09:00am

Introduction: Private Alpha: private fund investing 2.0

Frederic Blanc-Brude, Ph.D., CEO, SIPA

09:15am

Morning keynote: Do private markets need more quants?

Avi Turetsky, Ph.D., Head of Quantitative Research Group, Ares

MORNING SESSIONS: PRIVATE EQUITY 

Session 1: 9:30 - 10:15am

The Private Equities Universe: A New Perspective

• Before Funds: Private equities is more than just funds. It's a vast market of companies and diverse players, with fund managers as just one type of buyer or seller.
• Don't Compare Apples to Oranges: Comparing private equity returns to public stock market returns is misleading, as the two markets have fundamentally different dynamics.
• Rethinking Risk-Adjusted Performance: Relying on public market benchmarks can distort the true risk-adjusted performance of private equity for investors and beneficiaries.
• Shared DNA: Despite their differences, both public and private markets share multiple systematic risk factors that influence asset pricing.
• The Evolving Discount Rate: The link between public and private markets isn't a fixed "liquidity premium," but rather a variable discount rate that shifts with market conditions.

Presenter: Frederic Blanc-Brude, SIPA

Break 10:15 - 10:45am

Session 2: 10:45 - 11:30am

A New Era for Private Equity: Evaluating Evergreen Funds

• Beyond the IRR: As evergreen funds grow, evaluating their performance requires a critical shift away from traditional Internal Rates of Return (IRRs) to more accurate time-weighted returns.
• Misleading Metrics: Traditional drawdown fund metrics like IRRs, quartile rankings, and manager benchmarks are inappropriate and can be misleading when assessing the performance of evergreen funds.
• The Retirement Revolution: With evergreen funds poised to play a major role in retirement planning, understanding how to accurately evaluate their performance and risk is more critical than ever.
• The Right Benchmark: Our new SIPA report highlights the importance of using appropriate benchmarks, such as our flagship private2000® indices, rather than inappropriate public market benchmarks like MSCI World.
• Distinct Markets: We demonstrate why comparing evergreen fund performance to listed equities is flawed, as public and private markets are distinct with fundamentally different dynamics.

Presenter: Evan Clark, SIPA

Discussant: Barry Griffith, Actos

Session 3: 11:30am - 12:15pm

Private Assets for 401(k)s: A New Frontier

• Opening the Door: Alternative asset managers are partnering with key players in the 401(k) space to bring private assets to defined contribution plans.
• The Need for Speed: Quarterly reporting won't cut it. To ensure fairness for all participants, private asset strategies will require more frequent pricing and performance updates.
• Proof is Power: Fiduciaries must have solid, data-backed reasons for including private assets, and the performance of these products needs to be benchmarked.
• Better Data, Better Decisions: Tools like privateMetrics can help fiduciaries make smarter, data-driven decisions and provide the evidence needed to support their choices.
• Stay Compliant: Using robust data and analytics ensures fiduciaries can meet their regulatory obligations while bringing new opportunities to 401(k) investors.

Presenter: Evan Clark, SIPA

Discussant: Jonathan Epstein, DCALTA

LUNCH BREAK 12:15 - 2:00pm

02:00pm

Lunch Keynote

AFTERNOON SESSIONS: INFRASTRUCTURE 

Session 4: 2:30 - 3:30pm

Infrastructure Fund Alpha League Tables 2025

• Definitive Guide: The 2025 Infrastructure Alpha Report is the definitive guide for investors seeking to outperform in the infrastructure market.
• Data-Driven Ratings: This comprehensive report provides independent, alpha-based ratings for over 350 infrastructure funds and more than 75 top fund managers.
• Focus on Skill: Unlike generic benchmarks, this report isolates alpha—the true measure of manager skill—to identify the real outperformers.
• Actionable Insights: It provides essential insights for building shortlists and conducting due diligence to make confident allocation decisions.
• Rigorously Analyzed: Every rating is based on a rigorous methodology using historical performance data and proprietary models to show who is truly adding value.

Presenter: Federic Blanc-Brude, SIPA

Awards: Private Infrastructure Alpha 

This panel will discuss the results of the 2025 Infrastructure Fund Alpha League Tables which are released on the occasion of the conference and how infrastructure fund managers generate alpha.

Chair: Zek Bentley (PEI)

Break 3:30 - 04:00pm

Session 5:  4:00 - 05:00pm

A New Framework for Infrastructure Debt Analysis

• Reduced-Form Modeling: We propose a new credit risk model for infrastructure debt, shifting the focus from complex structural models to a more streamlined, data-driven approach. This model will use key market data, such as credit spreads and cash flow metrics, to assess risk efficiently. This allows investors to analyze the unique characteristics of infrastructure debt without getting bogged down in overly complicated financial engineering.
• Comparative Analysis: The data facilitates comparisons with other asset classes like corporate loans and private equity. This helps investors understand the distinct risk-return profile of infrastructure debt and how it fits into a broader portfolio. For example, while infrastructure debt shares some systematic risk factors with corporate debt, our analysis reveals it exhibits different spread behavior and has unique downside protection characteristics.
• Right Benchmarks, Right Decisions: Using the right benchmarks is crucial for making informed decisions. Our data and analytics tools provide the evidence needed to support allocation decisions to infra debt. This allows fiduciaries to confidently select infrastructure debt products, knowing their choices are based on a robust, data-backed methodology.
• Unlocking Unique Insights: By leveraging spread data and cash flow metrics like the Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR), our model provides a deeper understanding of infrastructure debt's risk and return drivers. This allows investors to go beyond traditional credit ratings and grasp the unique dynamics that differentiate this asset class from others.

Presenters: Riazul Islam, Frederic Blanc-Brude, SIPA