE’s fixed income offering globally. Marina leads a team focused on targeted client engagement to design and provide index solutions, educate the market on FTSE’s index philosophy, and profile use of indexes in investment portfolios and strategies across all asset classes.

Marina has been with the Fixed Income Index business for almost 20 years, starting her career in the capital markets research team at Scotiabank, and continuing on with the Canada fixed income index business through its acquisition by TMX Group in 2006, and the subsequent acquisition by FTSE in 2013.

Marina holds a Bachelor of Commerce, specializing in Finance, Accounting, and Economics, from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and is a CPA CMA.