CFA Society New York (CFANY) successfully hosted the kickoff panel of the Asset Owner Series, the Insurance Company Chief Investment Officers Roundtable at CFANY Headquarters on February 18, 2016. The event was sold out with over 150 industry participants attending, a majority of whom were CFANY members. We also saw a high proportion of senior industry leaders and received excellent feedback from the audience. This kick off of the series was sponsored by CFA Institute. The Insurance CIO Roundtable featured William Riegel, Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, TIAA-CREF Asset Management as the keynote speaker. Mr. Riegel has 35 years of industry experience and manages $850 bn in assets. In his keynote, he addressed the challenges facing the insurance industry in the low yield environment and the non-traditional opportunities available to insurers with a unique liability structure. The keynote was followed by a panel discussion that included CIOs of prominent insurance firms – Geoffrey Cornell, CFA, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, American International Group, Inc, Jae Yoon, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, New York Life Investment Management, Michael Buthe, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, ACE Group Life Investments and Joe Dodi, CTP, Director, Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NJ. The discussion was moderated by Doug Niemann, Senior Managing Director, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, who combined his keen insights with witty comments and kept the conversation enjoyable. The panel speakers outlined their outlook for global markets and how it affects their portfolios governed by strict investment mandates. They also discussed their growing exposure to alternatives and other revenue-generating streams that enhance the core business profile. As the discussion was closed to the press and governed by Chatham House rules, the speakers were candid in their comments providing the audience with a unique glimpse into the minds of the CIOs of asset owners collectively managing $2tn in AUM. The discussion was followed by a networking reception. CFANY’s Asset Owner Series includes 10 evening programs in 2016 featuring asset owner Chief Investment Officers who collectively oversee roughly 10 trillion in AUM. It is being spearheaded by Thomas Brigandi; Deepika Sharma, CFA; Patrick Holert, CFA, CAIA; Robert Discolo, CFA, CAIA, CPA; and Christopher Cutler, CFA.