Judges highlight some of their own events aimed at promoting alternative assets
James Burron and Paul Koonar are longstanding advocates for alternative assets in Canada and for Canadian alts leadership beyond our borders. Burron and Koonar are partners at the Canadian Association of Alternative Strategies and Assets (CAASA). Through their advocacy work they work to educate regulators, investors, and advisors on the nature of alternative assets, the value they can add to portfolios, and the ways they can improve business in this country.
In service of that goal, Burron and Koonar participate in and lead industry events. That includes two upcoming conferences in Toronto, the Wealth Manager’s Forum on March 26th and the Family Office Summit on April 28th. Burron and Koonar are also judges at the upcoming 2026 Wealth Professional awards. They shared how their advocacy work will inform their judging criteria and how events like their conferences and WP’s awards show can help advance the cause of alts in Canada.
“Some of why we participate is just to be involved and to see what’s coming out there,” Burron says when asked why he and Koonar judge at the WP awards. “We can figure out ways to separate the narrative from the substance, and find out what areas are important to investors or advisors. Then we get a chance to put ourselves front of mind for advisors, too.”
Koonar adds that judging gives CAASA an opportunity to grow and showcase their network, which span from some of Canada’s largest alts managers to some emerging players. It allows them to see, firsthand, how advisors are using alternatives in their clients’ portfolios. That view of alternatives, they explain, will also be part of the criteria they judge potential nominees by after nominations for the WP awards close on Friday February 13th.
“One thing I’m looking for is the evolution of their book,” Koonar says. “Going from a traditional portfolio into some of these new strategies and alternatives. We can see how wealth managers are reframing their allocations, going from viewing things as equities or bonds into viewing assets as offense or defense. Add to that, we’ll be looking at how client centric they are, how much education they’re doing, and if they can take these complex concepts and explain them to retail clients.”
Koonar and Burron both have backgrounds as wealth advisors, so broader industry standards for recognition will be incorporated into their judgement process as well. That includes standards for governance, team operations, and relationships with specialists and referral networks. Contributions outside of work matter, too. Joining boards, volunteering, and making a difference is something that the judges say they’ll look favourably on.
Because they are alts advocates, their expertise will be leveraged in assessing the alternatives categories for the WP awards. Koonar and Burron note, however, that alts expertise can prove helpful for any advisor, even as public markets have offered such strong performance.
“Alts seem like they don’t matter at a time like this, but when they do matter they really matter,” Burron says.
He notes that in past recent downturns when even liquid alternatives products have been available, they saw far fewer drawdowns than publicly traded assets. The goal of these products, he explains, is not to chase momentum to the highest possible immediate performance. Instead, they serve to protect a portfolio when momentum arrets or reverses.
Burron and Koonar hope that their own upcoming events in March and April can help articulate that point further. Both events operate under Chatham House rules, allowing for a free and open exchange of ideas. At the Wealth Management summit, advisors will serve on panels, along with some asset managers (who are not paying or paid to be there). They want to hear firsthand experiences of using alternatives, and welcome views that are not as immediately supportive of this asset class as they are.
Sessions will cover the mechanics of alternatives, and the personal dynamics of applying them in a wealth management practice. CAASA’s Family Office Summit in April will have a special focus on family dynamics in asset management. At both events, they hope that the panel discussions are just the opening for real and meaningful conversations that will extend far beyond the events themselves.
“The complexity of portfolio management has changed dramatically over the years,” Koonar says. “It’s not just about a 60/40 split, or even just how you add broad alternatives. It’s how you add direct private equity exposure, private credit, real estate, etc. With our conferences, we bring in top portfolio managers, CIOs, the people who have the tools and know how to use them to build portfolios.”
Friday is the last chance to nominate for the WP awards - Submit your nomination here.
