Public Pension and Sovereign Funds Conference and Event Series

2023-2024

Alternative Investing at Public Pension Funds
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 | 12:45 – 1:45 PM
Room 640, Geffen Hall, Columbia Business School

Featuring:  
Keiko Honda, Adjunct Professor, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University 
Macky Tall, Partner and Chair of Global Infrastructure, The Carlyle Group

Opening Remarks: Takatoshi Ito, Professor, SIPA; Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds, CJEB

Note: This event was off the record, and we were unable to accommodate media representatives.

Summary

Conference on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds 
Thursday, November 30, 2023 | 3:00 – 6:10 PM 
Room 620, Geffen Hall, Columbia Business School

Panel I: Macro Environment for Long-Term Investment

Panelists: 
Richard Clarida, C. Lowell Harriss Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Columbia University 
Patricia C. Mosser, Director, MPA Program in Economic Policy Management; Senior Research Scholar, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University 
Junko Nishioka, Chief Economist; Managing Director & Deputy General Manager, Treasury Unit, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

Discussant: Hiroshi Ugai, Chief Economist; Managing Director, University Fund, Japan Science and Technology Agency

Moderator: Takatoshi Ito, Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds (PPPSF), CJEB; Professor, SIPA

Panel II: The University Fund of Japan

Panelists: 
Mark Anson, CEO and CIO, Commonfund 
Masakazu Kita, Vice President and CIO, University Fund, Japan Science and Technology Agency 
Naoya Sugimoto, CFA, CAIA, FRM, Managing Director and Co-CIO, University Fund, Japan Science and Technology Agency 
Maria Vassalou, Head, Pictet Institute

Moderator: Takatoshi Ito

Welcoming Remarks: David Weinstein, Director, CJEB; Carl S. Shoup Professor of the Japanese Economy, Columbia University

Agenda 

Summary
 

2022-2023

Live Webinar 
Series on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds 
ESG Investing – Standard Setting and Pension Funds 
Friday, April 7, 2023 | 8:00 – 9:00 AM (ET) 
Friday, April 7, 2023 | 9:00 – 10:00 PM (Japan Time)

Panelists: 
Tomoko Amaya, Vice Minister for International Affairs, Financial Services Agency, Government of Japan 
Pedro Antonio Guazo Alonso, Representative of the Secretary-General for the Investment of the Assets, United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund 
Jingdong Hua ’03SIPA, Vice-Chair, International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) 
Suyi Kim, Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Private Equity, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments)

Moderator: Keiko Honda, Adjunct Professor, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University

Opening Remarks: Takatoshi Ito, Professor, SIPA; Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds, CJEB

Please note this webinar was held under the Chatham House Rule. The recording of the event will not be made public.

Summary

2021-2022

 
Series on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds* 
How ESG is Practiced in Public Funds 
Thursday, April 14, 2022 | 7:00–8:30 PM (EDT) 
Friday, April 15, 2022 | 8:00–9:30 AM (Japan Time)

Keynote: 
Masataka Miyazono, President, Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) (Slides)

Panelists: 
Caroline Flammer, Professor of International and Public Affairs, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University 
Pedro Antonio Guazo Alonso, Representative of the Secretary-General for the Investment of the Assets, United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund 
Keiko Honda, Adjunct Professor and Adjunct Senior Research Scholar, SIPA

Moderator: Takatoshi Ito, Professor, SIPA; Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds, Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB), Columbia Business School

Opening Remarks: David E. Weinstein, Director, CJEB; Carl S. Shoup Professor of the Japanese Economy, Columbia University

* Please note, this webinar was held under the Chatham House Rule. The recording of the event will not be made public. Simultaneous interpretation was provided.

Summary

Series on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds 
ESG Investing and Its Impact on Asset Pricing 
Wednesday, July 7, 2021 | 8:00–9:00 AM (EDT) 
Wednesday, July 7, 2021 | 9:00–10:00 PM (Japan Time) 

Keynote:  
Masataka Miyazono, President, Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF)

Panel Discussion: 
Jessica Alsford, Global Head of Sustainability Research, Morgan Stanley 
Keiko Honda, Adjunct Senior Research Scholar, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University 
Lukasz Pomorski, Head of ESG Research and Managing Director, AQR Capital Management

Moderator: 
Takatoshi Ito, Professor, SIPA; Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds, Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB), Columbia Business School

Special Note(s):  
Please note, this conference was held under the Chatham House Rule. The recording of the event will not be available.  
This webinar was conducted in English as part of "The Japanese Economy in the COVID-19 Era" series.

Summary 

2020-2021

Conference on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds*

Sessions:

 
Pension Funds and ESG Investing 
Wednesday, November 4, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:00 PM (EST) 
Thursday, November 5, 2020 | 9:00 – 10:00 AM (JST) 
Live Webinar

Featuring: Anita George, Executive Vice-President and Deputy Head, CDPQ Global; Doug Peterson, President and CEO, S&P Global 
Moderator: Keiko Honda, Adjunct Professor and Adjunct Senior Research Scholar, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University; Former CEO of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) of the World Bank Group  
Opening Remarks: David E. Weinstein, Director, CJEB; Carl S. Shoup Professor of the Japanese Economy, Columbia University; Takatoshi Ito, Professor, SIPA, Columbia University; Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds, CJEB

Summary

Public Pension Funds in the COVID-19 Era 
Thursday, November 19, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:15 PM (EST) 
Friday, November 20, 2020 | 9:00 – 10:15 AM (JST) 
Live Webinar

Featuring: Dr. Catherine L. Mann, Global Chief Economist, Citibank; Masataka Miyazono, President, Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF); Geoffrey Rubin, Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist, CPP Investments; Ángel Ubide, Managing Director and Head of Economic Research for Global Fixed Income, Citadel 
Moderator: Takatoshi Ito, Professor, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University; Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds, CJEB

* Please note, this conference was held under the Chatham House Rule. The recording of the event will not be made public.

Agenda 
Summary

2019-2020

Conference on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds

Thursday, November 21, 2019 | 1:00 - 5:20 PM 
The Italian Academy, Columbia University

Keynotes: 
ESG in Public Pension and Sovereign Wealth Funds 
by Keiko Honda, Former Executive Vice President and Former Chief Executive Officer, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); Incoming Adjunct Senior Research Scholar and Adjunct Professor, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University (As of January 2020) 

Key Requirements for Sustaining the Global Expansion 
by John Lipsky, Peter G. Peterson Distinguished Scholar, Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, Johns Hopkins University; Former Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Other participants include: 
Patrick Bolton, Barbara and David Zalaznick Professor of Business, Columbia Business School  
Gauti B. Eggertsson, Professor of Economics, Brown University 
Takatoshi Ito, Professor, SIPA, Columbia University; Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds, CJEB 
Patricia Mosser, Director, MPA Program in Economic Policy Management; Senior Research Scholar, SIPA, Columbia University 
Koji Nakamura, General Manager for the Americas, Bank of Japan 
Eric Ngiam, Senior Vice President, GIC Asset Management 
Hugh Patrick, Chairman, CJEB, Columbia Business School  
Lukasz Pomorski, Managing Director, AQR Capital  
Sudhir Rajkumar, Representative of the Secretary-General (RSG) for UN Pension Fund Investments 
Maria Vassalou, PhD, Chief Investment Officer, VASSALOU C∆PIT∆L MANAGEMENT

Agenda 
Summary

2018-2019

Conference on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds 
Thursday, December 6, 2018 | 1:00-5:20 PM 
The Italian Academy, Columbia University

 
Keynote speakers: Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, TIAA; Nobuchika Mori, Former Commissioner, Financial Services Agency, Japan; Senior Research Scholar, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University

Other participants include:  
Kee Chong Lim, Deputy Group Chief Investment Officer and President, Americas, GIC; Ekaterina (Katya) Gratcheva, Lead Financial Officer in Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, World Bank Group; Takatoshi Ito, Professor, Columbia University; Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds, CJEB; Jacob J. Lew, Former Secretary of the Treasury; Visiting Professor of International and Public Affairs, SIPA; Catherine Mann, Global Chief Economist, Citigroup; Athanasios Orphanides, Professor of the Practice of Global Economics and Management, MIT Sloan School of Management; Hugh Patrick, Director, CJEB, Columbia Business School; Sanjay Peters, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University; Lukasz Pomorski, Managing Director, AQR Capital; Geoffrey Rubin, Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board; Norihiro Takahashi, President, Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF); Ayako Yasuda, Professor of Finance, UC Davis Graduate School of Management

Agenda 
Summary Report

2017-2018

Conference on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds 
Monday, February 26, 2018 | 1:15-5:45 p.m. 
The Italian Academy, Columbia University 
Keynote speakers: Jacob J. Lew, Former Secretary of the Treasury; Visiting Professor of International and Public Affairs, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University; The Honorable Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Member of the House of Representatives of Japan 

Other participants include: 
Anne Valentine Anderson, Head of Funds Management and Global COO for Real Assets, BlackRock; Ralph Berg, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Infrastructure, OMERS; Barry S. Blattman, Vice Chairman, Brookfield Asset Management; Richard Clarida, C. Lowell Harriss Professor of Economics and Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University; Christopher Ferrarone, Senior Vice President of Economics and Investment Strategy Department, GIC; Takatoshi Ito, Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University and Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds, CJEB; Carol Jeppesen, Senior US Network Manager, United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment; John Lipsky, Peter G. Peterson Distinguished Scholar at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs; Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute, Johns Hopkins University; Hugh Patrick, Director, CJEB, Columbia Business School; Lukasz Pomorski, Managing Director, AQR; Carine Smith Ihenacho, Global Head of Ownership Strategies, Norges Bank Investment Management; Norihiro Takahashi, President, Government Pension Investment Fund; Maria Vassalou, Partner, Asset Management, Perella Weinberg Partners

Agenda 
Summary Report

2016-2017

Conference on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds 
Wednesday, April 12, 2017, 1:15 - 5:30 PM 
The Italian Academy, Columbia University 
Sessions: "Investment Challenges in the Environment of Secular Stagnation"; "Best Practices: The Case of GPIF"; "Seeking Alpha - The Role of Alternatives in Asset Allocation" 
Participants: Kevin Bong, Senior Vice President, Economics and Investment Strategy, GIC; Joyce Chang, JP Morgan Chase & Co.; Richard Clarida, Columbia University; Scott Evans, NY City Retirement Systems; John Gandolfo, the World Bank Group Staff Retirement and Benefit Plans; Sadayuki Horie, Nomura Research Institute; former GPIF Investment Advisory Committee; Takatoshi Ito, Columbia University; Director, Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds, CJEB; William Kinlaw, State Street Associates; Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg, Strategic Investment Group; Hugh Patrick, Director, CJEB; Bob Prince, Bridgewater Associates; Andrew Rozanov, Chatham House; Geoffrey Rubin, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board; Chris Schindler, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan; Fiona Stewart, World Bank; Lawrence Summers, Harvard University; and Norihiro Takahashi, President, Government Pension Investment Fund

Agenda 
Summary Report