Santa Barbara Lunch & Learn: Potential vs Pitfalls in Private Equity Investing

A Santa Barbara Advisory Council Event

Private equity has the proven potential to create generational wealth for investors. It also has the potential to create a "decade of disappointment" when expected returns don't live up to the marketing hype. With the increasing variety of fund structures and strategies, it is more critical than ever to learn how to recognize and avoid some of the common pitfalls that can detract from returns. Please join us for an inside look and learn how to create a better experience when investing across private markets.

During this session, we will:

• Examine some of the similarities and differences in how indices define asset classes and manage reconstitution
• Contemplate whether factor-building has been overdone, and examine the risks of becoming too factor-focused
• Highlight some of the constraints these decisions can place on index trackers
• Propose how a systematic approach can deliver benefits commonly associated with indexing while removing artificial constraints
• Q & A

SPEAKERS

Bruce Emken, CFA, CIMA, CAIA | Mr. Emken joined Pathway Capital in 2023 and is a senior vice president and head of wealth management. He leads the firm’s efforts to partner with wealth management firms across the United States. He is responsible for helping firms access all the various resources and high-quality private market solutions Pathway makes available to our client base. These services and solutions range from creating highly customized solutions to commingled offerings that enable clients to access a select group of managers that are traditionally oversubscribed and generally not available to wealth firms.

Prior to joining Pathway, Mr. Emken spent almost 20 years at Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Blackrock for 6 years with a focus on alternatives, portfolio construction and growth of their business. Mr. Emken is a CFA charterholder, a CAIA charterholder, and a CIMA professional. He has been an active board member of both the CFA Society of Orange County and the CFA Society of Austin.

Outside of work, he tries to find time for more golf, pickleball, skiing, volleyball and any other sports related activity alongside his two teenage boys.