Alternative investments debate: Participants

Alasdair MacDonald (AM – chair) joined Watson Wyatt in 1999 and is a qualified actuary. He works as a senior investment consultant, advising institutional investors on their investment strategies. His clients include some of the largest UK defined benefit pension funds, insurance companies and endowments. He works closely with Watson Wyatt’s Global Investment Committee, which is responsible for setting the investment return assumptions used globally.

Jelle Beenen (JB) joined Mercer in the Netherlands as head of Investment Strategy Consulting last month after nearly eight years at Dutch pension fund PGGM Investments where he was latterly head of alternative beta. He was still employed by PGGM when this debate was held.

Bertrand Delarue (BD) runs the product engineering team for equities and derivatives at BNP Paribas in Paris. His team is responsible for designing the structured products on which BNP Paribas has built its reputation as a derivatives powerhouse. He has been with BNP Paribas for more than ten years. He has a masters degree from the Ecole Polytechnique and a PhD from Cornell University.