NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Feb. 3, 2020 — Canterbury Consulting, an independent investment advisory firm overseeing approximately $22.8 billion for foundations, endowments and families, recently hosted its 2020 Investment Forum, Canterbury's annual client education event.
This year's forum featured experts from Research Affiliates, The Collaborative Fund and PIMCO who provided insight on the relevancy of valuations, the psychology of investing and the view from Washington.
"Canterbury's 12th annual investment forum featured two keynote speakers who focused on the timely topics of equity market valuations around the world as well as the various policy and investment considerations surrounding the upcoming Presidential election," said Debashis Chowdhury, president of Canterbury Consulting. "We also delved into the subject of behavioral finance to better understand and overcome tendencies and biases that challenge so many investors when making investment decisions."
Rob Arnott, founder and chairman of Research Affiliates, presented the forum's first topic, "Are Valuations Now Irrelevant?" Arnott has published more than 130 articles in such journals as the Harvard Business Review and Financial Analysts Journal.
"I am a bull on things that are cheap and a bear on things that are expensive," said Arnott. "If your investment horizon is global there are bargains out there."
"The Psychology of Investing" was presented by Morgan Housel, partner at The Collaborative Fund. Housel is a former columnist at The Motley Fool and The Wall Street Journal. He stressed patience and a long-term view when investing.
"The central problem investors have with stocks is underestimating the amount of time needed to put the odds of long-term success in their favor," said Housel.
Libby Cantrill, managing director and head of public policy at PIMCO, reviewed the nation's political climate in her assessment "A View from Washington: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." Cantrill is the co-head of PIMCO's New York office, a CFA charterholder and a regular contributor to Bloomberg and CNBC. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
"Concerns about China are very bipartisan, and I don't think that will change, regardless of who is sitting in the white house," said Cantrill. "From a markets perspective, we should continue to expect there to be more tensions in the U.S.-China relationship whether it is surrounding the trading relationship, national security issues, or technological dominance concerns; these will not go away regardless of who the president is."
Canterbury Consulting moderated the breakout session "Implementing a Co-Investment Program for Taxable Investors," that featured Michael Dal Bello, investment partner at Pritzker Private Capital and Shawn Schestag, managing director at Sixpoint Partners. The discussion covered the history of co-investing, as well as the advantages and challenges of implementing a co-investment program from both the LP and GP's perspective.
Canterbury Consulting also hosted an additional interactive session, "Navigating Challenges Faced by Nonprofit Staff and Trustees," that examined opportunities institutions have to better balance investment considerations, organizational objectives, and governance models while maintaining alignment with their overall mission.
"The forum's interactive sessions allowed our family office and institutional clients alike to interact with their peers to better understand challenges and share best practices," said Chowdhury.