ABOUT UBCIM
UBC Investment Management is a professional investment management company established in 2003 to provide comprehensive portfolio management and advisory services to The University of British Columbia (UBC). We are a wholly owned subsidiary of UBC and in addition to other smaller funds within the UBC community, the primary funds we manage are:
+ The UBC Endowment Fund
+ The UBC Staff Pension Plan
+ The UBC Working Capital Fund
PURPOSE
To sustain and uplift the future of higher education in British Columbia through our commitments to investment and service excellence
VISION
To be a leading investment office
MISSION
To be a trusted and innovative partner by:
+ financially supporting UBC’s
research, students and educational
programs
+ providing a sustainable pension for
current and former employees
+ supporting the UBC’s responsible
investing goals
VALUES
FOCUSED
- We are driven to produce superior risk-adjusted returns.
- We strive to excel in the diligent selection and monitoring of our investment partners.
CLIENT-CENTRED
- We foster a culture of transparency and service excellence.
- We value clear communication and pursue meaningful interactions with our internal partners.
TRUSTED
- We seek to forge partnerships built on trust and respect with our internal partners, our investment managers and service providers.
- We collaborate with investors and organizations that share our investment objectives and values.
CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING
- We seek to continuously adopt more agile, efficient structures and processes to enhance our competitive advantage.
- We steadily acquire additional knowledge, techniques and insights to refine our investment approach in changing market conditions and landscape.
ONE TEAM
- The asset we value above all others is our people.
- We foster diversity, equity and inclusion, ensuring everyone feels welcome and has the same opportunity to learn, contribute and realize their potential.
- We work as one team, collaborating to create a more nimble, responsive and effective organization.
UBC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
UBC Investment Management’s Board is currently composed of up to nine directors appointed by the university’s Board of Governors. Three are UBC-related directors — senior university executives and representatives of the Board of Governors and the Staff Pension Plan Board. The other five to six independent directors are members of the business community recommended by our Board and approved by the UBC Board of Governors.
Alexa Blain
Alexa Blain is co-Founder and Managing Partner of Deetken Impact, where she leads portfolio management, finance and operations. Deetken Impact is a Canadian impact asset manager focused on investments in women’s empowerment, clean energy, and impact enterprises in Latin America and the Caribbean. Deetken Impact manages over US$150 million in assets across five funds with a diverse team of seasoned investment professionals based in Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and Canada, and spanning a track record of more than two decades of direct investing experience.
Prior to joining Deetken, Alexa was an executive with African Alliance, a pan-African financial services group and an associate with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Macquarie Group in Toronto.
Recognized as one of Vancouver’s Top Forty Under 40 by Business in Vancouver magazine, Alexa is a CFA Charterholder, a Chartered Business Valuator and holds an MA in Financial Economics from the University of Toronto.
Follow Alexa on Twitter at @lexablain or connect on LinkedIn.
Tom Bradley
Tom Bradley is the Chair and Co-founder of Steadyhand Investment Management, a boutique manager focused solely on better outcomes for individual
Canadian investors. He co-founded the firm in 2007.
Tom started his career in 1983 as an Equity Analyst at Richardson Greenshields. He spent eight years with the firm, the last three as Director of Institutional Sales. In 1991, he joined
Phillips, Hager & North as a Research Analyst and Institutional Portfolio Manager. He was appointed to the Board of Directors of PH&N in 1996 and appointed President and CEO
in 1999, a role that he held until he resigned from the firm in 2005. Tom’s education includes a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of
Manitoba (1979), an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business (1983) and 38 years in the investment trenches.
In addition to his duties at Steadyhand, Tom is a long-standing member of the Investment Committee at the Vancouver Foundation and an enthusiastic advocate for individual
investors through his blogs, bi-weekly articles in the National Post and speeches to industry groups.
Amanda Farrell
Amanda Farrell is the President and Chief Executive Officer at Transportation Investment Corporation (TI Corp). Amanda took on this role in December 2018 to lead the management and delivery of major infrastructure projects, including the new Pattullo Bridge, the Kicking Horse Canyon Project – Phase 4 and the Broadway Subway. Since that time, TI Corp’s portfolio has expanded to include the George Massey Crossing Project and the new Steveston Interchange, the Collections and Research Building Project, part of the Royal BC Museum Modernization Project, and the Surrey Langley SkyTrain. Prior to TI Corp, Amanda served as the President and CEO of Partnerships BC for five years.
Amanda focused the organization’s culture on client responsiveness and strengthening relationships with current and future clients in the development of major public infrastructure projects from hospitals to courthouses to transit lines. Amanda also served as Chief Project Officer on the now completed Evergreen SkyTrain Line in Vancouver during that time.
Earlier in her career, Amanda gained public policy and operational experience in the UK before moving to British Columbia. Amanda is a Board member of Family Services of the North Shore, a member of the programming committee of the BC Construction Roundtable, and a founding director of the BC Women’s Infrastructure network. Amanda was honoured by her peers as the recipient of the 2018 Women’s Infrastructure Network Outstanding Leader award.
Hyewon Kong
Hyewon Kong is Vice President of Responsible Investing at the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO), where she leads IMCO’s sustainable/responsible investing strategies.
With over 20 years of experience in both corporate and investment management in Asia, Europe and North America, Hyewon has been an ambassador of sustainable investing as an experienced portfolio manager and a subject matter expert on ESG. Since moving from the UK to Canada 6 years ago, Hyewon has been instrumental in creating broad collaborations in the Canadian financial industry to drive a sustainability agenda and has been named to Canada's 2020 Clean50 leaders.
Hyewon serves on the Environmental Finance Advisory Committee at the University of Toronto and lectures on Investing for Impact, Environmental Finance and Sustainable Investment courses.
Hyewon is a CFA charterholder and a member of the Toronto CFA society and has cofounded and co-chaired Canadian Responsible Investment Working Group to provide platforms for collaboration and engagement to address key ESG issues.
Frank Laezza
Frank Laezza is the Vice President, Finance & Operations for UBC where he leads a team of over 1400 individuals in the core financial, facilities, and safety functions of the university across both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.
Frank joined UBC in March 2023 from Murdoch University, Australia, where he was Chief Financial Officer with responsibility for leading the university’s business and finance functions, as well as management of its financial and capital resources. Prior to this, he worked at Technical and Further Education State Vocational College (New South Wales Australia); University of Technology, Sydney; and University of New South Wales, among other institutions. In addition to his strategic financial and operational leadership, Frank has experience with IT transformation — including Workday — as well as major capital works project oversight.
Frank is a strong believer in connected leadership, bringing a focus to collaboration and honest, two-way dialogue that enables him to build meaningful and productive relationships within his team as well as with external partners.
Azim Lalani
Board ChairAzim Lalani
Azim has over 25 years of financial experience and has held senior management roles in several public and private real estate companies. For the past 4 years, he was on the UBC Board of Governors and during his tenure served as Co-Vice Chair of the Board, Chair of the Finance Committee and Chair of the Audit Committee.
A Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV), Azim graduated from The University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1992.
Yale Loh
Yale has been the Treasurer at the University of British Columbia since joining the university in March 2019. In this role he is responsible for providing financial analysis to support strategic initiatives and capital projects for all UBC campuses and locations, and ensuring UBC has sufficient financial liquidity through strong cash and debt management practices. He is also responsible for leading strategic financial planning, tax, leases and licences, and revenue accounting. In his role, Yale oversees all of UBC’s financial assets, including UBC’s $2 billion endowment pool, and is heavily involved with UBCs efforts to evolve and further strengthen our responsible investing framework for the $2 billion endowment fund. Yale has over 30 years of capital markets and corporate experience. He joined UBC from Aritzia, where he served as Treasurer and previously held senior roles with Finning International, Capital Power Corporation, and BC Hydro.
In addition to being a member of the Board of Directors at UBC Investment Management, Yale is also a member of the Board of Directors of the UBC Staff Pension Plan. Yale currently serves his community as a member of the finance Committee of the Board at West Point Grey Academy. He was previously a member of the United Way of the Lower Mainland Campaign Cabinet and a member of the Board of Directors of the Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver Foundation.
Yale is a commerce graduate from UBC and earned an Masters in Business Administration from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Yale also holds his Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Professional Accountant designations.
Rakesh Saraf
Rakesh Saraf is a senior private equity and infrastructure investments professional. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce(1986) from the University of Chennai, India; a Master of Management Studies(1998) from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, University of Mumbai, India; a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA, 2003) designation; and is an ICD.D Charterholder since 2008.
He has over 30 years’ experience in investment management, governance, strategy, growth, audit/risk management and HR/compensation. Draws from a diverse set of experiences rooted in hands-on principal investing across multiple strategies, industries and numerous direct equity situations. General management techniques are grounded by strong quantitative analytical investment skills. International experience in all facets of investment management, spanning both Private and Public Market investments.
He was a Senior executive at Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund Board and Alberta Investment Management Corp., where he represented both organizations at the Board of Directors of investee companies that included RTL-Westcan, Klemke Mining Corporation, and NCSG Ltd, and was a Director of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.
He is currently a Board member of BeneSys, Inc., a provider of Taft-Hartley Trust Fund Administration and Information Technology services; Skyline Renewable LLC, an independent wind power producer; and POI Business Interiors a Workspace Interiors and Office Furniture Company.
He also serves his community as Member, Board of Governors and Senator at University of Alberta and, serves on the Investment Committee of Edmonton Community
Foundation.
Byron Thom
Byron Thom joins UBCIM as a representative of the UBC Board of Governors. He is currently a partner at the Industrial Innovation Venture Fund within BDC Capital, a fully owned subsidiary of the Business Development Bank of Canada. As a venture capital investor, he supports early-stage companies on corporate strategy, go-to-market opportunities, and governance. Byron brings more than 20 years of experience in the technology sector as a founder, lawyer, operator, and investor. He previously held senior roles at Cymax Group Technologies and Framework Venture Partners.
Byron is a graduate of the University of Ottawa, where he earned an LL. B in Law & Technology and Simon Fraser University, where he received a Bachelor of Applied Science (Honors) degree in Engineering Science. In 2019, he was recognized as one of Business in Vancouver’s “Top Forty Under 40”.
LEADERSHIP TEAM
UBC Investment Management’s leadership team brings rich investment management experience and diverse backgrounds and skills sets to the funds we manage. All staff take ownership of the funds we manage, while applying individual functional expertise when and where appropriate. We have built a close-knit, team-based culture within the organization that promotes best in class investment thinking and practices.
Dawn Jia, CFA
President & Chief Executive OfficerDawn Jia, CFA
As the President and CEO of UBC Investment Management Inc. (UBCIM), Dawn Jia is responsible for the overall investment activities and monitoring of the portfolios under UBCIM’s oversight. She also oversees UBCIM’s operations and provides strategic and operating objectives to the organization.
Prior to joining UBCIM, Dawn was a Senior Portfolio Manager at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). At CPPIB, Dawn and her team were responsible for ensuring that the total portfolio delivered on its overall mandate by rebalancing it to the desired systematic exposures. Before Dawn joined CPPIB in 2013, she was Vice President and Head of Active Equity for North America at State Street Global Advisors. She was also an equity portfolio manager at Barclays Global Investors and a quantitative strategist at CIBC World Markets.
Dawn is a Board Member of Vancouver Foundation and the Chair of its Investment Committee. She also serves on the Board of Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG). Previously, she served on the Investment Committee of the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA). Dawn is a founding member of the Advisory Board of Western University’s Master of Financial Economics Program.
Dawn received her MBA from the Ivey Business School and an MS in Engineering from Tianjin University in China. She is also a CFA charterholder.
Graham Sheppard, CFA
Director, Total Portfolio ManagementGraham Sheppard, CFA
Graham holds several key responsibilities at UBC Investment Management, chief among them being a primary relationship contact for our internal partners to ensure their priorities are well understood and being supported as well as leading our responsible investing priorities.
Within the investment team, Graham oversees total portfolio asset allocation, including rebalancing and cash management activities, total portfolio strategy research and investment policy development, and leads oversight of public fixed income investments.
Prior to joining UBC Investment Management, Graham was a Portfolio Manager within the Investments Division of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), managing the group’s macroeconomic, financial market, and fixed income research efforts for the company’s $20 billion insurance fund and $1.2 billion pension plan for management employees. Prior to joining ICBC, Graham was an Analyst at ERA Research, a boutique investment research firm specializing in equity and high yield investment opportunities in the global Forest Products sector.
Graham is a CFA charterholder and a proud alumnus of the UBC Thunderbirds.
Anthony Chan
Director, Investment OperationsAnthony Chan
As the Director, Investment Operations, Anthony is responsible for leading the Investment Operations team to help deliver on the firm’s investment mandate and vision.
Prior to joining UBCIM, Anthony managed an Investment Operations team at Focus Asset Management, a Toronto-based Wealth Management firm. At Focus, Anthony strengthened processes and controls surrounding Trade Support, Fund Accounting, and Reporting. Before Focus Asset Management, Anthony spent 11+ years at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) where he gained an understanding of the investment transaction lifecycle across multiple asset classes and ultimately enhancing its supporting processes. CPPIB looked to Anthony to provide operational subject matter expertise and lead complex transaction onboarding for their Active Equities and External Portfolio Management teams. Before CPPIB, Anthony began his career at State Street Canada managing teams in both Custody Servicing and Alternate Asset Fund Administration. Anthony holds from University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Arts, Economics.
Holly Rail
Manager, Corporate ServicesHolly Rail
As the Manager, Corporate Services, Holly provides broad support for the day-to-day operational needs of the team at UBCIM with emphasis on vendor relationship management, coordination for Board reporting and oversight of general office management.
Holly has over thirty years of experience in administration across a variety of business sectors, including higher education, not-for profit, and software. Most recently, she worked at the Office of the VP Finance & Operations at the University of British Columbia supporting the VP, providing oversight of the administrative staff and coordinating Board reporting for the portfolio.
An avid gardener, Holly is most likely be found during her free time appreciating the latest buds and blossoms in her garden with her feline friend, Layla.
GOVERNANCE
UBC has overall responsibility for managing the university’s investment portfolios and Staff Pension Plan. The university’s Board of Governors appoints UBC Investment Management’s Board of Directors, which in turn delegates our President and Chief Executive Officer to oversee the day-to-day administration and investment of the funds. In our investment activities, we are granted specific responsibilities and powers within a clearly defined governance and organizational structure: