Michael Falk

Michael Falk, CFA and Certified Retirement Counsellor (CRC) is a partner with the Focus Consulting Group, and a partner and chief strategist on a global macro hedge fund. Formerly, he was the CIO in charge of manager due diligence and asset allocation for a multi-billion dollar advisory firm. His background includes extensive asset allocation research and portfolio development expertise along with a multi-faceted understanding of behavioral finance and retirement issues. His perspective acknowledges that the wisdom of crowds can denigrate into madness at times. Assets should be managed with the serenity to accept the market’s realities; the courage to pursue its opportunities; and the ongoing pursuit of wisdom to understand the difference.

Aside from his consulting work, Michael is part of the CFA Institute’s Approved Speaker List, a contributing member to the Financial Management Association’s (FMA) practitioner demand-driven academic research initiative (PDDARI) group, and the Vice Chair of the Plan Sponsor Council of America’s Investment Committee.

He has also taught for DePaul University (Chicago, Illinois) on their Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certificate programme as an adjunct faculty member, as well as on behalf of the CFA Society of Chicago on their Claritas programme. He is frequently published and quoted in the financial press.

Michael graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S in Finance and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Retirement Counselor (CRC) designations.

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Raffaele Della Croce

Raffaele is an Italian national and lead manager for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) project “Institutional Investors and Long Term Investment”, in the Financial Affairs Division.

The OECD has a goal and mission to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

The project aims to facilitate long-term investment by investors such as pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds, addressing both potential regulatory obstacles and market failures.

Based on research produced for this project, the OECD is contributing to the policy discussions at the level of G20, Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the European Commission, in particular through the new G20/OECD Taskforce on Institutional Investors and Long Term Financing. As part of the OECD Futures Programme, Raffaele has also worked on the project “Transcontinental Infrastructure Needs to 2030/50” in the Advisory Unity to the Secretary General.

Prior to joining the OECD in 2010, he worked in the financial industry for eight years, mainly with Ernst & Young and Moody’s Investors Services, in London. As part of the international teams advising governments or private consortia, he has been involved in the analysis, structuring and negotiation of the largest transactions in the utilities and infrastructure sectors in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

Raffaele also serves on the Advisory Committee of the OECD Provident Fund. He was educated at University La Sapienza in Rome and Columbia University in New York.

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Viresh Maharaj

Viresh is the Chief Marketing Actuary of Sanlam Employee Benefits and a member of the Sanlam Employee Benefits Executive Committee. In this role, Viresh is responsible for leading the client engagement and marketing functions; development and implementation of a client-centric engagement strategy; establishing operational protocols to facilitate client-centricity; implementation of technological platforms to drive client engagement, intelligence and new business growth; and the implementation and execution of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) principles.

Viresh has been a member of Sanlam’s Benchmark research team since 2009, which has led the retirement reform debate across various platforms in South Africa. A notable achievement was his direct involvement in South Africa’s first financial services awareness campaign on FaceBook, the Loerie-nominated ‘Sanlam Save Your Future’ campaign, which aimed to create a culture of financial ownership and accountability amongst South Africa’s youth.

He joined Sanlam in 2007 as a product developer responsible for the creation of new group insurance products and applied his orientation towards experimentation and innovation to conceive, implement and distribute a diverse range of group risk products.

He has served as the Vice President of the Association of South African Black Actuarial Professionals, which is a Non-Profit Organisation that aims to support and expand the base of black actuaries.

Viresh was admitted as a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries (Scotland) and as a Fellow of the Actuarial Society of South Africa in 2009.

In 2011, he graduated from the UCT Graduate School of Business with an MBA awarded with distinction. He placed in the top eight of his graduating class and was consequently presented the Old Mutual Gold Medal and admitted as an Old Mutual Scholar for high professional performance and outstanding achievement.

Viresh is also a member of Mensa.

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