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BRIDGE alts – What a day! An Educational Alternatives Conference for the Wealth Advisor Community

On October 3, 2019, it was raining and the skies were gray in downtown Philadelphia, but that did not put a damper on the mood at the BRIDGEalts conference.  PPB Capital Partners kicked off with a pre-conference reception at JG Domestic at the Cira Centre. It was an ideal opportunity to gather some of the moderators, speakers and panelists together, as PPB welcomed wealth advisors from out of town. With guests coming from all over the United States and Canada, including California, Florida, Colorado, and the Mid Atlantic and East Coast regions, it was a content-packed day full of energy and engaging dialogue, addressing the most pressing topics in alternative investment asset classes today.  Nearly 100 attendees enjoyed 7 panel discussions and presentations throughout the day.

What are BRIDGEalts participants saying?

“The conference was excellent!”

“Congratulations on an outstanding event!”

“Great speakers!”

“Great choice of venue.”

“PPB team- thank you for a fantastic event! Really, job well done…loved the interaction and learned a lot too.”

“Congratulations on organizing a very successful conference! I found all of the conference speakers to be extremely engaging. You did a great job selecting speakers – every panel was very interesting.”

“The participants seemed so engaged in the discussion – you did a fantastic job bringing in people who wanted to participate and curating topics that were relevant to those constituents.”

“You guys put on a great conference, especially the panels!”

The Master of Ceremonies was Brian Shapiro, Communication Specialist/Author/Speaker, Affiliated Faculty, University of Pennsylvania, Organizational Dynamics, Instructor, Wharton School of Business Communication Program and he introduced 16 industry leaders.

The morning began with a Private Placement Life Insurance discussion, with Ann Marie Liotta, U.S Wealth Strategist, Cohn Financial Group; Karen Halliday, Principal, Dalkeith Group; and Todd Steinberg, Partner D.C Trusts & Estates Practice Leader, Loeb & Loeb, LLP.  The group highlighted the significant tax efficiences available within the less-publicized opportunities that PPLI offers when accessing alternatives.

“The Impact of Climate Change and Hurricanes” in the Reinsurance space was the second session of the day, where Frank Burke, PPB’s Chief Investment Strategist, and Stephen Velotti, CEO/CIO, Pillar Capital Management shared event trends over the last several decades, including hurricanes, wildfires, global warming, and rainfall levels. The pair dove into the impact of climate change and the frequency of events with the trends showing flat, contrary to popular speculation.  The evidence was compelling and displayed the uncorrelated benefits that reinsurance can bring when added to investors’ portfolios.

The third session, US Credit “Investing in a Late Stage Cycle” brought significant engagement from the audience. The discussion was lead by Esther Zurba, Director, Castle Hall Diligence; with Laurence Gottlieb, Chairman & CEO, Fundamental Advisors; Jeff Baevsky, Executive Managing Director, Greystone & Co.; and David Martin, Managing Director, Mariner Investment Group.  The panel shared insight on workforce and multi-family housing, as well as the CLO market. Audience questions began early – given the abundance of credit available in the market, and deteriorating lending standards, what did the panel have to say about the likelihood of an impending recession? The panelists’ advice? Walk away from a deal when it just doesn’t feel right, and don’t take excessive risk in an effort to replicate recent returns.

Mark Yusko, CEO/Chief Investment Officer, Morgan Creek Capital Management, gave a lively keynote discussion during lunch that proved to be an advisor favorite. Mark argued for the need to include crypto assets in client portfolios. He questioned the value of fiat currencies moving forward, as purchasing power has been devalued. His listeners were diverse, and yet his message was clear, as he successfully related to both the Millenials as well as the Baby Boomers in the room.  Mark’s keynote can be summed up in his session title: “#GetOff Zero: Why Advisors MUST have Blockchain Exposure”.

The fifth session of the day brought Jenn Kenning, CEO & CO-Founder of Align Impact and Adam Landau, Co-CEO/CIO, Permit Capital Advisors together for “Impact Investing: Driving Change for Tomorrow”. They shared shocking but realistic statistics, and armed those figures with inspiration.  Jenn challenged the advisor community to take immediate action to make a real impact. She expressed the importance of advisors being informed so they can successfully link a client’s wealth goals with their social, environmental and global impact goals.  The topic was a powerful wake up call, centered around acceptance, inclusion, diversity, innovation, and the next generation.

The afternoon continued strong with Session Six, “Private Real Estate: The Current State: Overvalued?” with Jonathan Gerber, Head of Real Estate, Private capital Markets, UBS; Jason Danley, COO, Peak Capital Partners; and Todd Sammann, Head of Credit Strategies, CBRE Global Investors. Highlights of this discussion carried the theme of the earlier third session and hinted at the still remaining supply and demand imbalance for multifamily housing, and subsequent opportunities in affordable housing.  The panel touched on every aspect of commercial real estate including industrial, hospitality, office and retail.  With the proliferation of the online economy, industrial remains a strong area of growth, while conversely, the retail sector has been dramatically impacted and disrupted.

John Grady finished up the day with “Opportunity Zones: The Hysteria of Misconception: Hype or the Real Thing?”  John’s presentation highlighted the ever-present debate between the true beneficiaries of the OZ legislation; the communities it was meant to impact or the developers who were better politically connected.  The true ramifications of the OZ program won’t be known for many years.  The discussion explored multiple dimensions of the OZ program – it’s tax-driven, of course, but also there is a great deal of political and economic aspects of OZs and OZ Funds. There are timing issues, ESG opportunities and the potential scale of re-development and re-investment in lower income communities to be generated by the legislation. The pair kept the focus on actionable issues and key takeaways for the advisors in the audience.

The day wrapped up with a casual networking reception, held at Market Tavern, after a quick walk through Philadelphia’s 30^th Street Station. The energy and educational element of the day continued, as attendees exchanged ideas and best practices over drinks and appetizers.  The primary goal of BRIDGEalts was to gather highly-respected thought leaders from the investment industry to form engaging panelist groups, and address the most pressing questions advisors face regarding current market conditions, uncorrelated investment opportunities and more tax efficient or impactful solutions. From the responses of the advisors attending, BRIDGEalts exceeded that goal. The added bonus? A chance to network with one another, over the course of two days, during two receptions, lunch, and refreshments, in a newly renovated, modern venue, in a downtown location with direct access to various transportation options.

Stay tuned over these coming weeks and months, as PPB shares BRIDGEalts‘ discussions and topics, and introduces BRIDGEalts‘ EDUCATE: Speaker Series.

For more information on BRIDGEalts, and alternative investment strategies, please contact:

Frank Burke, CFA, CAIA
Chief Investment Strategist, PPB Capital Partners
484.278.4017 Ext. 108