Webinars &
Recordings

Our top priority is supporting our client's needs and keeping you updated on the opportunities and challenges facing investors in the current market environment.

As the markets adjust to the current economic reality, we have seen extreme levels of market volatility. We expect this market volatility to continue for some time, and it's critical to provide you with timely, informative information to help you navigate the environment effectively.

When available, join us for a series of live webinars where experts from across the industry share their perspectives, address your fundamental concerns, and answer your questions. Our recorded sessions are available for you to watch on-demand.

On-demand video recordings

The future of private credit: Exploring evergreen strategies

Held: Tuesday, October 22
35 minutes

We believe there are compelling reasons why now, more than ever, investors should be considering an allocation to private credit. Today’s environment is especially enticing for specialist investment strategies that can take advantage of wider spreads, to lock in higher yields. In our opinion, that should lead to better returns and more income for investors now and into the future.

Our experts answered key questions investors raise to us on a regular basis:

• Why private credit now? Given the current macroeconomic environment, is private credit an appropriate investment area now?
• Why global private credit is innovative, focusing in particular on the management of the liquidity of the strategy.
• We shared how our investment research is organized. It's about having a large, dedicated team. We have a profound understanding of the market and a rigorous due diligence selection process.
• Managing partners from WhiteHawk Capital Partners presented the unique features of their asset-based lending strategy and a few representative deals they recently worked on.

Making a trade in Q4? Key dates to consider avoiding

Held: Tuesday, September 17
28 minutes

How do you plan for calendar risk when you need to move assets?

Institutional investors need to minimize all possible risks around large asset movements. One of those key risks is the calendar because not all trading days are created equal. Liquidity is cyclical, and volatility is less predictable, but there are key days to watch out for. What are the days to avoid and lean in, and what's the best way to plan?

Our expert panel discussed:

• Challenging dates to consider: International holidays, announcements, cyclical events. Sometimes, markets are more predictable than you might think.
• Ways to manage calendar risk: What's the single most powerful strategy when it comes to mitigating trading risk?
• The key questions: Whether you are transitioning assets in-house or working with a transition manager, you should be aware of the answers.

Determining your optimum private markets asset allocation

Held: Tuesday, June 4
53 minutes

How much of your portfolio should be allocated to private markets? Every organization has unique constraints, particularly around liquidity and target asset allocations. What's your maximum? And how can you manage the risks? We'll share actionable plans and real-world examples.

We discuss:

• The answer is not zero – Why we believe nearly every portfolio should have PM exposure
• The risks you need to manage – Rebalancing, liquidity demands, and unexpected tail risks: The risks are real, but how impactful are they?
• Determining your maximum – How do you ensure that, even in stressed conditions, you can meet your cashflow demands?
• Actionable strategies – Fund structures, organizational realities, liquid asset pools, and approaches to rebalancing: All these factors have impacts on sustainable private markets exposure levels.
• If liquidity is the focus, how do you achieve it – Liquidity within private markets is achievable. How?

The big shifts: Street-level insights from the trading desk

Held: Tuesday, May 7
60 minutes

As one of the world's leading trading desks, our traders have a unique view into institutional investor trends, with street-level views on asset class shifts, hedging strategies, and major portfolio transitions. Where do we see the money moving? What risks are in focus and what strategies are used to manage them? Traders know.

Listen in to this exclusive conversation with front-line traders who work daily with some of the largest household name investors in the world:

They discuss:

• The big shifts – Which asset classes do we see investors shifting away from? What are they shifting toward?
• Managing private market exposures – How are the big investors working to solve this challenge?
• T+1 – You've seen this in your inbox. What does the move of T+1 mean to you?
• Fixed income transitions – The fixed income space is getting more and more complex. Does it justify professional transition support?

2024 Global Private Markets Survey results

Held: Tuesday, April 9
60 minutes

The results of our annual private markets survey are in. We've surveyed leading private markets investment managers around the world to determine the latest trends. Where do they see opportunities? What about risks?

We'll dig into the data and provide answers to these questions:

• Key investment strategies – Which strategies are most prevalent today? Where is the most growth?
• Opportunities and risks – Which industries and sectors seem most future-proof?
• Value creation – How does active management play in the private markets space?
• Impact investing – In the face of politicization, why has the demand for impact strategies increased?
• Investors and products – Results showed a trend toward greater access to alts. What does this mean for institutional investors?

$20 Billion Club: Trends of the largest U.S. pension plans

Held: Tuesday, March 26
39 minutes

We recently completed our review of the 21 U.S.-listed companies with the largest corporate defined benefit plans. This group is the bellwether for the corporate pension industry. What can we learn from this year’s data? Plenty.

We dug into the data on this exclusive report, which was featured in Pensions & Investments, FundFire, and PlanAdviser, among others.

Our panel discussed:

• Return assumptions: The average expected return on asset (EROA) assumption for the largest U.S.-listed pension plan sponsors increased to 6.70% in 2023—the first time a year-over-year increase has been observed in 19 years of records. See why.
• Navigating interest rates: The material increase in rates in 2022 and its impact on EROA assumptions leads to a few important takeaways for plan sponsors. See what they are.
• Is re-risking back? Large plans are definitely considering increasing equity-like exposure. See what our recommendations are on this crucial topic.

Election year: The impact on institutional investors

Held: Tuesday, March 12
43 minutes

There are major elections coming up in 2024, with more voters expected to participate than ever before. At least 64 countries will hold significant elections, and this could have an impact on institutional investors. In a recent webinar, Andrew Pease and Mark Eibel, CFA, were joined by Kaspar Hense, Senior Portfolio Manager of RBC BlueBay Asset Management to discuss how election results could affect your portfolio.

During the webinar, they covered the following topics:

• Monetary policies and regulations: Which parties are more likely to stimulate the economy with fiscal stimulus? Which parties are more conservative, and how much impact can the winners actually have.
• Regulatory changes: Legislative changes usually come from Congress, but what about regulations? Which party is more likely to loosen regulations, and would this be beneficial for long-term investors?
• The pace of the energy transition: How might the different parties worldwide impact climate-and-energy-driven sectors? What might that mean for inflation
• Navigating the rest of 2024: Although the elections are several months away, what kind of volatility can we expect in the near term?

The IBM story: The DB/DC evolution

Held: Tuesday, February 27
33 minutes

IBM made headlines recently when it announced groundbreaking changes to its employee retirement program. They reopened their long-frozen defined benefit plan to replace their 401(k) plan matching contributions.

In this webinar, we dug into IBM's decision, whether or not it could mark the start of a small trend away from 401(k) plans back toward DB plans. And we looked at what might be a more ideal solution, potentially providing the best of both DB/DC worlds.

We discussed:

• The IBM story – What did IBM change with their 401(k) and frozen DB plans, and why did they do it?
• Advantages and disadvantages – What is appealing about an IBM-style approach, and what is concerning?
• A third option – Instead of an all-or-nothing approach, what might a shared DB/DC model look like, and why might it work better?
• Just for overfunded plans? What if your plan is not fully funded? At what point might an organization consider the potential advantages of reopening its DB plans?

ESG Survey results and discussion: Understanding the new ESG landscape

Held: Tuesday, January 30
40 minutes

Our experts dove deep into the findings of our extensive global ESG Survey, which reflects the views of 169 asset managers across the globe.

Featuring, Yoshie Phillips, CFA, Head of Fixed Income ESG Investing, Russell Investments; Jonathan Bailey, CFA, Global Head of ESG and Impact Investing, Neuberger Berman (UK); and Kris Tomasovic Nelson, CFA, Head of ESG Investment Management, Russell Investments (moderator); discussed:

• Net-zero initiatives – Is net-zero still a priority for managers?
• Climate risk - Where does it fall on the list of manager and investor concerns?
• Data, reporting, and metrics – Data and reporting has long been an issue, is it improving?
• Meeting diverse client needs – No two investors consider ESG the same way. How are managers navigating the many unique demands of investors?
• Fixed on fixed – What does the sustainability application in fixed income investing mean? Where should bond investors look for attractive valuations? What are the key considerations in green, social, sustainability bonds?

2024 Global Market Outlook - Exclusive preview

Held: Wednesday, December 6
40 minutes

Andrew Pease, our Global Head of Investment Strategy and the author of our 2024 Global Market Outlook, is joined by Van Luu, our Global Head of Solutions for FI and FX, and moderator Sophie Antal-Gilbert, our Head of Portfolio & Business Consulting.

During the webinar, the speakers discussed how:

• The soft- landing scenarios – Just how hard will it be for U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell to slow the economy without skidding into a recession?
• World tour of growth vs. stagnation - Europe appears recession-bound. The UK continues to stagnate. Japan is a bright spot. And what about China?
• The return of the 60/40 – We nominated 2023 as the year of the diversified portfolio. How’d we do? And what’s 2024 look like?
• Fixed on fixed – Where should bond investors look for attractive valuations?

What China's economy means for institutional investors

Held: Tuesday, November 14
40 minutes

In our discussion on the Chinese economy, what's likely in the store for its future, and how it can affect institutional investors, our speakers discussed how:

• China's economy has disappointed most expectations for 2023. We explored the key challenges that their economy has faced and how the outlook for 2024 is looking.
• China's need to rebalance from investment to consumption is coming when tensions with the U.S. are elevated, which could create continued volatility.
• Although pessimistic commentary about China's long-term outlook is increasing, we believe China does have the levers to alleviate some key challenges.

The energy transition and what it means for institutional investors

Held: October 24, 2023
59 minutes

How well do you understand the complexities of the transition to new energy? Who will the winners and losers be? Which sectors will benefit? Which will struggle? How will the transition intersect with growth, inflation and other macro trends? How will this change the backdrop for the way we all invest?

We've spent all of 2023 digging into this topic and the report findings are sure to surprise you. And we’ll save time for your most provocative questions.

Challenges to consider:

• The global economy is still overwhelmingly powered by fossil fuels, with over 80% of primary energy sourced from coal, oil, and gas as of 2021.
• Achieving net zero by 2050 would be a herculean task. This energy transition would need to be two times faster than the shifts towards coal, oil, and gas in the last 200 years.
• A slow transition would expose investors to "physical" risks. The most pressing physical risk for investors is agriculture. Corn could see yields fall 20% by the end of the century in a severe warming scenario. But wheat yields could rise.
• A fast transition would expose investors to large "transition" risks. It is estimated that global investment in clean energy might need to triple to $4 trillion in the coming years to hit net zero targets. An investment boom of this magnitude would likely lift long-term interest rates.
• How governments facilitate the energy transition will be critical for economies and markets. A brewing subsidy war between the United States and Europe could stifle innovation in the rest of the world and make it challenging for some emerging markets to compete in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Has active management gotten harder?

Held: October 11, 2023
52 minutes

Just how hard has it become for active management to provide value? And how might it fit into your portfolio? Register now for an upcoming webinar focused on this vital topic.

Watch as Adam Goff, Managing Director, Head of Research, Russell Investments moderates this session with Caroline Cai, CFA, Managing Principal, Chief Executive Officer, Portfolio Manager, Pzena Investment Management; and Joe Hemmant Senior Director, Investment Research - Equity, Russell Investments.

Some of the topics they discussed were:

• How are active managers addressing the challenge of the megacap effect, and finding outperformance in top-heavy markets?
• How can an institutional investor find a manager who is particularly adaptive in these environments and who continues to have an edge?
• How do we see the active management segment getting more competitive? And how might that benefit investors?
• Does active management still belong within your portfolio? What's the right role for it to play?

Opportunities in private credit

Held: September 26, 2023
52 minutes

In this webinar replay, Samantha Foster, Managing Director, Non-Profit OCIO Solutions, Russell Investments moderates a webinar with Keith Brakebill, CFA, Director, Senior Portfolio Manager – Private Credit, Russell Investments; and Brad Colman, Global Head of Healthcare Investing, Blackstone Credit to discuss:

• The need for additional capital in private credit to match what has been raised on the private equity side and the lack of alternative sources of credit for borrowers in today's market. This has created a buyer's market in the private credit space, which may benefit investors.
• How private credit managers generate returns for investors. It's more than just generating loans and coupons. And because this topic can quickly get complicated, they'll work to balance insight with clarity.

Read related blog post

Debt ceiling, credit spreads, and a potential recession

Held: June 15, 2023
57 minutes

Special guest, Bob Michele, CFA, Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Global Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities Group for J.P. Morgan Asset Management was joined by Russell Investments' fixed income experts for a lively discussion on the:

• Consequences of the debt ceiling and potential resolutions
• Implications of market pricing in Treasury yield curves, investment-grade credit, and high yield, while we head into an uncertain economic environment
• Outlook and opportunity across traditional public fixed income and private credit

Interview with Thomas Jefferson University CIO: Creating a responsive balance sheet

Held: May 25, 2023
53 minutes

Alfred Salvato, SVP and CIO at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (Jefferson Health) joined us to discuss how Al implemented an integrated risk framework across TJU’s balance sheet assets to align the investment risk positioning with expected capital needs over the short, medium and long term.

Some key highlights include:

• Building an integrated risk financial framework to align investment strategy with financial strategy
• Should you shift from a single pool only with a long-term focus to multiple operating pools aligned by time horizon?
• Consolidating investment pools
• Increasing portfolio transparency—knowing what risks you’re exposed to when markets turn south

Read related blog post

Commercial real estate and the potential threats to the banking system

Held: May 11, 2023
50 minutes

Russell Investments' top market specialists were joined by:

• Morris Chen
  Portfolio Manager, CMBS/CRE Debt Investment Team, DoubleLine

During the webinar, the speakers explored the commercial real estate market and its potential effects on the banking sector and broader economy.

Some highlights:

• Discussion on the potential of commercial real estate debt to pose a systematic threat to the banking industry
• Factors that may help identify more vulnerable banks and using that analysis to position core and fixed income strategies
• The potential importance of rising cap rates in commercial real estate

ESG survey results panel discussion: The ESG journey accelerates

Held: March 6, 2023
57 minutes

Russell Investments' ESG specialists were joined by:

• Jennifer Wu, J.P. Morgan Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainable Investing
• Rita Mangalick, Blackstone Credit Managing Director and Global Head of ESG

The speaker panel dove into the findings of our extensive global ESG Survey, which reflects the views of 236 asset managers across the globe, concluding with a live Q&A.

Key areas of focus:

• DEI: Find out the current state of gender and ethnic minority representation on investment staffs and how that impacts asset owners
• Greenwashing: Investors and regulators require rising transparency. How are asset managers responding?
• Manager challenges: Hear the biggest challenge asset managers face when it comes to incorporating ESG
• Dependable data: ESG data and reporting continue to be a challenge. How does this scarcity of data impact investors?
• Asset class differences: a multi-asset view of ESG integration

Volatile markets affect your institution: How to tackle the challenges

Held: September 20, 2022
57 minutes

Hosted by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB), the webinar featured Russell Investments and Caltech speakers.

Topics discussed included:

• Volatility impacts on asset classes, private market pacing, rebalancing ranges, long-term asset allocation, and policy benchmarks
• Inflation impacts on spending policy and return targets
• Roles and responsibilities of staff and the board
• Market update and outlook

Russell Investments Chief Investment Strategist Erik Ristuben offered his view on economic and market data and the potential impacts to spending on endowments.

Douglas MacBean, Sr., Managing Director of Public and Alternative Securities at the Caltech Investment office, shared his perspective as a fiduciary regarding governance, markets, and current challenges.

Samantha Foster, Managing Director of Non-Profit Solutions at Russell Investments, moderated and provided some key governance and spending policy best practices.

The bond market in unprecedented times: Strategies for the road ahead

Held: July 19, 2022
53 minutes

Inflation and rising rates are creating sleepless nights for many institutional investors, particularly when it comes to the fixed income part of their portfolios. When will the pain end? And how are top asset managers shielding portfolio assets during these tough times?

Watch Albert Jalso, Senior Portfolio Manager, Russell Investments interview John Bellows, Portfolio Manager, Western Asset Management, and Michelle Russell-Dowe, Global Head of Securitized Products and Asset-Based Finance, Schroders Capital, on the following:

• Effects of Fed quantitative tightening impacts on valuations
• Insight on the housing market, corporate credit risk, and the default cycle
• The state of liquidity in the bond markets, including Treasuries, Corporates, Mortgages?
• What are the key supply/demand dynamics for bonds? Will selling get worse or better?

What will the Fed's next move mean for you?

Held: June 15, 2022
47 minutes

Watch this webinar featuring our seasoned pros, Paul Eitelman, Chief Investment Strategist, North America, Kate El-Hillow, Global CIO, and Erik Ristuben, Global Chief Investment Strategist, discuss the Fed's June 15 announcement to increase the federal funds rate by 0.75 percentage points to help reduce inflation without damaging the economy. They touch on recession risk, potential impacts on business activity, and the impact on global markets and other geopolitical risks.

Navigating the Crisis in Ukraine

Held: March 2, 2022
42 minutes

In this webinar recording, Kate El-Hillow, Global Chief Investment Officer, Erik Ristuben, Chief investment Strategist, and Rob Balkema, Senior Director and Head of Multi-Asset, North America at Russell Investments provided an update on the potential implications to client portfolios as well as the impact more broadly across financial markets.

Incorporating private credit into your investment portfolio

Held: November 10, 2021
60 minutes

Watch as Vic Leverett, Managing Director, Alternative Investments and Rachel Carroll, Managing Director, Consulting at Russell Investments hold a lively discussion about private credit. They'll talk about how private credit differs from private equity and the role it should play within your portfolio, what opportunities we're currently seeing in the markets and how asset managers are structuring their deals to capitalize on those opportunities, and strategies investors are using to fund those allocations.

Expressing your responsible investing beliefs in your fixed income portfolio

Held: October 20, 2021
60 minutes

Watch as Russell Investments' Lisa Schneider, Managing Director, Non-profits and Healthcare and Yoshie Phillips, Director Investment Research discuss the criteria and insights needed to effectively incorporate responsible investing criteria into your fixed income portfolio. Their discussion is followed by a conversation with Brian Svendahl, Co-Lead Portfolio Manager, Impact Investing and Managing Director, Co-Head, US Fixed Income at RBC Global Asset Management and Keith Brakebill, Senior Portfolio Manager at Russell Investments where they cover the specifics about current opportunities in this space, how to approach selecting the right managers and strategies for your portfolio, and how to effectively measure success.

Building retirement income into your existing DC plan offering

Held: June 16, 2021
60 minutes

Retirement income is fast becoming a popular DC plan option – leaving many plan sponsors the big job of figuring out how to incorporate it into their current offering. In this webinar, Rachel Carroll, Managing Director of Consulting for Russell Investments will be joined by Umberto Cirri and Russell Niswander from Nestlé, who will talk us through how they have approached rolling out a retirement income program for their participants. They’ll share how they modeled potential options, communicated and aligned their internal stakeholders, managed committee expectations, and selected products – all within the parameters of their global DC initiative.

Getting real about real estate

Held: May 6, 2021
60 minutes

2020 changed how, and where, we live, work and play, which has significant implications for the real estate sector. The big question is – how many of these shifts are permanent and how many are temporary? The answer to this question will have significant implications for public & private real estate investing going forward.

To help us look at this question in detail, we invited Michelle Foss, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Invesco and Bob Thomas, Managing Director and Co-Head of Real Estate Securities at DWS to join Russell Investments' Senior Research Analyst Adrianna Giesey and Dave Brunette, Director, Head of Listed Real Asset Research for a discussion about the public and private real estate sectors and the challenges and opportunities they believe lie ahead.

Investors - Are you ready for what's next?

Held: April 7, 2021
60 minutes

As we move from crisis to recovery, there are a lot of people wondering what comes next. Which changes from the past year will remain and which might not? What opportunities should we capitalize on and what risks should we be prepared to mitigate? We don’t have a crystal ball, but we do have the next best thing – Thimon de Jong.

Thimon is a futurist, luminary, and expert on the cross-section of human behavior, societal change, and business strategy. He will share his views on what the future may hold for businesses and economies. Thimon will be joined by Bryan Weeks, Head of Americas Institutional and Brad Jung, Head of our North American retail business for a discussion about the key issues that investors should watch closely as we transition to what's next.