In this episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, host Robert Morier sits down with Paul Cavazos, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at American Beacon Advisors. Paul brings more than 25 years of experience managing institutional portfolios for major corporate plans—including Chrysler, Boeing, and DTE Energy—before joining American Beacon to lead their investment strategy, manager oversight, and OCIO business. Paul shares how those years as an asset owner shaped the way he evaluate...
In this episode of dakota live!, host Robert Morier sits down with Chrissie Pariso, Managing Partner of MPowered Capital, to discuss what it takes to identify, underwrite, and empower the next generation of investment managers. With over two decades of allocator experience—from leading Exelon’s Private Equity Manager Program to joining MPowered Capital alongside industry legend Marcia Page—Chrissie offers an insider’s perspective on manager selection, due diligence, and firm building in today...
In this episode, host Robert Morier sits down with Kyle Marmelstein, Investment Director at Crewcial Partners, live from Newport, Rhode Island. With over 15 years in institutional consulting and manager research, Kyle shares insights into building lasting partnerships, managing risk through market cycles, and why empathy and listening are essential tools in the allocator’s toolkit. From the lessons of 2008 to today’s private equity dislocations, Kyle offers a grounded view of wh...
Recorded from the beautiful Castle Hill Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, this special episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast captures the energy and insights of the Havener Capital Partners StorySales Accelerator Capstone Event. In this conversation, host Robert Morier sits down with Evan Butler, Investment Analyst at CW Advisors, to explore the art and science of manager research and due diligence from the perspective of both the Chief Investment Officer and the analyst. Evan shares how CW Adviso...
What’s changed—and what still matters—in the OCIO model? In this episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, host Robert Morier sits down with Adam Lerner, Senior Director of Investments at Prime Buchholz, to unpack how a research-driven OCIO and consulting platform evaluates managers, constructs portfolios, and serves nonprofit clients across endowments, foundations, healthcare systems, and more. Founded in 1988, Prime Buchholz is one of the industry’s leading independent investment consulti...
In this episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, host Robert Morier welcomes Sean Poe, Director of Investment Manager Research at Key Private Bank, for an insightful conversation about investment philosophy, rethinking career paths, and the art of selecting managers across public and private markets. With a dynamic background that spans equity research, private investing, and operating roles at firms like Wayfair and Lowe’s, Sean brings a unique perspective to portfolio construction and manager ...
In this episode of Dakota Live!, host Robert Morier sits down with Nick Gentile, Interim President and Chief Investment Officer of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors, to explore how a mission-driven $29 billion organization navigates today’s complex fixed income and alternative markets. Nick Gentile, a seasoned fixed income specialist, offers an inside look at how his team approaches asset allocation, manager selection, and liquidity management while staying true to the Knights’ Catholic inv...
Learn how allocators identify early warning signs, build vision-based trust, and evaluate managers effectively. In this episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, host Robert Morier sits down with Dr. Dali Ma, Head of the Management Department at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, to explore how timeless principles of leadership apply directly to today’s asset management and allocator community. Dr. Ma shares actionable insights that asset managers and allocators can incorporate into ...
On this special episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, we take a slightly different path from our usual allocator conversations. Thanks to a connection made by one of our Drexel University summer interns, we sit down with Adele C. Oliva, Founding Partner at 1315 Capital, a Philadelphia-based healthcare growth equity firm managing over $1 billion in assets. Adele shares her journey from Baxter and Apex Partners to co-founding 1315 Capital, and how she built a firm dedicated to scaling commercia...
In this episode of Dakota Live!, we sit down with Chris Ceasare, institutional investing veteran, teacher, and mentor—focused on turning theory into practice and helping students and managers communicate what truly matters. From UPS’s pension desk to co-founding Rocaton and navigating the OCIO wave, Chris Cesare has seen how real decisions get made, and how great managers actually communicate. Now a University of Connecticut adjunct professor, Chris shares practical lessons on integrity, “m...
In this special episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, host Robert Morier takes the show back on the road to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he sits down with Jim Dunn, Chief Executive Officer of Verger Capital Management. From his beginnings as a first-generation college graduate and collegiate soccer goalie to leading one of the most respected OCIO firms in the country, Jim shares how formative experiences in athletics, lifeguarding, and family life shaped his views on risk, leadership, ...
Join Dakota Live! as we sit down with Caprock Group CIO Vivek Jindal to discuss his first 100 days, the investment landscape, and where he sees opportunity in alternatives, venture capital, private credit, and impact investing. Discover how Caprock’s culture and customized approach shape long-term success. We’re kicking off a new season of the Dakota Live! Podcast with a rare opportunity: sitting down with a CIO in the earliest days of their leadership journey. With $13.8 billion under advi...
In this episode of Dakota Live! Podcast, we sit down with Angela Williams, a Senior Investment Analyst at CIBC Private Wealth in Boston. Angela brings over 25 years of industry experience to her role, where she is responsible for manager due diligence and selection for CIBC Private Wealth's Multi-Manager Investment Program. Angela shares her insights into the rigorous process of manager research, emphasizing the critical balance between strategy differentiation and risk management. Whether ...
In this episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, host Robert Morier sits down with Alex Edelson, Founder & General Partner of Slipstream Investors, a venture capital fund of funds dedicated to backing emerging pre-seed and seed-stage managers. Alex shares his unique journey from law to venture capital, his lessons as Chief Strategy Officer and COO at QED Investors, and why Slipstream focuses on smaller, harder-to-access funds with outsized return potential. We cover: - What makes emerging m...
In this episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, host Robert Morier sits down with Matthew Wright, founder of Disciplina Group and former Chief Investment Officer at Vanderbilt University, for a deep dive into manager research, due diligence, and portfolio construction in the OCIO market. Matthew shares his philosophy for sourcing and underwriting emerging managers, with a particular focus on boutique, employee-owned firms that bring a true “edge” to private markets, venture capital, and hedge f...
In this episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, Robert Morier sits down with Ken Frier, Chief Investment Officer at Atlas Capital Advisors, to discuss the role of systematic investing in portfolio construction and decision-making. With more than three decades of experience managing institutional capital at Disney, Hewlett-Packard, Stanford Management Company, and the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, Ken brings a deep understanding of asset allocation, quantitative investing, and cost-consciou...
In this powerful episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, we dive deep into the future of venture capital, emerging manager selection, and the evolving dynamics between GPs and LPs with two thought leaders reshaping the industry: Rohit Yadav, author of The Big Book of Venture Capital, and Jamie Rhode, Partner at Screendoor, an LP platform backing early-stage managers with institutional rigor and long-term vision. Why This Episode Matters This episode is a must-watch for anyone navigating today’s...
In this episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, host Robert Morier welcomes Amanda Kane, Director of Private Investments with Windrose Advisors, for an in-depth discussion on private market manager research and its critical role in portfolio construction. With extensive experience in asset allocation, investment due diligence, and manager selection, Amanda shares insights on navigating private equity, private credit, and venture capital allocations for families, foundations, and endowments. Am...
In the latest episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast, Robert Morier welcomes Frank Valle, Associate Director of Fixed Income at Marquette Associates, for a thoughtful and practical conversation on manager research, fixed income portfolio construction, and the evolving dynamics of investment consulting. Frank shares insights from nearly two decades in the industry, offering valuable perspective for both asset managers and institutional allocators. From core and core-plus strategies to satellite ...
Join host Robert Morier and Andrew O’Shea in this insightful episode of the Dakota Live! Podcast as they sit down with Zach Ruchman, Managing Director of Private Investments at HB Wealth, a $26 billion multi-family office and RIA. With a background that spans from global public policy to direct private equity co-investments, Zach shares his journey and offers a masterclass on navigating private investments in today’s evolving wealth management landscape. In this episode, you’ll learn: • Ho...