Wrap up From ADISA’s Spring Conference

SCOTTSDALE, AZ—It was great to be back. That was the take away from the first face-to-face ADISA gathering in more than a year. The ADISA 2021 Spring Conference was marked by sold-out registration, high energy and enthusiastic participants and speakers at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Arizona. The more than 500 attendees took advantage of 27 breakout sessions that bookended general sessions, round tables, keynote speeches and in person networking.

At the women’s initiative lunch, Cass McCrory, a marketing specialist, kicked off the conference by speaking about personal brand, connection, and the importance of aligning your values to your career.

Keynote speaker Mara Liasson, national political correspondent for NPR and Fox News Channel contributor, took the microphone as keynote speaker on Tuesday, May 11. Her talk on “The Changing Face of American Politics” provided a candid, enlightening view of what’s going on in Washington D.C.—and its impact on alternative investments.

During an industry and sector update general session, attendees were met with a deep dive on alternative investment sectors, especially within the past year. Kevin Gannon (Robert A. Stranger & Co.), Taylor Garrett (Mountain Dell Consulting), Mike Kell (iCapital Network) and Michael Andrews (SS&C Technologies) shared their expertise and commentary.

During the Legislative & Regulatory Updates, Thomas Rosenfield (Hill staffer) and Joseph Borg (Alabama Securities Commission and NASAA Former Chair and President) shared in-depth commentary and up-to-date state and national news directly impacting the alternative investment industry.

A breakout session titled Fundamentals and Best Practices of Alts had topics ranging from due diligence, to diversification, to disclosures, to legislation and beyond. In the session, panelists offered advice and insights pertaining to proper handling and offerings of alternative investments. Greg Mausz with Preferred Capital Securities moderated the panel, which consisted of Mike Bendix (DFPG Investments), Angela Barbera (NexPoint Securities) and Colin Cosgrove (Inland Securities Corp.).

Over the past year, the business world has operated much differently than in the past. That was the focus of the pandemic workaround to mainstream panel moderated by Angie Fisher with the CIM Group. The session focused on challenges, solutions and potential future of the remote working model. Additional speakers were Mike Huisman (UMB Bank), Dan Breen (Great Lakes Fund Solutions) and Ned Montencourt (Phoenix American Financial Services).

In another panel, led by Crescent Securities’ Rick Chess and focused on cannabis, crypto, ESG and more, panelists pinpointed challenges, benefits and opportunities of these investments. The panel, consisting of Adam Dooley (Alliance160), James Richmond (e2comply) and Christian Heyer (IGF Partners) also discussed the pitfalls and regulatory issues involved with the marijuana and cryptocurrency industries.

Impact investing is becoming a hot topic. That was the focus of another breakout session that lead to questions as to whether doing good can mean good returns. Jeff Shafer with CommonGood Capital and Nick Veronis with the iCapital Network discussed current trends in the impact assets space, while focusing on examples of successful environmental and societal investments.

With the recent increase to $75mm, Reg A is finally finding a place in the real estate alternatives space. That was the focus of another breakout session where Rhys James of Kaplan Voekler Cunningham & Frank moderated the discussion with Ray Davis (Red Oak Capital Management), Matt Leiter (Trilogy Real Estate Group) and Myra Nicholson (International Assets Advisory) on why bond products are working and what the current structures are.

With this particular conference in the rear-view mirror, mark the calendar for the annual conference, which will take place from October 4-6, 2021, at The Wynn in Las Vegas.