LGPS Private Markets Forum

Aoifinn is passionate about financial markets, knowledge sharing and education. She strives to demystify the world of investing for clients by educating them rather than merely offering advice. Her commitment to reducing complexity has empowered countless clients to make informed decisions.

In her role as Managing Director – Global Wealth, Aoifinn is responsible for leading the team’s overall investment efforts and serving as a liaison to Moneta’s in-house investment department. Aoifinn also operates as the team’s Chicago Market Leader with an emphasis on serving the Family Office Practice.

Originally from Ireland, Aoifinn began her career in London as an investment banking associate at Goldman Sachs International and a specialist consultant at Cambridge Associates Limited. She subsequently founded Clontarf Capital, a pan-alternatives research and consulting firm. She later served as CIO for the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago and head of investment for Ireland at Hermes Fund Managers Ireland Limited.

When Aoifinn joined Moneta in 2021 as CIO, she brought with her a wealth of experience in institutional client management and alternative investments, coupled with a robust background in portfolio oversight. Her illustrious global career, spanning key financial hubs such as London, Hong Kong, New York City, and Chicago, has enriched her perspective and nurtured her creativity, innovation, and adaptability. Over the years, she has cultivated a vast network of industry contacts and gained exposure to a diverse array of investment manager talent. Most recently, Aoifinn excelled as Moneta’s Chief Global Market Strategist, leveraging her over two decades of experience in the financial industry to provide a truly global investment outlook.

Aoifinn is also a licensed attorney and has been a member of the New York Bar since 1996. She holds law degrees from Trinity College Dublin and Oxford University, an MBA from INSEAD in France, and an MSc in Applied Neuroscience from Kings College London.

In addition to her professional achievements, Aoifinn hosts and produces The Fiftyfaces Podcast, which highlights diversity and inclusion within the investment industry and other professions. She has completed 55 marathons, speaks German, French and Spanish, and enjoys traveling, particularly when it involves some skiing in the winter months.

Richard is the Co-Head of Investments and Head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). In his role as Co-Head of Investments, he has broad leadership and management responsibilities across the global investment platform. He also heads the London office and sits on the Portfolio Management Group Committee and Evergreen Portfolio Committee. Richard serves as a member of the Investment Committee and represents Hamilton Lane on several fund advisory boards. 

Prior to joining Hamilton Lane in 2011, Richard worked as a Director with Alliance Trust Equity Partners, where he helped establish a private equity fund investment business together with making a number of direct investments.  

Previously, Richard worked in the U.K. at Noble Group, where he was responsible for making and managing venture and growth capital investments. 

Richard received his B.Com. from University of Edinburgh. 

Alex joined OEGen as Co-head in 2015 to help develop the energy strategy, originate and structure investments in new areas and to widen OEGen’s investor relationships. Alex manages private institutional funds which serve several large pension and insurance company investors. Alex is a member of the Investment Manager’s Executive Committee. Prior to joining OEGen, Alex was Director in the Energy and Environmental Infrastructure team at Ernst & Young LLP where he provided a wide range of corporate and project finance services to leading investors in the renewable energy industry. Alex is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, qualifying in 2003.

Richard is CIO at LPPI and has responsibility for management of all investment and client activity.

Richard has more than 20 years of investment experience. Prior to joining LPP in 2017, Richard was Head of Portfolio Advisory (EMEA) at Albourne Partners for six years where he advised European investors on alternative investments, portfolio construction and risk management. Earlier in his career, Richard was Head of Multi-Strategy at Old Mutual Asset Managers and prior to this an analyst at GNI Fund Management. Richard holds a degree and a master’s degree in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

Alex is the Head of Pensions at Torfaen County Borough Council, where he is responsible for management of the Greater Gwent Pension Fund’s investment and administration functions.

Alex leads the investment strategy of the Greater Gwent Pension Fund and was heavily involved in the establishment of an Impact Investment policy during 2023. An active voice across the Wales Pension Partnership, Alex is a member of the officer working group supporting the development of pooling objectives across all workstreams.

Prior to joining Torfaen in 2019, Alex worked for Gloucestershire County Council, initially as a graduate trainee before moving into a finance and investment management role with the Council’s Pension Fund.

Alex is a CIPFA qualified accountant and is actively studying for the Investment Management Certificate.

Stuart Fiertz is the Co-Founder, President and Head of Responsible Investment of Cheyne Capital. Stuart has over 30 years’ experience in investment research and management.  Prior to establishing Cheyne in June 2000, Stuart was responsible for credit research and customised portfolio solutions in Morgan Stanley’s convertible bond practice, following several years in credit and equity research at Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch. 

Stuart is passionate about responsible investing and was a key architect of Cheyne’s launch in social impact in 2014.  Stuart participates actively in the investment industry dialogue, speaking frequently at events and summits.

He is a CFA® charterholder and a CAIA designee. He is chairman of the Alternative Credit Council (ACC) and a Founder & Trustee of the Standards Board for Alternative Investments (SBAI). From 2014 until 2020, Stuart was also a council director of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) board. Stuart was educated at the International School of Geneva and at Dartmouth College where he was awarded a BA degree in Political Science and Economics.

Emaad Sami started his career in infrastructure finance at Citigroup in 2007. He subsequently helped build Citi’s Private Funds Group as one of its founding members where he spent 15 years advising institutional investors on a variety of private debt strategies. Emaad joined Schroders Capital in 2023 as a Product Director in the Infrastructure Debt team, focusing on investor relations and product development.

Philip is a senior consultant in our LGPS investment practice and has a strong track record of identifying and evaluating new investment opportunities, building investment cases, structuring appropriate solutions (involving funds or direct investments), and in their execution.

Prior to joining Hymans Robertson in 2020, Philip worked for over 20 years in the asset management industry supporting institutional clients in the development and implementation of their investment strategies.

Mr. Clark is the President and a member of the Investment Committee of Performance Equity. Prior to the formation of Performance Equity in June 2005, Mr. Clark was a Portfolio Manager in the GMIMCo Private Markets Group and a member of the private equity investment committee. Prior to joining GMIMCo in 1998, Mr. Clark managed private equity and debt investments for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company for almost ten years. As a Director of Metropolitan’s private equity group, he managed certain direct and majority-owned equity investments, as well as domestic fund sponsor relationships. Prior to this, he was a Senior Accountant at KPMG Peat Marwick.  Mr. Clark is a member of the CFA Institute.  He received his undergraduate degree and his MBA from Brigham Young University.

Peter is Managing Director of Gresham House’s Sustainable Infrastructure division and Fund Manager for the British Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (BSIF) strategy. He is also a member of the Gresham House Sustainability Executive Committee and the Gresham House Asset Management Board.

Prior to Gresham House, Peter led the investment and exit of the Sustainable Infrastructure-focused Environmental Capital Fund (ECF) for SEP, one of Europe’s most successful VC firms.

With over 22 years of public and private equity investment, development and fund management experience, including two top-decile infrastructure fund exits, he has invested into and exited over 200 infrastructure and technology companies across all sectors with an equity value of over £1.7bn and capital value of c.£5.5bn.

Peter has had board member roles on over 90 investee companies and is a Senior Associate of the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership (CISL). Peter is also an active investor in early-stage sustainability companies.

Jos Seligman is the Investment Director and a Fund Manager at Swiss Life Asset Managers UK, he joined in 2015 and has worked in property investment and Fund Management for 18 years.

He has transacted over £2bn across every sector and geography of the UK, in both debt and equity, from core to development risk profiles. He is responsible for managing the residential investment and operational business of Swiss Life Asset Managers UK. 

Jos holds a History MA (Hons) from the University of St Andrews, Real Estate Finance BSc from Cass Business School and an MBA from the University of Cambridge and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

Mark Lyon is Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, one of the largest LGPS pools in the UK responsible for the management of £38.3bn. He oversees the management of the internal equities, fixed income and private markets investment functions. Mark has more than 20 years’ experience in investment management and is a CFA Charterholder. He was previously the Head of Investments for the Derbyshire and East Riding local authority pension funds. Prior to working in investment management, Mark worked in Corporate Finance and Audit for BDO Stoy Hayward where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

Stephen Dowd is Chief Investment Officer – Private Infrastructure Strategies for CBRE Investment Management. He leads the firm’s private infrastructure investment practice, overseeing investment strategies, portfolio management, analytics and performance measurement. Stephen joined the organization in 2014 as Partner and Global Head of Infrastructure for the predecessor private infrastructure firm that became part of CBRE Investment Management and moved into his current role in 2020.

Stephen is passionate about building an infrastructure investment business of quality, integrity and scale that strives to achieve clients’ risk-return goals. He enjoys working with hard assets that provide essential services and produce solid investment returns for people’s retirement security. He believes patience, collaboration and a long-term strategic view are fundamental to success. 

Stephen brings broad and deep experience in banking, pension fund investing and asset management to his role. He began his career in infrastructure in 1990 and has invested in companies and assets in Europe, Asia, Australia and North and South America. Prior to joining CBRE Investment Management, he was Senior Vice President, Infrastructure and Timberlands at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), a pioneering institutional investor in the sector, responsible for a real assets portfolio valued at over $11 billion. The infrastructure portfolio included direct equity ownership in power generation, pipeline, water and natural gas distribution, terminal, airport and rail assets. 

Stephen has served as a member of numerous boards of directors in the sector, including as chair. Previously, Stephen worked in investment banking and in the energy and infrastructure sectors in the U.S. and the U.K.  

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Princeton University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Edward joined AlphaReal in April 2021 as Chief Investment Officer and Head of Sustainability. He chairs the Investment Committee, oversees the investment process and fund performance, and leads ESG integration across the group.

Edward has over 25 years’ financial services and investment management experience covering investment management, insurance and investment banking. Prior to joining AlphaReal, he spent 14 years at MetLife where he was Chief Investment Officer, EMEA, overseeing approximately £10 billion equivalent of AUM across public and private credit, infrastructure, and real estate. Prior to becoming CIO, he was Managing Director and Head of Credit having previously undertaken roles in portfolio management and credit research. Earlier in his career, Ed spent two years as a Senior Analyst at Moody’s Investors Service, having started his career at Barclays Investment Bank where he worked in IBD and debt advisory.

Edward holds a B.A. in European Studies from the University of Manchester.

Collaborating with the Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Nadeem actively contributes to establishing a robust decision-making framework for allocating assets to the infrastructure portfolio. Acknowledged as a leader and expert in his designated asset classes, he also considers Responsible Investment & Engagement (RI&E) policies, aligning them with Partner Fund policies and investment decisions. Nadeem’s proactive approach ensures a commitment to responsible investment practices throughout the decision-making process.

As part of the investment management team at Merseyside Pension Fund Adil is involved in asset allocation, risk management and portfolio construction decision making and developing investment strategies that align with long-term objectives of the Pension Fund focusing on generating stable returns while managing risk effectively. Adil is also member of the Fund’s Investment Committee.

Andrew has 19 years of relevant experience, including 15 years in private equity. He is lead manager of a number of limited partnership funds. Andrew is a former member of the private equity team (2008-2013) and re-joined the team in 2018. From 2013 to 2018 Andrew was a Principal at Scottish Equity Partners LLP, a UK based private equity firm, where his responsibilities included the co-management of an energy focussed secondary fund. He is a chartered accountant and CFA Charterholder. Andrew is a graduate of Edinburgh University.

Neil leads the £5bn+ Surrey Pension Fund, with over 110,000 members and more than 300 employers. Surrey is part of the Border to Coast asset pool, nearly qualifying as the “Coast”.

The Surrey Fund has been acknowledged for outstanding approach to risk management and governance in recent years and continues to strive for new ways to innovate and collaborate. It has also been recognised for its excellence in sustainable investing, winning accolades at the Pensions Age Awards, the LAPF Awards and the Public Finance Awards.

Neil is a member of the PLSA Policy Board and Local Government Committee. He is also an independent member of the Local Pension Board at his old stamping ground, the London Borough of Hounslow.

He is the father of twin 18 year old boys and a long suffering supporter of Queens Park Rangers. The inability to watch them live during lockdown was a blessing.

Mr. Rusoff is a Managing Director of Performance Equity and a member of its Investment Committee. Prior to joining Performance Equity, Mr. Rusoff was a Portfolio Manager in the General Motors Investment Management (GMIMCo) Private Equity. Prior to joining GMIMCo in 1996, Mr. Rusoff worked in the Treasurer’s Office of General Motors where he assisted in managing the debt and derivative portfolio for the corporation. Mr. Rusoff started his career in finance at Salomon Brothers, Inc. He is a member of the CFA Institute, a member of the Investment Committee and Chairman of the Private Equity Subcommittee for the Cornell University Endowment and served with ILPA’s Private Equity Industry Guidelines Group. Mr. Rusoff received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his MBA from J.L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

David Atterbury joined HarbourVest in 2004. He is currently head of the firm’s London office and co-leads the firm’s secondary investment activity in Europe. During his tenure, David has led a number of European secondary transactions, including Absolute Private Equity and SVG Capital plc. David serves on a number of European fund advisory boards.

David joined HarbourVest after five years with Abbey National Treasury Services Plc, where he was Director of Private Equity. His responsibilities at Abbey National included the development of a direct private equity portfolio and the subsequent disposal of a large diversified portfolio of partnership commitments and direct holdings. His previous experience also includes five years with PricewaterhouseCoopers, which included a one-year assignment to Bridgepoint Capital in London.

David received a BSc (with honors) in International Management and French from the University of Bath in 1994, and completed professional examinations in 1997 to qualify as a Chartered Accountant.

Achal Gandhi is CIO – Indirect Real Estate Strategies for CBRE Investment Management. Based in London, he manages the day-to-day operations of the Global Indirect Real Estate business as well as the investment process, formulating top-down strategies and overseeing client investment plans.

Achal joined the firm in 2008 and worked initially on European investments. Subsequently, he was a senior Global Portfolio Manager for the Global Indirect Real Estate Strategies, and more recently Head of Global Portfolio Management, where he had oversight of the Global Separate Accounts. He worked closely with regional investment teams to ensure portfolios were positioned appropriately and accessed leading investment ideas.

Achal is passionate about the built environment and enjoys working at the intersection of evolving global trends, from behavioral dynamics and sustainability to technology and community. He believes integrity is foundational to success and serves clients with an entrepreneurial, decisive and inclusive approach.

Previously, Achal was a European Real Estate Analyst within the Equity Research department at Bear Stearns International. During this time, he was responsible for analyzing and forecasting listed real estate companies and making recommendations to sales teams. Prior to this, Achal was a Manager at Deloitte in the Banking & Securities Department. He began his career in the real estate industry in 2004.

Achal earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University College of London. He is a Senior Manager under the FCA’s Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SMCR) and holds the SMF3. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England & Wales (ICAEW).

Vanessa joined London CIV in November 2020 and brings with her 14 years of industry experience, covering primary, secondary and co-investment opportunities across the private markets spectrum, including private credit, infrastructure, real estate, private equity and hedge funds. In her previous roles, Vanessa has gained extensive experience in investment sourcing, manager selection and investment and operational due diligence. She has also focused on responsible investment and ESG and the importance of integrating these into investment management platforms and support functions.

Mr. Turnbull joined Federated Hermes and the UKNIF Investment Team in April 2023. He is responsible for taking natural capital investment opportunities from initial site survey through to presentation to the IC. Along with Mr. Caughlin, he will lead on the underwriting of natural capital Real Assets and the management of UKNIF’s relationship with development manager counterparties. Prior to joining Federated Hermes, he was Head of Asset Management at Climate Impact Partners, a major global Nature-Carbon investment platform that works with investors, corporates, ENGOs and governments to develop and deliver high quality carbon-financed nature restoration projects across global voluntary carbon markets. Prior to that, Mr. Turnbull was Head of Natural Capital & Sustainable Investment and a Partner at Bidwells, one the UK’s largest Nature-based investment asset managers (GBP 5.2 billion in assets under management), where he spent a decade focusing on then leading the natural capital work across one of the largest land, estate and property management divisions in the UK including commercial woodland, biodiverse woodland, peatland, large mixed use rural estates and the application of Biodiversity Net Gain and other natural capital projects across over 1 million acres of the English and Scottish countryside and coastline. During his early career, he spent time as a food commodity trader in international markets with Freeworld Trading, establishing and building supply-side relationships in LATAM and APAC countries for a customer base in Europe. Mr. Turnbull also focused on developing the companies environmental and social impact, particularly in relation to Non-Timber-Forest-Products sourced from communities in Amazonia. Mr Turnbull has a BSc Honours Ecology (Forestry Hons) from the University of Edinburgh, is a Chartered Forester under the Institute of Chartered Foresters and qualified as a RICS Chartered Surveyor & Valuer of land property assets.

Stephen is the Managing Director of Forest Operations for Campbell Global. He is the Chairman of the Responsible Investment Team and serves on the Investment Committee and the Price Forecast Team. He is responsible for the implementation of sustainable forest management plans that are designed to achieve client objectives. Stephen also provides leadership for ESG-related (Environmental, Social Governance) initiatives including forest carbon, third-party certification, and biodiversity.

Prior to joining Campbell, Stephen spent the first ten years of his career working for the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska. He the managed a nature-based consulting firm in Northern California.

Stephen received his Master’s in Forest Engineering and Hydrology from Oregon State University and a B.S. in Fisheries Biology and Hydrology from Oregon State University and a B.S. in Fisheries Biology from Humboldt State University. He serves as a Board Member and Treasurer for the World Forestry Center.

*Campbell Global is part of J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

John is Independent Advisor for Governance and Investment to the Pension Funds of the London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Haringey, and Waltham Forest. John is also Independent Chair of the Merseyside Pension Board and is  Advisor to the Nottinghamshire Pension Board.

John has also provided support to a number of other LGPS Funds and other LGPS stakeholders including Asset Managers.

John was previously Head of two LGPS Funds and a Chief Officer in local government for approximately twenty years. This included appointments as Director of Finance/Chief Finance (Section 151) Officer of both a London Borough and County Council.

John is Qualified CIPFA Accountant, holds the Investment Management Certificate of the CFA UK, a MBA (with distinction) in Public Service Management from the University of Stirling, and a BA in Ancient and Medieval History from the University of Sheffield.

John has been a frequent panellist and moderator at both Investment and Local Government Pension Scheme conferences and seminars.

Shamez Alibhai is Head of Community Housing and Managing Director. He leads a team that aims to provide viable housing investments that deliver significant social and environmental benefits to communities.

Prior to joining Man Group in January 2019, Shamez spent 12 years at Cheyne Capital, where he was a partner and portfolio manager of the UK’s first institutional affordable housing strategy. He previously co-ran the firm’s real estate debt business.

Shamez holds Master’s degrees from Yale University and McGill University.

Adrian joined Edmond de Rothschild REIM in 2022 as Fund Manager of Funding Affordable Homes and is responsible for growing the UK affordable housing platform.

Adrian has 15 years’ experience in real estate fund management, having acquired, developed and managed over £1 billion of real estate across traditional commercial, alternative and social strategies including the acquisition, development and management of over 1,250 affordable homes.

Most recently, Adrian was Head of Social Real Estate at Alpha Real Capital, where he led the strategy and growth of the group’s social real estate funds including a pooled open-ended social long income and a bespoke regional segregated mandate. Prior to joining Alpha, he was fund manager of Henley’s £410 million specialised supported living fund, having previously led AXA’s £350 million long income fund, along with the AXA Group Pension Scheme and AXA Insurance UK real estate portfolios (£300 million+). Prior to working in fund management, Adrian held research and strategy roles at both AXA and Savills IM.

Adrian holds a MSc Geographical Information Science and BSc Geography, both from the University of Nottingham and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Elizabeth serves as Independent Investment Advisor to the Bedfordshire Pension Fund and as an Independent Research Analyst for the Greater Gwent (Torfaen) Pension Fund.   She brings a background in banking, capital markets and corporate finance to her work in investment management and portfolio analysis.  With pooling, she finds increasing commonalities between corporate finance and managing LGPS fund assets, particularly in the areas of governance, oversight, accountability and responsible investment / ESG. 

Elizabeth began her career at Lehman Brothers in New York and moved to London in the late-1990s.  Subsequently she worked at Goldman Sachs International and GE Capital, where she did M&A for its European commercial finance business.

Elizabeth is a governor of two state secondary schools in London, both of which are LGPS employers.  As chair of the Finance & Premises committee for one, she tends to regard management of LGPS funds from an employer /employee’s viewpoint as well as that of an investment professional.

Elizabeth graduated from Yale University with a BA in Comparative Literature (German and French).

Sarah has over a decade of experience in the institutional and direct agriculture industry. Prior to Fiera Comox, Sarah held senior consulting roles at both Callan and Aon Hewitt. Most recently, Sarah was a Senior Vice President, Real Assets at Callan, a leading institutional investment consulting firm, where she was responsible for the firm’s farmland investment research. In this role, she also worked with clients on real assets strategic planning, investment research, and asset class education.

In addition to her institutional experience in farmland, Sarah has direct agriculture experience having managed a large dairy heifer growing operation for a dairy and cropping farm in Wisconsin.

Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science, College of Agriculture with a concentration in Food Animal Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.