CutterCast: Supporting Alternative Investments

Elizabeth “Beth” LaGambina joined Cutter Associates in 2001 and now leads the firm’s membership services efforts and is a familiar face to our many members. Beth has over 20 years investment management industry experience and leads Cutter Associates’ client relationship efforts among our large member consortia. In addition, she looks after the member firms of our more specialized networks, such as the Executive Roundtables and the BlackRock Aladdin Peer Network, as well as our benchmarking clients. Prior to joining Cutter Associates, Beth served as shareholder communications manager at John Hancock Mutual Funds, where she was responsible for the development, print and production of shareholder communications for approximately one million mutual fund shareholders. She was also an instrumental member of the committee that developed the industry’s first plain-English prospectus. Beth attended Northeastern University.

Shankar Subramanian has over 25 years of industry experience in investment management and technology solutions. Shankar has a deep understanding of investment data management, portfolio management, risk management, investment accounting, and alternative investments. At Cutter Associates, he heads the Risk and Compliance practice, helping client with investment risk management, and asset allocation, as well as providing support for compliance with consulting on trading forensics, communication surveillance, regulatory reporting, and guideline compliance. He advises on, and designs, operating models, selects systems, and implements business and technology solutions. He also leads development of Cutter’s alternative investments practices and the firm’s efforts to provide thought leadership and strategic and tactical advice to asset owner clients.

Prior to joining Cutter, Shankar held senior roles at IBM Global Services and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), advising clients and leading global delivery teams in large engagements. Shankar holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and an MBA in finance and information systems from the Indian Institute of Management.

Mark Filstrup is a Senior Vice President at AllianceBernstein and head of Alternatives Infrastructure & Operations. In this role, he is responsible for scaling the firm’s Alternatives platform by building efficient capabilities and delivering a modern, intuitive, and consistent experience for AB’s clients and staff. Previously, Mark launched a number of innovative vehicles as director of Product Development. During his AB tenure, he was also director of fund solutions within Portfolio Management & Trading, vice president of Alternative Investment Operations, and a senior business analyst for Private Wealth Management. He joined the firm in 2002 as operations manager for Bernstein.com. Earlier in his career, Mark managed development and project teams at CBS and web startups, including Online Retail Partners and SiteSpecific. He holds a B.A. in Architecture from Columbia University.

As a member of the Project Management team at Kempen Capital Management, Chi-Wai helps the company to realize successful client, fund, regulatory, and general improvement projects. He joined KCM in 2013 and worked in Product Management until the end of 2016. Chi-Wai earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration as well as Master’s degrees in Finance and Investments, Financial Law, Marketing Management, and Organizational Change and Consultancy from Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. He is also a CFA Charterholder.

Tim works with the Project Management team at Kempen Capital Management as part of the Asset Management Graduate Program. During the past year he has worked with the KCM Marketing, Global Dividend Fund, Asset Allocation Desk, and Private Markets teams. Tim holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics and a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He passed the CFA Level 1 examination last June.