Alexander Helter, CFA, FRM, CAIA

Personal Details

Bio

Alexander Helter is a Management Consultant at Stradegi Consulting, advising some of the largest institutional investors in the world. He specializes in strategic investment allocation, sub-adviser evaluation, due diligence, and risk management policies of sovereign wealth funds, pensions, endowments, foundations and insurance companies. His work focuses on reviewing existing investment evaluation and monitoring processes at his clients' firms, and then designing and implementing enhancements to them.

Combining extensive knowledge of various asset classes & institutional liabilities, analytics tools, project management techniques, and investment industry best practices, Alex is able to design and implement solutions to enhance the overall investment process at some of the most prominent institutional investment firms throughout the world. He has advised over 60 investment firms across North America, Europe, and Asia on topics such as holdings-based investment attribution, peer universe & style benchmark comparison, sub-adviser due diligence, fundamental risk model incorporation, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) integration, Asset-Liability Management, GIPS (Global Investment Performance Standards), investment data governance, and regulatory compliance.

In addition to having over 15 years of experience in the investment industry, Alex has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®), Financial Risk Manager (FRM®), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA®), Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM®), and Project Management Professional (PMP®) designations. Alex holds a Master of Business Administration with dual concentrations in Finance and Accounting from Clark University, and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Bentley University.

Alex has spoken to a wide variety of audiences on topics such as:

• Regulatory updates in performance measurement

• Application of robo-advisor algorithms to the financial markets

• Performance measurement trends by institutional investors

• Transparency of sovereign wealth funds

• Developments in the Asian economy

• Due diligence of sub-advisers to avoid operational issues and fraud

• Regulatory challenges impacting the market

• Best practices within the risk management space

• In-demand analytics technology for investment analysis

• Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) and Sustainable investment trends

• Water infrastructure and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) investment by world governments

Current position (1)

Management Consultant

Stradegi Consulting

Degrees (2)

Bachelor of Science, Finance

Bentley University

2003 to 2007

Master of Business Administration, Finance & Accounting

Clark University

2007 to 2011

Presentations

Presentations (5)

2020 GIPS® Standards - Key Insights from Exposure Draft and Commentary

Presented at the Asia Investment Management COO Roundtable in Singapore, a private invitation-only roundtable event for Chief Operating Officers of Singapore's Asset Management firms.

A presentation on key highlights from the 2020 Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) Exposure Draft & industry commentary. Presentation included key elements of regulatory change, the change in industry response to the regulatory change from prior revisions, and selected focus on contention areas of proposed changes.

Specific focus points were:
* Decrease in Asset Manager commentary response from 2010 revision to 2020 revision
* Regulatory changes aimed at increasing adoption by asset owners and alternative investment managers
* Opposition areas within pooled funds
* Disagreement on requirements for Money-Weighted Return presentation
* Anticipated areas of additional cost for regulatory compliance

Challenges and Considerations in Implementing an Investment Performance Measurement System

Presented at the Investment Performance, Attribution and Risk Management (iPARM) Australia 2018 Forum, an International Business Review organized conference.

A presentation on observed challenges with institutional investors trying to implement performance and risk measurement technology solutions. Presentation included key recommendations to investment operations teams on ways to better manage implementation projects to mitigate risks of delays or failure.

Specific focus points were:
* Proper identification of the stakeholders of a performance measurement system implementation
* Motivation techniques to counter project detractors so as to avoid them derailing implementations
* Project management and communication techniques to employ to demonstrate competency to project sponsors
* Key decision criteria for performance system and calculation option selection

Domestic Data Regulation for Emerging Investment Managers

Presented at the Singapore Management University Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics's annual regulatory conference.

A panel discussion on developing a coordinated data regulatory approach, providing specific insights on emerging data-driven investment managers. Discussed the aspects specific to the regulation of the data and algorithms used by automated financial models.

Specific focus points were:
* Understanding the input data that automated "robo-advisors" are using for their models, and how the algorithms work
* Ensuring that the driving data and algorithms provide transparency to ensure the
* Validating the models and data by back-testing and also using after-the-fact review that the resulting allocations are consistent with reasonable standards a qualified human advisor would have created
* Enhanced concerns on the new data robo-advisors will have, and the data privacy protections necessary to protect clients

Water Infrastructure in Asia

Presented at a private function for professionals looking to better understand global environmental challenges with water.

A presentation on trends in water infrastructure investment activity in the ASEAN community. Presentation included high-level findings from a 3-day ASIAWATER conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Specific focus points were:
* Addressing infrastructure needs through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). The sustainability of water infrastructure when Private enterprise helps to put a proper cost on water usage.
* Using technology to address water leakage in the pipe infrastructure (Non-Revenue Water). How Malaysia and other ASEAN nations are using sound and pressure sensors to identify water leaks before they become catastrophic.
* Wastewater treatment issues and the environmental impacts of untreated wastewater. How Vietnam and China are addressing wastewater challenges.

Sovereign Wealth Fund Transparency: Evaluating the Impact of the Santiago Principles

A summary presentation from an original working research paper. Summarized findings from my research on Sovereign Wealth Fund transparency.

Specific focus points were:
* Review of the Linaburg-Maudell Transparency Index methodology and its application, and the Santiago Principles.
* Assessment of transparency between those Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) which have signed the Santiago Principles and those which have not.
* Changes in SWF transparency before and after the Santiago Principles
* Thematic trends in SWF transparency across geographic regions, economic development states, SWF age, SWF size, and other factors that would be reasonably expected to impact SWF transparency.
* Conclusions related to next steps for SWF transparency enhancement.

Past talks (3)

2020 GIPS® Standards - Key Insights from Exposure Draft and Commentary

Asia Investment Management COO Roundtable

Singapore

March 20, 2019

Challenges and Considerations in Implementing an Investment Performance Measurement System

iPARM Australia 2018

Sydney, Australia

November 26, 2018

Domestic Data Regulation - Emerging Investment Managers

SMU Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics Conference

Singapore

June 19, 2018

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2020 GIPS® Standards - Key Insights from Exposure Draft and Commentary

Speaker Profile - Alexander Helter

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Books & Articles (3)

2020 GIPS® Standards - Key Insights from Exposure Draft and Commentary

Performance Measurement Trends

Data Regulation Implications for Robo-Advisory

Awards & certifications (5)

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®)

CFA Institute

2015

Financial Risk Manager (FRM®)

Global Association of Risk Professionals

2014

Chartered Alternative Investment Consultant (CAIA®)

CAIA Association

2017

Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM®)

CFA Institute

2017

Project Management Professional (PMP®)

Project Management Institute

2017

Personal Details

Presentations

Books & Articles (3)

Expertise (22)

Awards & certifications (5)