What is the future of Distressed Investing? What are the advantages of a private equity approach? How is blockchain technology changing the sports industry? Where is the American Dream in 2021?
Marc Lasry, the chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Avenue Capital Group, joins Distinguished Speaker Series Advisory Group member Cosmin Lucaci, CFA, for a fireside chat to answer these questions and more. Hear Lasry discuss the current traditional investing landscape, the merits of emerging investment opportunities, and wisdom learned over the course of Lasry’s 37-year career.
Lasry, who was seven when his family moved to the United States, spent time in the legal field after graduating from college. It didn’t take long before he made the jump to the world of investing. Few investors match Lasry’s ability to achieve success across a broad spectrum of opportunities. In 1995, Lasry formed Avenue with his sister, Sonia Gardner, with less than $10 million in capital from friends and family. In 2014 Lasry purchased the Milwaukee Bucks with several others and transformed them into one of the NBA’s top franchises. Today, Avenue is one of the largest distressed debt investors globally managing over $11 billion and the Milwaukee Bucks have an estimated value of more than $1.5 billion.
How did he get there? Is it hard work, luck or both? If you have questions for Marc Lasry, here’s your chance to ask them as we’ll be taking questions from attendees at the end of the event!
Fee*:
Members - FREE
Nonmembers - $20
(Member pricing underwritten by CFA Society Chicago)
CFA Institute Qualified Activity: Eligible for 1 credit hour
Registration: Online
Zoom login information will be provided in the reminder email closer to the event.
Registration closes at 5:00 PM on April 12, 2021.
Agenda:
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CDT: Program
Please log in a few minutes early to test your video and internet connections.
*Distribution of presentation slides is at the discretion of the speaker and may not be available for this event
Marc Lasry is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Avenue Capital Group, a global alternative investment manager focused on distressed and undervalued debt and equity opportunities in the U.S., Europe and Asia. In 1995, Mr. Lasry formed Avenue with his sister, Sonia Gardner, with less than $10 million in capital from friends and family. Today, Avenue is one of the largest distressed debt investors globally, managing assets of approximately $11.2 billion, with headquarters in New York City, and offices in London, Dublin, Luxembourg, Madrid, Silicon Valley and six offices throughout Asia.
Mr. Lasry is known as a pioneer in distressed investing which has been the focus of his professional career for over 37 years.
After law school, Mr. Lasry clerked for the Honorable Edward Ryan, Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York. He spent the following year practicing law at Angel & Frankel, which focused on bankruptcies.
Mr. Lasry subsequently became the Director of the private debt department at R.D. Smith, the firm where he first became involved in “trade claims,” the market in purchasing and selling to investors the unsecured claims of vendors and other creditors against a debtor. In 1987, he moved to Cowen & Company where he was Co-Director of the bankruptcy and corporate reorganization department. It was at Cowen that he caught the attention of the Texas investor Robert Bass, who was a client of the firm. When he left Cowen, Mr. Lasry went to manage over $100 million for the Robert Bass Group, where he invested in bank debt, senior bonds, and trade claims. The Bass fund Mr. Lasry oversaw was called Amroc Investments, L.P., and, at the time, it stood as one of the largest distressed funds in the U.S. In 1990, he co-founded a boutique distressed brokerage firm, keeping the Amroc name and maintaining the affiliation with the Robert Bass Group.
Mr. Lasry is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and he has served and will continue to serve on various other boards of advisors/directors of both for-profit and not-for-profit private and public companies. He is also co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team.
Mr. Lasry received a B.A. in History from Clark University (1981) and a J.D. from New York Law School (1984).
Cosmin Lucaci, CFA, is the vice president of research at Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth (BRF). Lucaci is a member of BRF’s Real Estate, Private Equity and Credit, Public Markets, Knowledge Management, Impact Investing, and Investment Strategy Committees. As a member of the research department, Cosmin helps in designing and implementing the company’s investment strategies as well as identifying investment managers.
Prior to joining BRF, Lucaci was at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. In his time there he worked on several projects, including co-authoring a study with senior economists that was presented at the Federal Reserve’s annual Bank Structure Conference and subsequently published in the Journal of Financial Services Research.
Lucaci received his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and his BA in economics and political science from Northwestern University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Lucaci is a Board member for the UL Boys and Girls Club, where he served on the executive committee and was the President of the Associate Board. He is also a Board member for the Chicago Engineers’ Foundation and the Chicago Booth Alumni Club of Chicago and served on the CFA Society of Chicago’s Board of Directors. Lucaci has also served on various committees for The Logos School of Music, Northwestern University, and the Union League Club of Chicago.
*Special Notes Regarding Fees
This event is complimentary for members only. Credit card required to guarantee all nonmember reservations. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and Diners Club are accepted. Registration online is required and closes at 5:00 PM on April 12, 2021. Cancellations for refunds accepted until 5:00 PM, April 9, 2021.
Passport Program
Members of any CFA society may attend at the CFA Society Chicago member rate. Please call the CFA Society Chicago office at 312-251-1301 to register. If you are only a member of CFA Institute, you do not qualify for the Society member rate.
CFA Institute CE Qualified Activity
This program qualifies for credit under the guidelines for the CFA Institute Professional Development Program.