After my book was published, I spent many hours on podcasts with all sorts of hosts. None, however, were nearly as warm, engaged, and thoughtful as Paul Olschwanger – his questions were informed and incisive, demonstrating understanding, but also warm and human. I could tell immediately that Paul is a man who cares deeply about others, which might help explain his success on this very podcast. Paul is founder of Wendell Rhoads Consulting which helps investment professionals, and their organizations improve levels of trust, engagement, collaboration, team dynamics, and performance. Paul has served on the board of the CFA DFW society for 20 years, and has hosted Charterholder Chatter for 3 seasons. Join us as we turn the tables and ask Paul the questions! We discuss how investment professionals should think about their career, how organizations and employers can think about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and what to expect from season 4 of this very podcast.

Our next to final episode of season 3 represents the best of the best in terms of relevant topics and the voice you will primarily hear throughout the conversation. Rare to find such a high level of intelligence, courage, leadership, and willingness to give back, all in one person. One such individual is Tina Byles Williams, who is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Xponance, a $16.5 billion multi-strategy investment manager, one of the largest diverse and woman-owned investment firms in the U.S. She founded FIS Group, the predecessor firm to Xponance, in 1996, after serving as the CIO for the City of Philadelphia’s Board of Pensions and Retirement, and Investment Officer for Philadelphia Gas Works. Tina is the Lead Portfolio Manager for the firm’s active multi-manager global equity strategies and a member of the investment committee for the firm’s private market strategies.  She is widely regarded as a trailblazer in the field of identifying and investing with alpha producing, entrepreneurial investment management firms, many of which are diverse, and women owned. In addition, she is the chairperson and driving force behind Xponance’s philanthropic entity, A Good Measure Foundation, which provides financial literacy education to inner city youth, supports programs designed to empower impoverished or marginalized women and children, and works to alleviate food insecurities in the firm's local communities.” She completed her undergraduate work at New York University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and earned her master’s degree in public policy with an emphasis in Finance from Harvard University. On today’s podcast, Tina shares more about her personal and professional journey, inspiration along the way, starting a business in an industry dominated by people not looking like her, and biggest challenges to emerging and diverse managers.

Our podcast started a few years ago with the aspirations of having local CFA charterholders share their unique journey. After a few episodes, we realized the high level of interest and impact with hearing about the challenges, proudest moments, and inspirations along the way. No longer am are we searching for the hot topic of conversation, rather the individual who teaches and motivates you to carve out your own path of greatness. Today, we are grateful to spend time with the one and only Rob Kaplan, who just rejoined Goldman Sachs as a Parter and Vice Chairman after previously serving as the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 2015 to 2021. He represented the Eleventh Federal Reserve District on the Federal Open Market Committee in the formulation of US monetary policy and oversaw its 1,300 employees. Rob was previously the Martin Marshall Professor of Management Practice and a Senior Associate Dean at Harvard Business School. Prior to joining Harvard, he was Vice Chairman of the Goldman Sachs Group with global responsibility for the firm's investment banking and investment management divisions. He serves as Chairman of Project A.L.S. and Co-Chairman of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, is a board member of Harvard Medical School, St. Mark’s School of Texas and is a member of the Advisory Council of the George W. Bush Institute. Previously he served as Chairman of the Investment Advisory Committee at Google and a trustee of the Ford Foundation. Proudly born and raised in Prairie Village, Kansas, Rob received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. He has authored three books, including one our host, Paul Olschwanger recently finished, titled What You Really Need to Lead: The Power of Thinking and Acting Like an Owner. On today’s episode, you would think we am going to ask Rob for his views on the economy or fed policy. Not so much, you can easily google Rob Kaplan and these topics. You are, however, in for a treat as we are going to talk more about his professional journey, life leading the Fed, proudest moments, and potential topics for his next book. 

When our podcast was established a few years ago, the initial focus was on local investment legends such as Luther King, Susan Byrne, Jim Hille, and Dan Meader. Finally, as we wind down Season 3, it is time to have another true legend who has dedicated her career to education, leadership, and impacting our investment community. Since 2015, Dr. Marilyn Wiley has served as the Dean of the G. Brint Ryan College of Business at the University of North Texas or UNT. Previously, she was Senior Associate Dean.  Before coming to UNT, she spent three years in the same role at Florida Atlantic University. Marilyn earned a Ph.D. in Finance from Texas A&M University, is a Chartered Financial Analyst and previously served as President of the Dallas-Ft. Worth CFA Society. She also consults for the CFA Institute on curriculum issues, recently served as member of the Board of Directors of the Ft. Worth chapter of Financial Executives International and her research has been published in several academic journals including the Journal of Futures Markets and the Journal of Finance. On this podcast, Marilyn shares her personal and professional journey, what she is most excited about for future generations of leaders in finance, and key takeaways to graduating seniors.

Within and outside the investment management industry, there are many well-intentioned initiatives established to make a significant contribution and difference. Not as difficult to find people who have an opinion as it is to find true leaders willing to climb up and through walls. One such exceptional leader is our guest today. Sarah Maynard is Global Senior Head, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) at CFA Institute. Based in London, Sarah leads a global, industry-recognized portfolio of DEI programs for CFA Institute stakeholders who include CFA Program candidates, charterholders, Societies, and investment institutions, to champion the cause of greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the investment management industry. Sarah is also responsible for internal DEI at CFA Institute, reporting to CEO & President, Marg Franklin.                   Previously, Sarah was Head of Stewardship and Client Communication at Majedie Asset Management, Director of Career Development at CFA Society of the UK, and a founder of the society’s Women’s Network, which she transformed into the Inclusion & Diversity Network, and which now has a membership of over 1,200 investment professionals. Sarah was also a fund manager and analyst at both an asset manager and an asset owner, for which she managed an equities portfolio of US $3.3bn. She has an MA in English Literature and Language from Trinity College, Oxford, holds the ASIP (the credential for Associates of the Society of Investment Professionals), and is an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. She currently serves on the Advisory Boards of Girls Who Invest, the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP), Collaborative WIM, and on the CEO Advisory Council of Diversity Project North America. On today’s episode, Sarah shares more about her journey, commitment to DE&I, her advice to young women entering our industry, and proudest moments.

Some people think, others say, and rarely do you find someone who thinks, says, and does. Our special guest today is that rare individual and he is super-fast at all three. He is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, financial advisor, podcast host, and proud father and husband. John Hagensen serves as a Managing Director and Partner at Creative Planning, overseeing offices in Arizona and North Dakota, and works directly with his clients to create and maintain a customized financial plan addressing all aspects of a healthy financial life, including tax planning, retirement, employee benefits and estate planning. He also hosts “Rethink Your Money,” a weekly radio show and podcast, and has authored two books, including his most recent, “The Retirement Flight Plan.” John brings to his clients more than 13 years of professional experience. Prior to joining Creative, he was the founder and Managing Partner of a national registered independent advisory firm. An airline pilot prior to entering the financial industry, John applies the precision, detail, and quality judgment he used as an aviator to his wealth management approach. He earned a Bachelor of Science in biblical studies from Corban University, has a Master of Science in financial services from the Institute of Business & Finance and obtained a professional certification in Strategic Decision and Risk Management from Stanford University. John has a lot of letters or credentials after his name, just know he is CERTIFIED as an expert in FINANCIAL PLANNING™, FUNDS™, ESTATE AND TRUST, TAX, and INCOME ™. On today’s podcast, John shares more about his unique and successful journey, making the transition from being a business owner, best practices for wealth creation, and aligning purpose and money.

Several years ago, I traveled to Toronto thinking this would be just another business trip, meeting with colleagues, figuring out ways to collaborate, perhaps developing new coaching relationships where I could help individuals and teams reach their potential. My expectations were far exceeded when I met today’s guest who has the rare combination of intelligence, compassion, humility, and willingness to take on new challenges. Calum Mackenzie is a manager on the client solutions team at Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management, based in Vancouver. Prior to joining CC&L Investment Management in 2023, he worked in several progressively senior investment management roles at Aon, including leadership posts in both Canada and the UK. Calum earned an MBA (with Distinction) and a Master of Science in Economic Management and Policy from the University of Strathclyde Business School, Glasgow, as well as an MA in Economic Science from the University of Aberdeen. He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and earned the Investment Management Certificate from CFA Institute while in the UK. On today’s episode, Calum shares his journey, including growing businesses, the importance of developing relationships, thoughts on DE&I, and achieving balance.  

If you have listened to our podcasts, you know by now that we strive to have a diverse set of guests, from allocators to leaders and everything in the middle, while maintaining our requirements for humility and inspiration. Today’s guest has plenty of letters after his name covering the liability and asset pieces along with all asset classes. And he is an exceptional leader and communicator. Tim McCusker is a partner and CIO at NEPC, a private employee-owned investment advisory firm based in Boston, where he is responsible for investment research, investment strategy development, and education of investment strategies. He also works closely with a wide variety of clients. He is a member of several committees at NEPC, including Marketable and Private Investments, and Asset Allocation. He has been recognized on several occasions for being one of the most influential investment consultants. Before joining the firm over 16 years ago, Tim was an associate at Towers Perrin, where he provided actuarial consulting advice. He earned his B.A. in Math from Colgate University, is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and holds the CFA and CAIA designations. On today’s episode, Tim shares his unique journey, making the successful transition from actuary to CIO, key topics of a future commencement speech, and his approach to communication.

Episode 46: Sticking to Calling Balls and Strikes – Talking OCIO Performance Integrity with Brian Schroeder Outsourcing the CIO or OCIO function at a university endowment, corporate pension plan, or healthcare system has become commonplace over the past 10 years. In the early days, the deciding factors were operational efficiencies, meeting a target goal objective, and cost. Today, these same organizations want to make sure they made the right decision to outsource, and did they select the right OCIO.  Today’s guest is Brian Schroeder, who is the founder of OCIO Monitor, a specialty consulting firm that provides due diligence of investment consultants and outsourced chief investment officers. He has over 30 years of investment experience, as both an institutional manager and consultant, and is one of the leading experts in benchmarking and performance reporting transparency. He has been consulted by academics and recently presented to the Securities Exchange Commission’s Division of Exams’ investigators on how to spot performance reporting fraud when conducting routine firm inspections. His forensic analysis is novel by quantitatively scoring the value-add of investment consultants and OCIOs in their five main duties- strategic asset allocation, tactical asset allocation, rebalancing, active manager hiring and active manager firing.  Schroeder has a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Cal State University – East Bay and a Master of Science degree in financial analysis from St. Mary’s College. Growing up, he watched Wall Street Week with Luis Rukeyser. In 7th grade, he read Adam Smith’s Money Game.  On this episode, Brian shares his professional journey, why/how he ended up worrying so much about the performance of OCIO providers, and the importance of mistake-based learning.

Too often in our industry, we want to talk about strategies, processes, and achieving alpha. Today, you are in for a treat if you want to hear more about the importance of self and team awareness, culture, making better decisions, and taking advantage of science and research as we better understand personalities, preferences, and motivations.  Zach Wieder is the Chief Executive Officer of Principles, a company he started with Bridgewater founder and Chairman Ray Dalio. At Principles, he is responsible for building their world-class personality assessment product, PrinciplesYou, that boasts over 2M users, which he built in partnership with world-renowned psychologists Adam Grant and Brian Little. He brings nearly 15 years of experience across management, strategy, operations, and human capital, including 10 years at Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, where Zach worked directly with Dalio as Head of People and Culture and oversaw the team responsible for key initiatives related to Bridgewater’s management transition. In the context of his experience at Bridgewater and Principles, he has coached over 1,000 employees as well as advised executive teams at multiple startups and fortune 500 companies to help them achieve their performance and culture goals. Zach received his Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Princeton University. On today’s episode, Zach shares more about his journey and transition to helping people, teams and organizations improve their level of awareness, collaboration, growth, and having a well-defined culture.