Mr. Robinson is an Associate Managing Director in the Life Insurance Group at Moody’s Ratings. He is responsible for managing analysts who cover a broad array of life and health insurance companies. Prior to joining Moody’s in 1999, Mr. Robinson worked in the Investment Policy and Strategy Group of the Trust Company of the West. Previously he had been with AXA Financial. Mr. Robinson holds a degree in economics from Duke University and a Masters Degree in Actuarial Science from Georgia State University. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a CFA charterholder.

Chief Investment Officer, Guggenheim Partners Investment Management and Managing Partner, Guggenheim Partners

Ms. Walsh is Chief Investment Officer for Guggenheim Partners Investment Management where she is responsible for meeting the investment needs of the firm’s fixed-income clients, including insurance companies, corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, consultants, wealth managers, and high-net-worth investors. In her role she oversees all elements of portfolio design, strategy, sector allocation, and risk management of fixed-income portfolios, as well as conveying Guggenheim’s macroeconomic outlook to portfolio managers and fixed-income sector specialists. She also serves as head of the Portfolio Construction Group and Portfolio Management teams. Ms. Walsh is also a Managing Partner of Guggenheim Partners.

Ms. Walsh has over 35 years of experience in investment management, and her specialization in liability-driven portfolio management derives from her deep background in insurance asset management. Before joining Guggenheim in 2007 she served as chief investment officer at Reinsurance Group of America, and as vice president and senior investment consultant at Zurich Scudder Investments. Ms. Walsh also served in senior investment roles at Lincoln Investment Management and American Bankers Insurance Group. Ms. Walsh holds a BSBA and MBA from Auburn University and a JD from the University of Miami School of Law. She has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Manoj Jethani is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in the US life insurance team within the Financial Institutions Group at Moody’s Ratings where he is a lead analyst and has responsibility for a portfolio of North American life insurers. 

Prior to joining Moody’s in 2006, he worked as an actuary at a private actuarial consulting firm in Stamford, CT and as a credit analyst at Mashreq Bank in Dubai, UAE. 

Manoj holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems and Finance from the University of Connecticut and holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) with a specialization in Banking, Strategy and Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Robert R. Merck is a senior managing director and global head of real estate and agricultural finance in MetLife Investment Management.  In this role, Merck is responsible for managing the $100 billion commercial mortgage and equity real estate portfolio, as well as its $22 billion agricultural investments portfolio.  In this capacity, he oversees a staff of approximately 350 investment professionals, both domestic and international.

Merck started his career with MetLife in 1982 and has served in various capacities in real estate investments. Since assuming overall responsibility for the real estate and agricultural portfolios, Merck has implemented strategic initiatives and a risk management focus that have strengthened the portfolios, raised the profile of the franchise and positively impacted the financial results of the business. Under Merck, the commercial and agricultural mortgage portfolios have more than doubled in size and the platforms have expanded internationally. Under his leadership, MetLife has diversified its real estate equity portfolio, in part through the $5.4 billion sale of Peter Cooper Village / Stuyvesant Town, one of the largest real estate transactions in history. In addition, Merck was responsible for launching the firm’s new investment management business in 2012.

Merck received a B.B.A. degree from Emory University where he graduated with highest honors and earned his M.B.A from Georgia State University.  Merck is Executive Sponsor of MetLife’s Military Veterans Network.  He also serves on the Real Estate Advisory Board of the Emory Goizueta Business School, is a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and serves on the Boards of Directors of the Real Estate Roundtable.

Victor Calanog is Head of Commercial Real Estate Economics for Moody’s Analytics. Prior to the acquisition by Moody’s Analytics in October 2018, he served as Chief Economist & Senior Vice President of REIS, leading a team of economists and analysts to build, maintain, and customize the firm’s market forecasting, valuation, and real estate portfolio analytics and advisory services. 

Dr. Calanog’s research has received awards and fellowship support from several institutions, including the Ford Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation and the Penn Lauder Center for International Business Research. 

A prodigious researcher with broad interests, his papers in real estate economics, local government competition, and urban fiscal policy have been presented in meetings of the American Economic Association, the American Finance Association, the Brookings Institution, and discussed in academic forums sponsored by Harvard Business School, Columbia University, Stanford University, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Stern School of Business at New York University. 

He serves as contributor and peer reviewer for several academic journals, with scientific papers published in the Journal of Banking & Finance, the Journal of the Risk Management Association, and cited in the Journal of Finance, Journal of Public Economics, the World Bank Research Observer, the Brookings Papers on Urban Affairs and Public Administration Review. His assessments of market conditions have appeared in national publications like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Bloomberg News, Financial Times, and Reuters News. Dr. Calanog writes several columns on commercial real estate for the National Real Estate Investor and Scotsman Guide.  His industry columns have won honors from the American Society of Business Publication Editors and the Risk Management Association.

He serves on the Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Board of Governors for the Mortgage Bankers Association, as Managing Editor for the CRE Finance Council, and on the Editorial Advisory Board of Real Assets Adviser. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Counselors of Real Estate®(CRE) and is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS). 

Dr. Calanog holds a PhD in Applied Economics and Management Science, trained by a dissertation committee composed of faculty from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School. In addition, he has an MBA in Finance and an MA in Business and Public Policy, earning the Amy Morse Prize and the Thomas P. Gerrity Leadership Award as the most distinguished PhD and MBA student in his class.

In a previous life, Dr. Calanog was a competitive powerlifter, but he now measures poundage's by how much laundry he does per day. He serves at the behest of Christine, his wife of over twenty years, daughters Samantha and Madison, guinea pigs Midnight and Kale, and puppy Ginger. He enjoys traveling, pestering locals in their own language, and studying geopolitics, history, art, military strategy–and mecha anime.

Robert R. Merck is a senior managing director and global head of real estate and agricultural finance in MetLife Investment Management.  In this role, Merck is responsible for managing the $100 billion commercial mortgage and equity real estate portfolio, as well as its $22 billion agricultural investments portfolio.  In this capacity, he oversees a staff of approximately 350 investment professionals, both domestic and international.

Merck started his career with MetLife in 1982 and has served in various capacities in real estate investments. Since assuming overall responsibility for the real estate and agricultural portfolios, Merck has implemented strategic initiatives and a risk management focus that have strengthened the portfolios, raised the profile of the franchise and positively impacted the financial results of the business. Under Merck, the commercial and agricultural mortgage portfolios have more than doubled in size and the platforms have expanded internationally. Under his leadership, MetLife has diversified its real estate equity portfolio, in part through the $5.4 billion sale of Peter Cooper Village / Stuyvesant Town, one of the largest real estate transactions in history. In addition, Merck was responsible for launching the firm’s new investment management business in 2012.

Merck received a B.B.A. degree from Emory University where he graduated with highest honors and earned his M.B.A from Georgia State University.  Merck is Executive Sponsor of MetLife’s Military Veterans Network.  He also serves on the Real Estate Advisory Board of the Emory Goizueta Business School, is a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and serves on the Boards of Directors of the Real Estate Roundtable.

Chief Investment Officer, Guggenheim Partners Investment Management and Managing Partner, Guggenheim Partners

Ms. Walsh is Chief Investment Officer for Guggenheim Partners Investment Management where she is responsible for meeting the investment needs of the firm’s fixed-income clients, including insurance companies, corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, consultants, wealth managers, and high-net-worth investors. In her role she oversees all elements of portfolio design, strategy, sector allocation, and risk management of fixed-income portfolios, as well as conveying Guggenheim’s macroeconomic outlook to portfolio managers and fixed-income sector specialists. She also serves as head of the Portfolio Construction Group and Portfolio Management teams. Ms. Walsh is also a Managing Partner of Guggenheim Partners.

Ms. Walsh has over 35 years of experience in investment management, and her specialization in liability-driven portfolio management derives from her deep background in insurance asset management. Before joining Guggenheim in 2007 she served as chief investment officer at Reinsurance Group of America, and as vice president and senior investment consultant at Zurich Scudder Investments. Ms. Walsh also served in senior investment roles at Lincoln Investment Management and American Bankers Insurance Group. Ms. Walsh holds a BSBA and MBA from Auburn University and a JD from the University of Miami School of Law. She has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Victor Calanog is Head of Commercial Real Estate Economics for Moody’s Analytics. Prior to the acquisition by Moody’s Analytics in October 2018, he served as Chief Economist & Senior Vice President of REIS, leading a team of economists and analysts to build, maintain, and customize the firm’s market forecasting, valuation, and real estate portfolio analytics and advisory services. 

Dr. Calanog’s research has received awards and fellowship support from several institutions, including the Ford Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation and the Penn Lauder Center for International Business Research. 

A prodigious researcher with broad interests, his papers in real estate economics, local government competition, and urban fiscal policy have been presented in meetings of the American Economic Association, the American Finance Association, the Brookings Institution, and discussed in academic forums sponsored by Harvard Business School, Columbia University, Stanford University, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Stern School of Business at New York University. 

He serves as contributor and peer reviewer for several academic journals, with scientific papers published in the Journal of Banking & Finance, the Journal of the Risk Management Association, and cited in the Journal of Finance, Journal of Public Economics, the World Bank Research Observer, the Brookings Papers on Urban Affairs and Public Administration Review. His assessments of market conditions have appeared in national publications like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Bloomberg News, Financial Times, and Reuters News. Dr. Calanog writes several columns on commercial real estate for the National Real Estate Investor and Scotsman Guide.  His industry columns have won honors from the American Society of Business Publication Editors and the Risk Management Association.

He serves on the Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Board of Governors for the Mortgage Bankers Association, as Managing Editor for the CRE Finance Council, and on the Editorial Advisory Board of Real Assets Adviser. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Counselors of Real Estate®(CRE) and is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS). 

Dr. Calanog holds a PhD in Applied Economics and Management Science, trained by a dissertation committee composed of faculty from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School. In addition, he has an MBA in Finance and an MA in Business and Public Policy, earning the Amy Morse Prize and the Thomas P. Gerrity Leadership Award as the most distinguished PhD and MBA student in his class.

In a previous life, Dr. Calanog was a competitive powerlifter, but he now measures poundage's by how much laundry he does per day. He serves at the behest of Christine, his wife of over twenty years, daughters Samantha and Madison, guinea pigs Midnight and Kale, and puppy Ginger. He enjoys traveling, pestering locals in their own language, and studying geopolitics, history, art, military strategy–and mecha anime.

Manoj Jethani is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in the US life insurance team within the Financial Institutions Group at Moody’s Ratings where he is a lead analyst and has responsibility for a portfolio of North American life insurers. 

Prior to joining Moody’s in 2006, he worked as an actuary at a private actuarial consulting firm in Stamford, CT and as a credit analyst at Mashreq Bank in Dubai, UAE. 

Manoj holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems and Finance from the University of Connecticut and holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) with a specialization in Banking, Strategy and Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Mr. Robinson is an Associate Managing Director in the Life Insurance Group at Moody’s Ratings. He is responsible for managing analysts who cover a broad array of life and health insurance companies. Prior to joining Moody’s in 1999, Mr. Robinson worked in the Investment Policy and Strategy Group of the Trust Company of the West. Previously he had been with AXA Financial. Mr. Robinson holds a degree in economics from Duke University and a Masters Degree in Actuarial Science from Georgia State University. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a CFA charterholder.