Speaker

Lauren Goodwin

Director of Portfolio Strategy, New York Life Investments

Lauren, an Economist and Director of Portfolio Strategy at New York Life Investments, was named a 2020 Business Insider Rising Star of Wall Street.* Her Multi-Asset Solutions team manages a combined $8.4B in assets (as of 9/30/22), including MainStay’s Income Builder Fund, Asset Allocation ETFs, and bespoke investment solutions.

Lauren’s work focuses on mapping global macro and capital markets trends to asset management strategy. She is responsible for economic and market research, asset allocation, and thought leadership, providing regular insights through multi-media coverage and as host of the firm’s economic and market podcast, Market Matters. Lauren regularly represents firm at conferences and as spokesperson in television and print media outlets such as: Bloomberg, CNBC, the New York Times, Nikkei and Barron’s.

Lauren authored the CFA Institute’s curriculum on Geopolitical Risk (“Introduction to Geopolitical Risk”).

Prior to joining the firm, Lauren held economist positions at JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Frontier Strategy Group, and the OECD. She is a CFA Charterholder, graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California and holds a master’s degree in international economics from Johns Hopkins.

Speaker

Chris Hyzy

Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer Bank of America Private Bank

Christopher M. Hyzy is Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer supporting Bank of America Private Bank and Merrill within Bank of America Corporation. In this role, Chris is responsible for determining the investment view for the wealth management businesses, developing and managing the asset allocation strategy, solutions due diligence, investment policies and guidance and, supporting the client-focused investment approach. Previously, he served as the Chief Investment Officer and Chief Investment Strategist for the Private Bank.

Prior to joining Bank of America, he was chief investment officer and head of product strategy for the Latin American Market region of The Citigroup Private Bank. He chaired the Global Investment Themes Committee and was a voting member of the Investment Strategy Committee for the Citigroup Private Bank, and active member of the Investment Policy Committee, the Product Strategy Committee, and senior leadership team. Preceding his role at Citigroup, he was the director of Merrill Lynch’s Investment Policy Group and head of the Investment Committee for International Private Clients. Chris also held investment positions including director of the Global Portfolio Strategy group for Private Wealth Advisory and senior international equity strategist for Merrill Lynch’s Private Client and Middle Markets Group.

Chris received his B.A. in business from Villanova University and earned an M.B.A. in finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Villanova University and previously served on the Provost Board and the Finance Department’s Advisory Council at Villanova, and the Finance and Investment Committee for the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation.

Speaker

Richard Bernstein

CEO and Chief Investment Officer, Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC

Mr. Bernstein founded Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC (RBA) in 2009. As CIO, Mr. Bernstein oversees the firm’s Investment Committee which manages multi-asset, global equity, and fixed income ETF strategies for financial advisors and institutions. He helps write the firm’s monthly Insights which has over 25,000 subscribers, is a frequent guest on CNBC and Bloomberg TV, and is regularly quoted in leading publications like Barron’s, Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Bernstein has over 40 years’ experience on Wall Street, and was formerly the Chief Investment Strategist at Merrill Lynch & Co. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in 1988, he held positions at E.F. Hutton and Chase Econometrics/IDC.

A much-noted expert on equity, style and asset allocation, Mr. Bernstein was voted to Institutional Investor magazine’s annual “All-America Research Team” eighteen times, and has been inducted into the Institutional Investor “Hall of Fame.”[1] He was also twice named to both Fortune magazine’s “All-Star Analysts” and to Smart Money magazine’s “Power 30”, and was a member of Registered Rep’s “Ten to watch” for 2012. His book “Style Investing: Unique Insight into Equity Management” is widely viewed as the seminal book on style-oriented investment strategies. He donates the profits from that and his other book, “Navigate the Noise: Investing in the New Age of Media and Hype,” to charity.

Mr. Bernstein currently sits on the Hamilton College endowment’s Investment Committee and is a trustee of Hamilton College and was formerly a chair of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation endowment’s Investment Committee. He is also a member of the Journal of Portfolio Management’s Advisory Committee and former adjunct faculty of the NYU/Stern Graduate School of Business. Rich and his wife, Christine, endow numerous college and university scholarships designated for under-represented students interested in business and STEM.

Rich holds an MBA in finance, with Beta Gamma Sigma distinction, from New York University, and a BA in economics from Hamilton College. He has lectured on finance and economics at numerous colleges, universities and professional forums.

Moderator

Raj Sharma

Private Wealth Advisor, Head of The Sharma Group, Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group

Raj is Managing Director – Wealth Management and Head of The Sharma Group, a high end boutique within Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking and Investment Group and has over three decades of experience in customized investment and wealth management for entrepreneurs, corporate executives, families and institutions. Raj runs a national wealth management practice based in Boston.

Raj has been featured in the Barron’s and Forbes Top 100 Advisor list since inception. In 2021 and 2022, he was recognized by Forbes and Barron’s Magazine as the number one Financial Advisor in Massachusetts. In addition, Raj is on the Barron’s Hall of Fame list– one of a small group of advisors who have appeared in Barron’s ranking of America’s Top 100 Advisors for ten consecutive years. He was also recognized by the Financial Times of London ranking of top Global Advisors. He was featured on the inside cover of the September 2019 issue of Forbes Magazine.

Raj is the author of “The Purposeful Wealth Advisor” released by Amplify Publishing in 2022. The book is ranked as a Best Seller on Amazon in the Financial Services category.

Raj is an ardent believer in philanthropy and is involved with several domestic and global organizations. He is a current trustee and former Chairman of The Boston Harbor Island Alliance, a member of the Board of Trustees for Emerson College and a Founding trustee and Director Emeritus of the American India Foundation (AIF), an organization devoted to disrupting poverty in India through a spectrum of programs. In addition, Raj is on the Board of Youth LEAD, an internationally recognized organization promoting cultural understanding and tolerance among high school students. He was also recently appointed to the board of The Boston Foundation, one of the oldest community foundations in the country.

In 2013, Raj was the recipient of the “Solas Award” from Rian, formerly called the Irish International Immigrant Center for his commitment to promoting cross-cultural dialogue and for his inspirational example of achievement and civic engagement as an immigrant.