What if transparency (not secrecy) is actually your competitive advantage when pitching AI strategies?

In this solo episode of The Institutional Edge, host Angelo Calvello, PhD, co-founder of Rosetta Analytics, shares critical lessons from nine years of pitching AI-based investment strategies to institutional allocators. Angelo breaks down four essential lessons for managers: defining AI precisely through transparency, disclosing model sources and demonstrating technical ownership, emphasizing human-AI collaboration over autonomy, and making explainability non-negotiable. Drawing on research from Gary Marcus and Anthropic, plus real allocator feedback, Angelo reveals why institutional investors aren't ready for fully autonomous AI strategies and provides practical frameworks for successful fundraising conversations.

In This Episode:

(00:00) Introduction to pitching AI strategies and the allocator knowledge gap

(01:08) Lesson 1: Define your AI precisely and build trust through transparency

(04:10) Lesson 2: Disclose model source and demonstrate technical ownership

(07:23) Lesson 3: Emphasize human-AI collaboration, not AI autonomy

(09:02) Lesson 4: Explainability techniques, black box challenges, and closing recap
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Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators.

As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.

Resources:

Related Articles:

• Pensions & Investments Op-Ed: Pitching AI Strategies - Angelo's full article on this topic

Research & References Mentioned:

• Gary Marcus on LLM limitations: A Knockout Blow for LLMs

• Gary Marcus on agentic misalignment: "Nobody in the industry has a clue how to stop this"

• Anthropic Research: Agentic Misalignment Study

Email Angelo: Angelo.Calvello@pionline.com
Email Julie: julie.parten@pionline.com
Pensions & Investments
Dr. Angelo Calvello LinkedIn

• (00:00:04) - Angelo Calvello on AI Investment Strategies
• (00:01:19) - 4 Rules for Convivial AI Proposals
• (00:04:23) - Lesson #4 on Large Language Models
• (00:07:22) - 3 Rules for Fully Autonomous AI
• (00:08:52) - 4 Rules for Pitch an AI Strategy