Event Profile

CAIA Boston presents Broadening Access to Private Asset Classes

Date(s):
October 16, 2025
Note:
All times listed are in local time
Venue:
John Hancock Conference Center
197 Clarendon Street
Boston, MA 02116 
Fee(s):
Free Event
Description:

 

Broadening Access to Private Asset Classes: 

Evergreen Funds, Alts in DC and Models and Replication Strategies

The pace in democratization of alts has accelerated recently with regulatory changes allowing DC plans to invest in private assets, the launch of interval funds, models, target date funds and even ETFs which include private assets and innovative approach such as replication strategies that tries to replicate private asset returns with liquid securities. This lunch event will bring together a panel of experts who will share their insights on these latest developments in alts. 

Thursday, Oct. 16th

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

John Hancock Conference Center

197 Clarendon Street Boston MA 02116
 




 

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John Hancock Conference Center
Chris Bailey


Chris is a Director in Cerulli’s Retirement practice. He leads research and analysis that covers key aspects of the retirement industry, including defined contribution (DC) plan recordkeeping, DC plan investments, and the individual retirement account (IRA) market. His research examines market sizing, product adoption and utilization, the influence of advisors and consultants, participant behavior, and more. In this capacity, he regularly engages with key players in the retirement industry, including executives within recordkeepers and asset managers, investment consultants, and financial advisory firms. In addition, his team collects data and perspectives from plan sponsors and participants annually.

Chris brings 20+ years of DC market experience to Cerulli, having spent time at Fidelity and external research firms leading retirement and wealth-focused research programs. Before joining Cerulli, he led the U.S. market insights practice of a global financial services consulting firm, where he helped recordkeeping and insurance clients advance strategic decision-making and thought leadership. At Fidelity, he led the competitive and industry intelligence function for its Workplace Investing business and held several internal consulting and analysis roles prior to that.


Randy Cohen


Randolph B. (Randy) Cohen is the MBA Class of 1975 Senior Lecturer of Entrepreneurial Management in the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School. Cohen’s main research focus has been the identification of top investment managers and the prediction of manager performance. Cohen has studied the differential reactions of institutions and individuals to news about firms and the economy, as well as the effect of institutional trading on stock prices. He also writes and speaks about municipal securities, ESG investing, and many other topics. Cohen has a strong interest in liquid alternative investments and for over two decades has been working to develop the concept of liquid private equity.

Cohen teaches two classes, Field X and Field Y, which help students launch and grow businesses while at HBS (and other parts of Harvard and surrounding universities). He also co-teaches the Alternative Investments course for HBS Online.

In addition to his research and teaching, Cohen has helped to start and grow several investment management firms, while also acting as a consultant to many others. Randy serves on the Board of the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired; on his podcast Dangerous Vision he interviews fascinating people who are in some way connected to the world of vision loss.

Cohen holds an AB in mathematics from Harvard College and a PhD in finance and economics from the University of Chicago.


Bill Kelly


William (Bill) J. Kelly, CAIA is the host of the Educational Alpha Podcast and former CEO of the CAIA Association. Bill has been a frequent industry speaker, writer, and commentator on alternative investment topics around the world since taking the leadership role at the CAIA Association in January, 2014. Previously, Bill was the CEO of Boston Partners and one of seven founding partners of the predecessor firm, Boston Partners Asset Management which, prior to a majority interest being sold to Robeco Group in Rotterdam in 2002, was an employee-owned firm. Bill’s career in the institutional asset management space spans over 30 years where he gained extensive managerial experience through successive CFO, COO and CEO roles. In addition to his current role, Bill is a tireless advocate for shareholder protection and investor education and is currently the Chairman and lead independent director for the Boston Partners Trust Company. He has previously served as an independent director and audit committee chair for ’40 Act Mutual Funds and other financial services firms. He is also currently an Advisory Board Member of the Certified Investment Fund Director Institute which strives to bring the highest levels of professionalism and governance to independent fund directors around the world. A member of the board of the CAIA Association, Bill also represents CAIA in similar capacities via their global partnerships with other associations and global regulators. Bill began his career as an accountant with PwC and is a designated Audit Committee Financial Expert in accordance with SEC rules.


Eric Menzer


Eric Menzer, CFA, CAIA, AIF Global Head of OCIO and Fiduciary Solutions, Multi-Asset Solutions Team, Manulife Investment Management Eric is a senior portfolio manager with oversight of pension, OCIO, model, advisory, and real asset solutions and is a member of the investment committees for Manulife’s U.S. and Canadian employee defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Eric holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designations and is a member of the CFA Society Boston and the CFA Institute. He also holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies. Eric sits on the investment committee for Bentley University’s Endowment Fund and is an insurance and advisory board member for AIF Global.