Room151’s Women in the LGPS roundtable: Strategic asset allocation

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.

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).

Emma Gullifer is the co-fund manager of the Columbia Threadneedle UK Housing Fund, a strategy focused on delivering resilient income and positive impact through the delivery of affordable build-to-rent housing. Emma joined Columbia Threadneedle REP following a portfolio manager role at DTZ Investors, where she worked across two discretionary balanced UK Property pension fund mandates. Emma holds a BA in Linguistics from the University of Cambridge, an MSc in Real Estate from Bayes Business School, and is a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Emma is the also the Fund Manager of the CT UK Property Fund.

Jill recently joined Redington as Head of LGPS to support them with understanding the LGPS landscape and to develop closer relationships with funds and key stakeholders.

Jill worked as AD, Investments at the West Midlands Pension Fund, initially covering the broad spectrum of finance and investments for the Fund including investment strategy before moving to focus on responsible investment and investment partnerships.

Previously, working as Head of Financial Services at LB Hackney for 12 years managing all aspects of the Pension Fund and other financial services. She worked closely with others on setting up the investment pooling company, London CIV, before moving to the company as Head of Client Relations.

Previously, Jill worked for over 20 years as a fund manager concentrating mainly on equities but also being involved in strategic asset allocation and derivatives.

Ms. Medema is an executive vice president and alternative credit strategist in the London office, responsible for credit alternatives and mortgage- and real-estate-related strategies. Previously, she worked in the portfolio management group and focused on mortgage-backed securities and residential whole loans. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2006, she worked at Deutsche Bank’s Trust & Securities Services Division, specializing in collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). She has 21 years of investment experience and holds an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. She also received an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Moira Gorman joined the company in 2012 as a Relationship Management and Sales Director in the UK institutional team.  In this role she is responsible for managing all of our UK Public Sector clients.

Prior to this, Moira held relationship management roles at State Street Global Advisors and Aviva Investors. She gained a degree in Economics from the Australian National University in Canberra in 1994, passed the CFA Level 1 in 2005 and also holds the Investment Management Certificate.

Nemashe Sivayogan is an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Nemashe is currently working as Head of Treasury and Pensions at the London Borough of Merton. Before Merton, she worked at the LB of Lambeth where she gained her technical knowledge and skills. Nemashe has 18 years of Local Government experience, with significant knowledge in LGPS.

Tricia joined the Redington team in June 2021 as a Director in Manager Research, with responsibility for leading the private credit team to source, select and deliver best-in-class investment solutions to Redington’s institutional and wealth management client base.  

Tricia most recently gained experience in the Public Sector at Greater Manchester Pension Fund, developing the private credit, private equity and infrastructure programmes, alongside helping to build the ESG framework for private markets. 

Tricia launched her career on the Graduate Programme at Goldman Sachs over 20 years ago, where she also qualified as a Chartered Accountant, an ideal foundation before moving into a credit hedge fund.   In 2008 Tricia joined Absolute Return Partners, an alternatives investment management boutique, as a credit and ILS analyst.  In 2010 she was made Partner and built out the investment research and management teams for private markets, with a continued focus on private credit.  Tricia also took on responsibility for key advisory relationships with pension funds and Family Offices clients supporting strategy education, fund selection, implementation and monitoring of managers.

Ms. Caro is an executive vice president and head of U.K. and Ireland institutional client service. Previously, she was an account manager on the EMEA global wealth management team, focused on financial institutions and sub-advised relationships. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2011, she worked in the investment management division at Goldman Sachs in London and Madrid. She has 16 years of investment experience and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School as well as an undergraduate degree from King’s College London.