The Institute for Portfolio Alternatives (IPA) elected ten new individuals to its board after capping off a first-ever virtual version of the organization's annual flagship event, IPAVision. The IPA Board of Directors consists of senior executive leadership from across the alternative, portfolio diversifying investments (PDI) industry. Each individual is elected to a three-year term, with the latest electees' terms starting January 1, 2021.

"The individuals elected to the IPA Board of Directors are representative of the alternative investments industry at-large that continues to experience positive, transformational growth despite major headwinds from a challenging 2020," said Anthony Chereso, President and Chief Executive Officer of the IPA. "The IPA board consists of talented thought leaders representing the diversity of the IPA community, and as such will continue to ensure all industry stakeholders have a voice in the future of the PDI marketplace and that the IPA remains a strong and effective advocate for American investor choice."

The IPA Board of Directors will be led by 2020 Chair-Elect Leon Volchyok, Managing Director, Blackstone. Mr. Volchyok takes over as Chair of the Board on January 1, 2021, from Trisha Miller, Executive Managing Director, Robert A. Stanger & Co., who will continue to serve as Chair Emeritus throughout next year.

The IPA welcomes the following individuals as newly elected board members, beginning January 1, 2021:

Asset Managers

• Chirag Bhavsar, Co-CEO, CNL Financial Group
• Mark Early, CEO, Hines Securities, Inc.
• Doug Krupa, Managing Director, Co-Head of Private Wealth Partners, KKR & Co. Inc.
• Thomas Sittema, Executive Chairman, Conversus, a StepStone Company

Distribution Partners

• Jeremy Beal, Managing Director, Head of Alternative Investments, Wealth Management, Morgan Stanley
• Bill Duffy, VP, Alternative Investments, Fidelity Investments
• Matt Fries, Head of Due Diligence, Cetera Financial Group
• James Goedtke, SVP, Due Diligence Analyst & Product Manager, American Portfolio Financial Services, Inc
• Todd Van Pelt, VP, Investments and Insurance, Cambridge Investment Research

Industry Partners

• Alice Connaughton, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP

They join the following senior industry leaders who continue their work on the IPA Board of Directors:

• John Carter, Founder and Chairman, Carter Multifamily
• Karen Garnett, Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP
• Mark Goldberg, CEO, Griffin Capital Securities, LLC
• Kamal Jafarnia, General Counsel & COO, Altegris
• Keith Jones, Senior Managing Director, Head of Alternative Investments Products, Nuveen
• Chrissy Lee, Co-President & COO, Kalos Financial
• Todd Lockwood, SVP, Operations and Shareholder Relations, CIM Group
• Mick Manning, President and CEO, Pacific Oak Capital Markets Group
• Frank McCarthy, SVP & General Manager, Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
• Chris Milner, Head of Commercial Real Estate, Cantor Fitzgerald
• Rick Murphy, Executive Vice President and Director, Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services Inc.
• Michael Pagano, Vice President, Advanced Planning Solutions, Avantax Wealth Management
• Michael Reisner, Co-CEO, CION Investments
• Timothy Rolfs, VP, Alternative Investments and Capital Markets Products, LPL Financial LLC
• Jeff Taylor, Managing Director, COO, Black Creek Group
• Rosemarie Thurston, Partner, Alston & Bird LLP
• Anne-Marie Vandenberg, President & COO, RREEF Property Trust, Inc.
• Dan Vene, Co-Founder& Managing Partner, iCapital Network
• Leon Volchyok, Managing Director, Blackstone (2020 IPA Chair-Elect)
• Dan Wagner, SVP, Government Relations, The Inland Real Estate Group, LLC

About Institute for Portfolio Alternatives

The Institute for Portfolio Alternatives seeks to raise awareness of portfolio diversifying investment (PDI) products among stakeholders and market participants, including investment advisers, public policymakers and the investing public. We support increased access to investment strategies with low correlation to the equity markets: lifecycle real estate investment trusts (Lifecycle REITs), net asset value REITs (NAV REITs), business development companies (BDCs), interval funds and direct participation programs (DPPs). Through advocacy and industry-leading research and education, the IPA is committed to ensuring all investors have access to real assets and the opportunity to effectively balance their investment portfolios.