Managing Director, Member Engagement

Joel Paula, CAIA

Joel Paula joined FCLTGlobal after seven years working at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as a Policy Advisor. While at the OECD, Joel advised OECD member countries and partners, member countries of the G20, and APEC economies on long-term investment, infrastructure finance, the low-carbon transition, and digital transformation in infrastructure systems.

This included a coordinating role at the G20 Infrastructure Working Group, the G20/OECD Task Force on Long-term Investment, and the development of a G20/OECD Collaboration with long-term investors in infrastructure. The collaboration entailed working closely with institutional investors such as asset managers, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and insurance companies on policies to promote long-term investment in both public and private markets. Joel’s policy work included publications and policy documents, speaking at events, and capacity building with partner countries. 

Prior to joining the OECD, Joel worked as a Research Consultant at NEPC, LLC, an institutional investment consultant. At NEPC, he led the firm’s fixed income manager research and due diligence, covering traditional fixed income, credit, structured finance, and emerging markets. 

Joel was a member of the Advisory Committee of the OECD Staff Provident Fund. He holds degrees from Bentley University and the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) charterholder. 

Back to Our Team

Investor Risk and Responsibilities | Article

Managing Geopolitical Change is Now a Core Investment Skill

By Joel Paula, CAIA, Victoria Tellez

25 November 2025 - Which is worse: missing a major disruption that creates a new long-term equilibrium, or overreacting to a temporary event that soon reverts to prior conditions? Long-term investors dislike feeling exposed, underprepared, or unaware of potential risks. Fortunately, there are steps they can take to prepare their organizations for geopolitical turbulence.

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Investor Risk and Responsibilities | Report

Ahead of the Curve: Factoring the Cost of Carbon Into Long-term Decision-making

By Allen He, CFA, FRM, Joel Paula, CAIA, Jessica Pollock

14 July 2025 - Climate change is a force reshaping the global economy—and will influence capital allocation for decades to come. Climate-related risks and externalities, especially carbon emissions, are becoming material to long-term financial decision-making.

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Governance | Article

Tariffs Will Test Investors’ Long-term Thinking

By Joel Paula, CAIA

15 April 2025 - Uncertainty has gripped markets since the U.S. announced new tariffs on trade partners, raising the specter of a global trade war and escalating barriers. The impact to trade of goods will be swift, yet it’s still unclear how deeply tariffs will affect services, capital flows, and households.

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In the News

It’s Not Enough to Be ‘Active Owners’ or Simply ‘Engage’ With Public Companies

By Joel Paula, CAIA

23 August 2024 - Investors need to shrink their holdings to a more manageable number if they are serious about sustainability.

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Institutional Investment Mandates | Article

Owners and Managers Depend on Mandate Agreements to Focus on the Long Term

By Joel Paula, CAIA

22 August 2024 - Asset owners – the cornerstones of the investment ecosystem – often have very long-term investment goals, such as building endowments for perpetuity and providing for the next generation. One of their challenges lies in in the fact that their assets are invested by external managers who may have vastly different time horizons and incentives in mind.

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In the News

Commentary: The global power struggle over long-term investment

By Joel Paula, CAIA

18 June 2024 - Policy engagement remains an often-overlooked tool for investors to stay ahead of surprises. Institutional investors have a responsibility to help governments make sound investment policy decisions for their own interest and, in many cases, for the national interest.

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Innovation, Incentive Alignment | Article

The CEO Pay Problem Is Solvable with A.I.

By Joel Paula, CAIA

24 April 2024 - Artificial intelligence has already changed the way data is compiled and processed on a mass scale – and in particular in the investment industry, reshaping how professionals make decisions, manage portfolios, and analyze market data. A prominent challenge facing the industry today is the design of executive pay – specifically, structuring it in ways that incentivize strong performance over many years rather than just over a few fiscal quarters.

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Investor Risk and Responsibilities | Report

Storm Clouds & Silver Linings: Long-term Investing in an Age of Geopolitical Uncertainty

By Joel Paula, CAIA

9 April 2024 - We are now at a moment when global rivalry is running hot and support for globalization is cooling. The resulting opportunity set for investors is shrinking as global security and economic alliances rewire. This rewiring of globalization requires specific attention to strategy, governance, and integrated processes to bring geopolitical views into investment decision making. Doing this effectively requires deep integration between geopolitical and traditional investment analysis.

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Incentive Alignment | Article

What the SEC’s New Rules on Executive Pay Disclosures Mean for Long-term Investors

By Joel Paula, CAIA, Nur Robleh

23 January 2023 - New rules from the SEC will require annual proxy disclosures centered around TSR, but is this the right metric to measure executive incentives and firm performance?

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Article

Long Live the 60/40 Portfolio?

By Joel Paula, CAIA, Nur Robleh

5 January 2023 - New data shows institutional investors have been increasing their investments in alternative assets.

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Investor Risk and Responsibilities | Article

In 2021, Companies Sidelined Investments in Resilience

By Joel Paula, CAIA

15 November 2022 - With short-term pressures mounting, companies and investors are finding it more challenging than ever to focus on the long term.

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