AI in Asset Management: Practitioners share real world applications and thoughts about the future 

A panel of uniquely positioned local industry professionals discusses how AI is currently integrated into the investment decision making process and could continue to evolve in the future. 

This panel is brought to you by CFA Society Boston as a part of the 2023 Boston Fintech Week.

Speakers 
Joshua D. Bennett, CFA, Chief Operating Officer, Senior Portfolio Manager at Weatherbie Capital, LLC

Joshua Bennett is Chief Operating Officer and Senior Portfolio Manager of Weatherbie Capital, LLC. Josh is a Portfolio Manager on the Weatherbie Specialized Growth Strategy, the Weatherbie Long/Short Strategy, the Alger Dynamic Opportunities Strategy and the Enduring Growth Strategy. He also has research responsibilities in the consumer, information services, technology and diversified business services areas. Josh joined Weatherbie Capital in July 2007 and has 23 years of investment experience. During his tenure at Weatherbie, he has been featured and quoted in several publications such as: The New York Times, Investor’s Business Daily, InvestmentNews, Barron’s and MarketWatch. Prior to joining Weatherbie, he was an Equity Research Analyst at MFS Investment Management in Boston where he focused on the Aerospace/Defense and Transportation sectors. Josh also has previous experience with Fidelity Investments as a High Yield research associate. Josh received his M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth (Edward Tuck Scholar with Distinction), and he earned a B.A. in Economics (Summa Cum Laude) from Wheaton College (IL). Josh is a CFA charterholder and is a member of both the CFA Society Boston and the CFA Institute. Josh was issued the Certificate in ESG Investing by the CFA Institute. He is a Trustee at Lexington Christian Academy (Lexington, MA) and a member of the Investment Committee of Christian Camps & Conferences. 

Lisa L Huang, Ph.D. Head of AI Investment Management and Planning?  
Lisa L Huang, Ph.D., leads the AI team at Fidelity’s AI Center of Excellence for Asset Management. The AI Center of Excellence for Asset Management is focused on research and deployment of applications using machine learning for portfolio management and predictive modeling.? Previously, she was the Head of Investing at Betterment. In her role at Betterment, she led a team responsible for strategic portfolio optimization and personalization, investment fund selection, risk modeling and tax aware trading optimization. Prior to Betterment, Dr. Huang was a strategist at a hedge fund in Goldman Sachs.  

Dr. Huang is a contributing author to the books, “Equity Smart Beta and Factor Investing for Practitioners and “Handbook of Machine Learning in Financial Markets. She holds a degree in mathematics from University of California, Los Angeles, and a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard. 

Asha Mehta, CFA, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Global Delta Capital

Asha Mehta, CFA, is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Global Delta Capital and the author of the book, Power of Capital: An Adventure Capitalist’s Journey to a Sustainable Future. ?Her thematic focus includes Emerging & Frontier Markets and Sustainable Investing. She was previously an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and Lead Portfolio Manager and Director of Responsible Investing at Acadian Asset Management. Early in her career, she conducted microfinance lending in India. She has traveled to over 80 countries and lived in six. 

Asha is a market maker and investment pioneer. She managed the world’s first Frontier markets fund as well as the first institutional actively managed Emerging Markets Fossil Fuel Free fund. She launched one of the earliest onshore China strategies in the United States. Separately, Asha led the first quantitative investor to become a signatory to the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investing, which now oversees more than $100 trillion in investment assets. 

Asha was named one of the Top 10 Women in Asset Management by Money Management Executive and profiled as a “Brilliant Quant” by Forbes magazine. Asha is an active advocate of financial literacy and financial empowerment. She is a supporter of several related organizations, including Compass Working Capital and 100 Women in Finance. 

Asha holds an MBA with Honors from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a B.S., Biological Sciences, and A.B., Anthropology, from Stanford University. She lives between Boston and Florida with her husband and three children. 

Dan Fasciano, CFA, Director of Private Wealth at GW&K Investment Management (Moderator)

Dan Fasciano is Director of Private Wealth at GW&K Investment Management.  In this role Dan leads the team’s people, processes, and investment solutions for the benefit of its private wealth clients.   

Dan brings more than 30 years of industry leadership experience from wealth management, institutional and as an asset owner to deliver goals-based solutions to the firm’s clients. Prior to joining GW&K, Dan was National Director of Portfolio Management at BNY Mellon Wealth Management where he was responsible for the implementation of investment strategy and asset allocation for $250 billion in client assets. Earlier in his career, Dan served as Director for the State of Florida’s $17 billion Treasury Fund and Head of US Investments for Aviva Investors. 

Dan received his BA from the University of New Hampshire and his MBA from Boston University. He is a CFA® Charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Boston. He was most recently a longstanding member of the Board of Governors at the CFA Institute and a past chair and board member of the CFA Society Boston. Dan additionally maintains the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) and Charted Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations. 

Date/Location 
Date: Tuesday, October 10, 2023, from 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM (Check in starts at 9:15 AM)

Location: Babson College Boston Campus, 100 High Street, Floor 12, Boston, MA 02110

Pricing 
Members | Complimentary

Non-Members | Complimentary

Passport Program 
Members of any CFA society may attend at the CFA Society Boston member rate. If you are only a member of CFA Institute, you do not qualify for the Society member rate.

Professional Learning Credits
CFA Boston has determined that this event qualifies for 1 PL credit hour under the guidelines of CFA Institute's Professional Learning Program.  If you are a CFA Institute member and a CFA Society Boston member, PL credit for your participation in this event will be automatically recorded in your PL tracking tool. Otherwise, you may upload 1 PL credit to your CFA Institute account in the PL tracking tool. 

Registration 
Members can register by logging into their Boston specific account. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please ensure you have completed the entire checkout process. Non-members and CFA Society Global members must create an account, or log into their Boston specific account, to register for this program. Confirmation details will be sent following registration.

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4. Proceed through the ‘cart’ to process your payment or complimentary $0.00 program fee.
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Meeting Safety and Responsibility Policy
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