A Framework for Fiduciary Innovation

What's the biggest mistake asset managers make when implementing AI?

This week on Institutional Edge, host Angelo Calvello sits down with Peter Strikwerda, Global Head of Digitalization and Innovation at APG Asset Management. Managing €616 billion in pension assets, Peter shares APG's groundbreaking framework for implementing AI while maintaining fiduciary responsibility. He reveals how the Dutch pension giant overcomes status quo bias, manages the reality that four out of five AI experiments fail, and transitions from rule-based to principle-based governance. Peter offers practical guidance for asset owners navigating the tension between innovation imperatives and fiduciary obligations, emphasizing that AI isn't just another tool—it's transformative technology that requires strategic embedding throughout the organization.

In This Episode:
(00:00) Introduction- Peter Strikwerda and APG Asset Management
(02:09) Peter's mandate at APG and AI's role in digitalization
(05:33) Responsible experimentation: Creating structured environments within fiduciary boundaries
(15:44) Governance evolution: From rule-based to principle-based AI oversight
(22:33) Risk-adjusted innovation: Managing experimental failure rates and value assessment
(26:39) Scaling methodology: Progressive frameworks from experiments to enterprise deployment
(29:00) Framework for fiduciary innovation and guidance for peers
(31:09) Worst vendor pitches and enterprise-grade standards
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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 conversations on institutional investing.

Resources:
Peter Strikwerda:

Chapters

• (00:00:00) - Real Alpha: A Framework for AI Driven Fiduciary
• (00:01:17) - How APG is integrating AI into its investment decision-making
• (00:04:40) - Pension IT Strategy: Data Privacy and AI
• (00:08:54) - Black Box and the fiduciary obligation
• (00:09:48) - Fiduciary Investors on AI and Its Governance
• (00:15:01) - WSJD.com: The Challenges of Digitalization
• (00:16:47) - The Governance of AI
• (00:20:55) - How to Manage the Scientific Uncertainty of AI
• (00:21:50) - Fiduciary Innovation in AI
• (00:25:43) - Top Executives: AI in Financial Services
• (00:27:42) - The Future of AI and the Fiduciary
• (00:30:14) - What's the Worst Software Sales Pitch?
• (00:32:14) - Podcast