Our expert panel delves into what makes the most sense for the long term and what the best strategies are for choosing alts. We’ll also examine and test the viability of various strategies, from hedge funds to private equity, real estate, and commodities.

We’ll talk inside baseball about some of the better plays for allocators.
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    Alison Mintzer
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    Christine Giordano
    Managing Editor, Chief Investment Officer
    Christine Giordano has been managing editor of ai-CIO.com (Chief Investment Officer’s digital news site) since 2016. The ai-CIO brand was honored with the prestigious Best Media Brand award in 2016, 2018, and 2019 in the Jesse H. Neal Awards.
    A career journalist, prior to joining the company, Giordano wrote in-depth news for daily newspapers and as a staff writer for The New York Times Company, winning the team NYT Chairman’s Award, the Florida Bar’s Grand Prize award, and various first place awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. She is a fellow of both the National Press Foundation and the American Institute for Economic Research.
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    Jeff Lewis
    Staff Vice President of Retirement Investments for FedEx Corporation
    Jeff is the Staff Vice President of Retirement Investments for FedEx Corporation. His group oversees the assets of the Company’s retirement plans. The plans collectively total approximately $60 billion: the U.S. pension plan has over $28 billion in assets; the U.S. 401(k) plan, $25 billion; and various international plans. His primary responsibilities include determining the plans’ asset allocation; hiring and monitoring of fund managers; and managing various vendor relationships (investment consultant, custodian, and recordkeepers).
    Prior to this role, Jeff worked at FedEx Services in internal finance. Previously, he also worked at Bolton Financial, an alternative investment firm; Goldman Sachs, where he was in Private Client Services; and at Cazenove Incorporated, a leading UK investment bank.
    Jeff holds an A.B. in History and Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School, UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was Beta Gamma Sigma. He is a CFA charterholder.
    Jeff currently serves on the boards of Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South, the CFA Society of Memphis, and the City of Germantown Pension Commission; is President of the Economics Club of Memphis; and is a past board member for CIEBA (Committee for the Investment of Employee Benefit Assets).
    He is a native Memphian and is married with three children.
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    Richard Sega
    Global Chief Investment Strategist of Conning
    Richard Sega, FSA, is the global chief investment strategist of Conning, a leading global provider of investment management solutions with almost $200 billion of assets under management (AUM). Sega is responsible for the investment strategy for Conning’s clients worldwide. The company’s clients are international insurance companies, banks, pension funds, corporate funds, and charitable organizations.
    Prior to joining Conning in 2000, Sega was president, CEO and CIO at Charter Oak Capital Management, where he was responsible for all aspects of the investment management and advisory business, including quantitative and investment research, portfolio and asset/liability management, trading, client service and reporting, operations, sales, and marketing. Sega managed Charter Oak’s $3.5 billion AUM in portfolios that included government bonds, investment grade corporate bonds, money markets, common stock, preferred stock, private placements, commercial loans, and equity real estate.
    Previously, Sega also held senior roles such as vice president at Aetna Life & Casualty, managing director at Aeltus Investment Management, and vice president and corporate portfolio manager at Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company.
    Sega has over 30 years of insurance asset management experience. He has an master’s in statistics from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in mathematics from Fordham University.
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    John Bowman
    Senior Managing Director for the CAIA Association
    John Bowman, CFA is Senior Managing Director for the CAIA Association, overseeing the industry leading CAIA charter, thought leadership, and CAIA's Asia Pacific strategy.
    John is a staunch advocate for market integrity, long-termism, investor outcomes, diversity, human dignity and educational standards as necessary ingredients to building a sustainable, healthy profession.
    John was previously Managing Director for the Americas for CFA Institute, and prior to that held portfolio manager positions at Mellon Growth Advisors and State Street Global Advisors. John’s comments appear in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and CNBC. He holds a BS in Business Administration from Mary Washington College.