Against Consensus

About Against Consensus

Consensus thinking is often the enemy of better investment outcomes. Against Consensus brings together asset owners, allocators, asset managers, service providers, and innovators to challenge it — one conversation at a time. Against Consensus is built on a simple recognition: institutional investing is an ecosystem. Every principal in that ecosystem — asset owners, asset managers, allocators, service providers, and the innovators pushing them all — has something worth hearing and something worth challenging. The premise is unchanged. The ambition is larger.

Publisher

Angelo Calvello, PhD

Category

business · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Jul 2026

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

14 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Oct 2026

   "Don't Tell Us Your Mom Was a Teacher" - Vicki Kurzydlo, CTPF

   How do lay trustees vet investment managers? Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund trustee Vicki Kurzydlo on manager pitches, private equity, and labor principles. Angelo talks with Vicki, a teacher trustee at the $14 billion Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund, about serving as a lay fiduciary rather than an investment professional. She walks through how managers should pitch to trustees, how fees get negotiated, and how managers get terminated. She also explains the fund's decision to back away from Verus after its acquisition by Cerity Partners — a reversal she attributes to incomplete disclosure about Cerity's influence, not just its private equity ownership. She also discusses the CTU House of Delegates resolution that directly cited CTPF's private equity holdings, the labor principles the board is finalizing in response, and hard lines like no investment tied to child labor and a push for union-neutrality agreements from portfolio companies. She ties this to the fund's existing fossil fuel divestment, raises concerns about AI-driven job displacement, and closes on why she sees educating members about the pension fund as core to the job. Vicki Kurzydlo is the Recording Secretary of the Chicago Teachers Union and a Teacher Trustee of the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund. A lifelong Chicagoan and longtime CPS educator, she brings more than 30 years of experience in public education, union leadership, and advocacy for students, educators, and working people. She began as an elementary school librarian at Holden Elementary and spent more than two decades as a special education teacher at Sauganash Elementary. As a trustee, she believes pension investment decisions must recognize that CTPF is a labor fund. In This Episode: (00:00) Introduction of CTPF teacher trustee Vicki Kurzydlo and Chicago warm-up (03:38) Lay trustees as fiduciaries on a 12-member pension board (05:08) How managers should pitch non-expert trustees and earn trust (10:35) Fee negotiations, manager terminations, and getting a first look (15:57) The consultant's role and members' push for less private equity (20:27) Why CTPF walked away from Verus after the Cerity merger (21:26) Pro-labor lines: child labor, union neutrality, and moral compass (25:41) The CTU resolution every prospective manager should know (28:17) Climate concerns and the fund's long-running fossil fuel divestment (30:06) AI investments, worker displacement, and the BP Whiting example (37:33) Demystifying the pension fund and how Vicki became trustee Like, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review! Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers. As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom. Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.Resources:Vicki Kurzydlo, CTU officer bio:

2. 

   6 Oct 2026

   Liquid Alts, TPA & Emerging Managers: Ranjan Bhaduri

   Could your portfolio be over-diversified and under-diversified at the very same time?Liquid alternatives, operational due diligence, and emerging managers: Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri, PhD, of Bodhi Research Group sits down with Angelo Calvello. Join us for a sharp, candid conversation about the evolution of liquid alternatives, the rise of transparency and governance after Madoff and the financial crisis, and why some strategies survived while others quietly disappeared. If you allocate to hedge funds, manage institutional capital, or build absolute-return portfolios, this episode addresses the challenges you face right now. Ranjan discusses how liquid alts evolved from the pre-GFC era of a handful of dominant managers into a far more scrutinized market. He explains why the financial crisis created lasting demand for liquidity, transparency, managed accounts, and operational due diligence. He also explores which strategies gained ground and which lost relevance, including managed futures, insurance-linked securities, and convertible and merger arbitrage being absorbed into multi-strategy funds. The conversation also explores how allocators are thinking about emerging managers, portfolio construction, and total portfolio alignment. Ranjan offers practical guidance on manager selection, including how to evaluate culture, research processes, governance, and fraud risk. He emphasizes that a strong track record is never enough if the underlying business is weak, and that operational due diligence should be a central part of the investment process rather than a checkbox. The episode also turns to AI and the future of manager research and Total Portfolio Approach (TPA). This is essential listening for anyone seeking a clearer view of the evolution of liquid alts, the weaknesses in many portfolios, and how sophisticated allocators are approaching manager research, portfolio construction, and due diligence. Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri, PhD, is the Founder and CEO of Bodhi Research Group, an independent, conflict-free firm dedicated to research and education in alternative investments. Under his leadership, Bodhi has served clients on five continents. His expertise spans hedge fund research, hedge fund factorization, portfolio management, and investment, operational, and structural due diligence. He previously served on an Investment Committee at Morgan Stanley and worked with two major Canadian investment banks. A CFA and CAIA charterholder, he has served on the AIMA Canada board and co-chaired its Managed Futures Committee. In This Episode: (00:00) Opening highlights and introduction of Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri, Bodhi Research Group(04:11) How liquid alts evolved from early trend followers to today(06:48) The GFC and Madoff spark demand for transparency and governance(13:22) Which hedge fund strategies survived, and why managed futures stalled(16:56) AI black box hypothetical and the hidden costs of swaps(22:03) Why allocators are over-diversified and under-diversified at once(30:26) AI, behavioral cues, and trust in operational due diligence(38:34) Total Portfolio Approach: governance, culture, and Canadian pension leaders(40:53) Worst pitch stories: locked doors and managers who turned fraudulentLike, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review!Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers. As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award),...

3. 

   22 Sept 2026

   Arizona PSPRS’ CIO Mark Steed's AI Scorecard: One Year Later

   Is "we have an AI strategy" the emptiest sentence in institutional investing right now?On Against Consensus, host Angelo Calvello and PSPRS CIO Mark Steed return for a candid AI progress check. Steed grades himself at ~25% toward his original efficiency and decision-making goals. The OpenAI/Hugging Face incident and new value-misalignment research have made him warier of managers pushing agentic systems, and interpretability remains a hard blocker for a fiduciary. He leans on Bertrand Russell's inductivist-turkey story to explain why high confidence in AI can still fail when regimes shift, cites a KPMG stat on managers already running agents in production, and offers his best line yet: "bet on the filing clerk instead of the PM. Mark Steed is Chief Investment Officer of PSPRS, the pension fund protecting the retirement security of Arizona's first responders. He has built and overseen portfolios across private equity, venture capital, real estate, public equity, absolute return, opportunistic credit, and global trading strategies. Institutional Investor and CIO Magazine have named him CIO of the Year, Asset Allocator of the Year, Innovator of the Year, and Rising Star. For four years, Mark served as a forecaster in Dr. Phil Tetlock's Good Judgment Project, shaping how he thinks about risk, decision-making under uncertainty. In This Episode: (00:00) Rapid-fire warm-up: data versus gut, speed, and beard maintenance(04:14) One-year AI progress check: roughly 25% toward original two goals(08:19) Build versus buy debate and outsourcing the data room problem(11:24) Ahead or behind peers: cloud enterprise versus workflow-first strategy(16:25) Agentic systems already in use, from inbox rules to briefings(18:01) OpenAI/Hugging Face incident and the risk of agentic misalignment(23:43) KPMG stat and tougher due diligence on managers using agents(27:26) Fiduciary pushback, interpretability, and Bertrand Russell's inductivist turkey(32:01) Future AI stack, advice for new CIOs, and closing thoughtsLike, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review!Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers. As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom. Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.Resources:Produced by Castos ProductionsMark Steed's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-steed/First episode with Mark (EP 2, prior Institutional Edge branding): https://youtu.be/ah8lN1TehTI?si=OePPtmoy5mjggVnDKPMG AI Pulse Survey (cited stat — confirm Q1 vs Q2, see flag above):

4. 

   15 Sept 2026

   NAIC's Bob Greene on Why Diversity Isn't a Trade-Off, It's an Edge

   The average diverse manager closes 8% of the calls they make — and Bob Greene says that's not a talent problem, it's a capital-access problem.In this episode of Against Consensus, host Angelo Calvello sits down with Bob Greene, President & CEO of NAIC (the National Association of Investment Companies), for a data-backed case that diversity is a performance driver, not a trade-off. Bob and Angelo unpack research showing diverse-owned alternative managers have outperformed by 300 to 600 basis points over the last 25 years, and explore why capital still hasn't caught up: consultant gatekeeping, brand bias, and the politicization of DEI. They close with Bob's advice for emerging managers navigating their first fundraise. Robert Greene is President & CEO of the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC), the premier trade association for diverse-owned alternative investment managers spanning private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, and real estate. Bob previously served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Virginia Retirement System, one of the nation's largest public pension plans. Earlier in his career, he was Director of Private Equity at Arthur Andersen's Transaction Advisory Services Practice, advising firms including Allied Capital, Texas Pacific Group, and The Carlyle Group. In This Episode: (00:00) The data: diverse managers outperform by 300-600 basis points(12:12) Real friction points: market size, muscle memory, and brand bias(19:07) Investment consultants as gatekeepers and the mandate problem(26:48) DEI backlash, the Fearless Fund lawsuit, and manager labels(32:09) Graduation stories: Vista, Clearlake, and the common thread of success(35:17) The next five years and advice for emerging managers(39:14) NextGen mentorship, A.G. Gaston's philosophy, and closing thoughtsLike, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review! Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers. As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom. Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.Resources:Produced by Castos ProductionsNAIC website: https://naicpe.comBob Greene's NAIC bio: https://naicpe.com/naic-leaders/robert-l-greene/Bob Greene LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertgreene/N...

5. 

   8 Sept 2026

   MiddleMark’s Luke Hinshelwood: What Emerging Managers Should Expect From Placement Agents

   What's the one thing every emerging manager gets wrong about hiring a placement agent?In this episode of Against Consensus, Angelo sits down with Luke Hinshelwood, Managing Director at Middlemark Partners, to unpack what emerging managers should actually expect from a placement agent. Luke lays out the case for partnering with a placement agent — faster access to the right investors, sharper positioning, and an outside perspective that helps managers see themselves the way LPs do — while walking through the "quarterback" role his team plays in managing the process end-to-end: diligence, roadshows, LP mapping, and fee negotiation. Luke Hinshelwood is the Managing Director of Middlemark Partners, where he focuses on capital raising for both emerging and more established fund managers in the alternatives space. In his role, he sources, diligences, and engages institutional investors on behalf of Middlemark's manager partners. Luke also works closely with Middlemark's Head of Advisory & Pensions on the firm's consulting engagements for the LP community. Before working in the alternative investment industry, Luke worked briefly in commercial banking in Washington, D.C. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Economics from Centre College.In This Episode: (00:00) Luke Hinshelwood on placement agent myths and AI-written pitchbooks(02:30) Rapid-fire warmup questions (04:39) Why emerging managers should partner with a placement agent(07:49) What support to expect: diligence, positioning, and building roadshows(13:08) Inside the room: a placement agent's role in LP meetings and follow-up(19:21) Diligencing the manager, quarterbacking the process, and negotiating fees(24:40) What not to expect, sourcing managers, and common manager mistakes(36:14) Multi-strat platforms and the hot money risk for emerging managers(41:55) Luke's worst pitch story: AI-generated pitchbooks and closing thoughtsLike, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review!Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers. As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom. Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.Resources:Produced by Castos ProductionsMiddlemark Partners website: https://middlemarkpartners.comMiddlemark Partners team page: https://middlemarkpartners.com/team/Middlemark Partners LinkedIn (company): ...

6. 

   25 Aug 2026

   Chris Schelling's Dog's Breakfast: AI, Defense Tech & Democratizing Private Markets

   Would you let an AI agent cast a real vote on your investment committee? Chris Schelling, CAIA, joins Angelo Calvello to revisit their 2018 article on AI in manager selection — and reveal that one large private equity firm now has an autonomous AI agent with an actual vote on its investment committee. The conversation pivots to defense tech as part of a broader "American dynamism" venture thesis, then turns to a cautionary tale: the recent blowup of Situational Awareness, driven by concentration and leverage. They close on the democratization of private markets and whether alternatives belong in a 401(k). Chris Schelling, CAIA, is an author, advisor, and investor with degrees in psychology, business, and finance. As an institutional investor, he has allocated roughly $7 billion and met with over 4,000 managers across hedge funds, real assets, private credit, and private equity. He was most recently Managing Director on the Pan-Alts team at Aksia, and previously Managing Director of Private Markets at The Caprock Group, Chief Investment Strategist at Venturi Wealth Management, Director of Private Equity at Texas Municipal Retirement System, and Deputy CIO at Kentucky Retirement Systems. He is the author of Better Than Alpha. In This Episode: (00:00) Introduction of guest Chris Schelling(03:18) Revisiting the 2018 article on AI in institutional manager selection(09:12) Barriers to AI adoption and accountability in the decision loop(13:02) Defense tech as one piece of a broader American dynamism thesis(19:46) Ukraine, dual-use technology, talent pipelines, and procurement reform(27:28) Situational Awareness blowup: concentration, leverage, and retail enthusiasm(35:13) Democratization of private markets and the rise of SPV jockeys(38:59) Bringing private markets into the 401(k) and safe harbor riskLike, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review!Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers. As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom. Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.Resources:Produced by Castos ProductionsChris Schelling LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-schelling/Chris's newsletter, Alternatively Speaking: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/alternatively-speaking-7021478570250166272/

7. 

   18 Aug 2026

   CAIA’s John Bowman on TPA and Tokenization

   Why TPA works for some asset owners and not others. Could tokenization finally solve the liquidity problem private markets can't shake?In Part 2 of a two-part conversation, host Angelo Calvello presses John Bowman, CEO of the CAIA Association, on the Total Portfolio Approach: why CAIA is committing real resources to it, who resists it, and what that resistance reveals about governance and incentive structures at asset owners. Bowman argues U.S. public pension funds face the steepest climb of all, thanks to politically appointed boards, while endowments and sovereign wealth funds move faster. The conversation closes on tokenization, a theme CAIA has tracked since 2019, and where Bowman sees it finally solving real liquidity problems for illiquid assets.John Bowman was appointed CEO of the CAIA Association in January 2025. He has devoted over 25 years to the asset management industry, advocating for market integrity, long-termism, investor outcomes, diversity, human dignity, and educational standards. John previously served as Managing Director for the Americas at CFA Institute and, before that, as a portfolio manager for non-US equity strategies at Boston Company and SSgA. A prolific speaker and writer, he has appeared in the Wall Street Journal. John earned a BS from Mary Washington College and is a CFA Charterholder. In This Episode: (00:00) Angelo recaps part one and previews today's topics(02:33) Why CAIA is putting real resources behind TPA(07:02) Breaking down silos without forcing everyone to generalize(10:21) Public funds face TPA's steepest climb, endowments lead(12:30) Tokenization's origin story and its role in solving illiquidity](16:11) Where tokenization goes next, and why adoption has stalled Like, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review! Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers. As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom. Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.Resources:CAIA Association: https://caia.orgJohn Bowman's CAIA contact page: https://caia.org/contact/john-l-bowman-cfa-0John Bowman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlbowmancfa/Vision 2035: https://caia.org/vision-2035/

8. 

   11 Aug 2026

   Looking Around the Corner: CAIA CEO John Bowman's Case for Rethinking Investing (PART I)

   "The more people that take part in the service or the product, the more valuable the product becomes over time." — John BowmanIn Part I of this interview, host Angelo Calvello sits down with John Bowman, CEO of the CAIA Association, to unpack Vision 2035, CAIA's strategic plan built from a listening tour of 120 executives worldwide. Bowman argues investing's siloed career paths are relics of a calmer era, making the case for historians and machine learning experts to sit with investment teams from day one. John Bowman was appointed CEO of the CAIA Association in January 2025. He has devoted over 25 years to the asset management industry, advocating for market integrity, long-termism, investor outcomes, diversity, human dignity, and educational standards. John previously served as Managing Director for the Americas at CFA Institute and, before that, as a portfolio manager for non-US equity strategies at Boston Company and SSgA. A prolific speaker and writer, he has appeared in the Wall Street Journal. John earned a BS from Mary Washington College and is a CFA Charterholder. In This Episode: (00:00) Rapid-fire warm-up questions and CFA versus CAIA(06:47) The global listening tour behind CAIA's Vision 2035(12:12) Lessons learned eighteen months into the four pillars(14:49) Systems-level thinking replaces investing's siloed career paths(20:24) CAIA's new systems thinking paper and AI's role(29:04) Rebuilding the CAIA curriculum for an AI-augmented analyst(30:48) Building a multidisciplinary investment team and fair compensation(37:38) Closing thoughts and a preview of part twoLike, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review!Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers. As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom. Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.Resources:CAIA Association: https://caia.orgJohn Bowman's CAIA contact page: https://caia.org/contact/john-l-bowman-cfa-0John Bowman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlbowmancfa/Vision 2035: https://caia.org/vision-2035/The World Rewired Report:

9. 

   4 Aug 2026

   Beyond Predictions: Seb Owen on Machine-Native Capital Allocation.

   Could an ensemble of Deep Reinforcement Learning  "portfolio managers" outperform your entire investment committee? Angelo Calvello, host of Against Consensus, is joined by Sebastian "Seb" Owen, co-founder and CEO of Alpha Circle AI. Seb argues markets aren't a prediction problem; they're a capital allocation problem under uncertainty, which is why his team of non-finance AI engineers chose deep reinforcement learning over LLMs. They discuss Alpha Circle's two-layer DRL architecture, currently running a US large-cap strategy, and debate whether "tech firm" and "investment firm" are still meaningfully different categories. Sebastian Owen is a financial markets veteran with experience across New York, London, and Amsterdam, and an AI entrepreneur focused on machine-native capital allocation. He is the co-founder and CEO of Alpha Circle AI, deploying deep reinforcement learning systems that learn how to allocate capital under risk, rather than relying on static portfolio construction. Previously, he founded HIPSTO, a deep learning platform for large-scale text knowledge discovery. His work focuses on how AI is shifting investment management from human-defined processes to adaptive, learning-based systems.In This Episode: (00:00) Introduction of guest Seb Owen, co-founder of Alpha Circle AI(03:21) Why Seb Owen built Alpha Circle instead of a legacy spinout(07:26) Choosing deep reinforcement learning over large language models(12:25) Explaining deep reinforcement learning through cats in Manhattan(17:12) Assembling an engineering team of non-finance scientists in Kharkiv(20:55) Inside the two-layer swing set and DRL allocator system(29:23) Track record, retraining cadence, and built-in safeguards(33:23) Scaling the model across asset classes and geographies(35:36) Turnkey AI lab versus a single AI-native hedge fund(41:02) Is Alpha Circle a tech firm or an investment firm?(45:00) Closing thoughts: capital allocation is becoming AILike, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review!Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers.As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom.Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.Resources:LinkedIn (Seb Owen): linkedin.com/in/sebowen/Alpha Circle AI: alphacircle.ai LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebowen/Alphacircle AI website: https://alphacircle.ai/Alpha Circle AI’s manifesto: https://alphacircle-manifesto.alphagrail.ai/Website: https://againstconsensus.comYouTube channel:

10. 

    28 Jul 2026

    The Immeasurables: What Really Drives Long-Term Manager Success

    What does it actually take for a deep reinforcement learning strategy to win over a skeptical institutional allocator? In this episode of Against Consensus, host Angelo Calvello, co-founder of Blue Diamond Asset Management and Rosetta Analytics, sits down with Subhasis Das, Senior Portfolio Manager in Strategic Investments at the Florida State Board of Administration. Subhasis walks through how his team sources, vets, and constructs a portfolio spanning hedge funds, infrastructure, insurance-linked securities, and opportunistic strategies. He explains why star managers get more scrutiny, not less, where managers are actually using AI today, and what two decades of site visits have taught him about the "immeasurables" that ultimately drive long-term manager success. Subhasis Das is a Senior Portfolio Manager in Strategic (Alternative) Investments at the State Board of Administration of Florida. He has over 15 years on the board, focusing on hedge fund, activist equity, and niche alternative investment strategies, particularly CTA and discretionary global macro strategies for portfolio diversification. Previously, Subhasis directed research in the Global Equity asset class, overseeing portfolio analysis, external active managers, quantitative equity strategy development, and risk analysis. Earlier career roles include economic and tax revenue forecasting for governmental and financial institutions. Subhasis holds a PhD in economics, an MS in Computer Science, and an MBA. In This Episode: (00:00) Intro and warm-up questions with Subhasis Das (05:33) Overview of Florida SBA's strategic alternative investments portfolio (08:30) Hedge fund manager selection criteria and risk objectives (12:38) How the team sources, vets, and decides on new managers (19:10) Consultants' role and how the team runs peer and reference checks (23:43) A hypothetical fully autonomous AI black box strategy (26:38) Where managers are using AI today, and the industry's biggest shift since 2002 (31:03) Site visits, team culture, and advice for younger allocators (34:36) The worst pitch he's ever heard, and closingLike, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review! Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers. As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom. Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.Resources:Subhasis Das — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhasis-das-050860a/ State Board of Administration of Florida https://www.sbafla.com/ Against Consensus Website: https://againstconsensus.com

11. 

    21 Jul 2026

    Business First: Waymond Harris on Managing Capital at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

    "I do not like black box investments because, to me, the way you usually get yourself in trouble is not understanding what you're investing in."  - Waymond HarrisOn this episode of Against Consensus, host Angelo Calvello, PhD, co-founder of Blue Diamond Asset Management and Rosetta Analytics, sits down with Waymond Harris, CFA, Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and President of Bricktown Capital. Waymond makes the case for internal asset management, traces Bricktown Capital's origin as a registered investment advisor, and explains how liquidity, capital preservation, and statutory surplus requirements shape every decision at a nonprofit mutual insurer. He also shares where AI is earning trust on his desk — and why black-box strategies still give him pause.Waymond Harris, CFA, is Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and President of Bricktown Capital, where he leads investment management, cash management, and treasury operations across the enterprise. Before joining BCBSM in 2012, he spent a decade on Wall Street in sales and trading, equity research, and asset management. A former Army officer, Waymond holds a B.S. in Engineering Management from the United States Military Academy and an MBA from MIT's Sloan School of Management. He serves as Treasurer and Board Member of The Heat and Warmth Fund, a Michigan energy-assistance nonprofit. In This Episode: (00:00) Waymond Harris - rapid-fire warm-up (04:29) The case for managing assets internally instead of outsourcing (08:23) Building, structuring, and retaining Bricktown Capital's investment team (12:41) Bricktown Capital's origin as a registered investment advisor (15:03) Decision-making culture across the investment team (17:37) Capital preservation, liquidity, and running a business-first portfolio (21:56) AI in research, workflow automation, and employee adoption (28:04) Board education, black-box AI skepticism, and an AI wishlist (32:31) The classic worst-pitch story and closing thoughtsLike, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review! Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers. As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom. Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.Resources:Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan — https://www.bcbsm.com Bricktown Capital — https://www.bricktowncapital.com The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) — https://thawfund.org United States Military Academy (West Point) — https://www.westpoint.edu MIT Sloan School of Management —

12. 

    14 Jul 2026

    NPPFA’s CIO Gerald Chen-Young on the Paradox of Democratizing 401(k)

    A top CIO predicts a U.S. central bank digital currency within 18 months. Here's what triggers the domino effect.In this follow-up episode of Against Consensus, host Angelo Calvello, PhD, founder of C79 LLC, reunites with Gerald Alain P. Chen-Young, CIO of the National Public Pension Funds Association, to revisit the 401(k) democratization debate eight months later. They dissect the DOL's proposed safe harbor, the structural conflict of PE firms acquiring advisory businesses, and the moral hazard of exposing retirees to illiquid private investments. Chen-Young maps seven legislative and regulatory developments, introduces the paradox of democratization, and delivers three forecasts on DeFi, CBDCs, and cashless retail.Gerald Alain P. Chen-Young is CIO of the National Public Pension Funds Association and founder of GCY Associates, a global institutional advisory firm serving clients from Ivy League universities to a multi-billion-euro Geneva-based research organization. Previously VP and CIO of UNCF, he managed roughly $1 billion across three portfolios over 14 years. He holds postgraduate degrees in economics from LSE and York and in law from the University of Miami. An adjunct professor at Georgetown and past Institutional Investor award winner, he is based in Washington, DC. In This Episode: (00:00) Gerald Chen-Young previews the Clarity Act and crypto jurisdiction (02:29) Welcome back: nine months of regulatory change since episode one (05:54) Disclosure, accredited investors, and who bears the risk (12:35) Written attestation as the gold standard for disclosure (16:31) PE firms buying advisory businesses: a Glass-Steagall moment (19:53) Moral hazard, government backstop, and the democratization paradox (28:26) Retail investors unprepared for J curves, gates, and lockups (32:21) Seven legislative and regulatory items shaping the debate (43:00) Three forecasts: DeFi permanence, CBDCs, and cashless retail (46:07) Closing remarks and what to watch for nextLike, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review! Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers. As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom. Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.Resources:Gerald Chen-Young LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geraldchenyoung/ Gerald Chen-Young LinkedIn post on CBDC: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/geraldchenyoung_florida-sen-rick-scott-aims-to-block-china-share-7463618504290795520-9JUv/9sw-kIfyc Previous episode with Gerald https://youtu...

13. 

    9 Jul 2026

    Trust, But Verify: Inside San Jose Federated's AI Playbook

    A $4.5 billion pension fund is betting on AI for productivity but drawing a hard line at portfolio decisions — are they right, or are they leaving alpha on the table? In the debut episode of Against Consensus, host Angelo Calvello, PhD, co-founder of Blue Diamond Asset Management and Rosetta Analytics, sits down with Anurag Chandra, Trustee and Investment Committee Chair of the $4.5 billion San Jose Federated City Employees' Retirement System. Chandra reveals the three-ring fiduciary framework his board built to govern AI adoption, treating AI as "a brilliant analyst who's never allowed to vote." The conversation covers delegated authority, collaborative team culture, AI-driven alpha opportunities in private credit and real assets, and the quantum computing frontier.Anurag Chandra brings over 25 years of experience spanning roles as an allocator, investor, and operator. He currently serves as Trustee and Investment Committee Chair of the $4.5 billion San Jose Federated City Employees' Retirement System and as CIO of a single family office with an attached venture studio. He also sits on the investment committees of a multi-family office in Dubai and the San Mateo Community College Foundation. Chandra has helped lead four venture capital funds managing over $2 billion in aggregate AUM and served as a senior executive in three enterprise technology startups. In This Episode: (00:00) Introduction to Against Consensus and guest Anurag Chandra (03:30) Rapid-fire warmup: mountain or beach, contrarian or consensus (04:30) San Jose Federated's fiduciary AI governance framework (11:02) The Waymo analogy and the black box investing debate (18:24) Governance overhaul, team culture, and delegated authority (27:23) AI ninja versus experienced PM and the future of talent (31:34) AI as a portfolio theme: opportunities and emerging threats (37:04) Quantum computing as a frontier investment opportunity (41:13) Worst investment pitches and closing reflections Like, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review! Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers. As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom. Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.Resources:Link to quantum paper: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/quantum-computing-coming-asset-owners-asking-wrong-angelo-calvello-fdd9c/ Anurag Chandra’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anchandra/. FIN News webpage: https://www.fin-news.com/category/podcasts/against-consensus/ Against Consen...

14. 

    7 Jul 2026

    Introducing: Against Consensus - Because Agreement is Not an Edge

    The Institutional Edge just became something bigger — ready for unfiltered conversations across the entire investing ecosystem?In this special announcement episode, Angelo Calvello, co-founder of Blue Diamond Asset Management and Rosetta Analytics and former host of The Institutional Edge, reveals the podcast's evolution into Against Consensus. After 33 episodes built on unfiltered conversations with asset owners, the show is expanding to challenge thinking across the entire institutional investing ecosystem. Calvello announces a new partnership with FinNews, led by Matt McCue, bringing harder questions about AI, tokenization, quantum computing, and emerging managers. Against Consensus launches July 9th, inviting referrals, sponsorships, and custom episodes for differentiated emerging managers. In This Episode: (00:00) Angelo reflects on a year hosting The Institutional Edge podcast (00:24) Expanding scope beyond asset owners to the whole industry (00:47) Announcing the show's bigger ambition and new media partnership (01:14) Crediting FinNews and explaining the personal stake in emerging managers (01:44) Launch date announced and where to find Against Consensus (02:05) Closing asks: referrals, sponsorships, and custom episode opportunitiesLike, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested, and please take time to leave us a review! Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators and thinkers. As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom. Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.Resources:Against Consensus (the new show) Website: https://againstconsensus.com YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWrHQGAitnt_amaiQFiqU9A LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/against-consensus/ FinNews (partner publication) Website: https://www.fin-news.com Matt McCue on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-mccue-fin/ Angelo Calvello's firms Rosetta Analytics: https://www.rosetta-analytics.com Blue Diamond Asset Management AG: no public-facing website found — their LinkedIn page is the best available reference: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-diamond-asset-management The Institutional Edge (predecessor show)

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