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Integrating ESG to Investment Decision Making

by Ashby Monk

Investors still struggle to integrate ESG into their decisions. Why? 1) They can't evaluate the ESG data quality, and 2)...

Malaysia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Investing in Tech

by Ashby Monk

Malaysia's Khazanah appears set to bolster its technology investing chops. I expect this may also mean bolstering or expanding its...

Angola’s Sovereign Wealth Fund New Lease on Life

by Ashby Monk

Angola's SWF has a new lease on life, albeit smaller, which is still noteworthy given all the shenanigans over the...

Richard Lawrence – Overlook Investments Group (First Meeting, EP.03)

by Ted Seides

 My guest on today’s First Meeting is Richard Lawrence of Overlook Investments Group, one of the top managers of...

Carnegie Mellon Research on Private Equity IRR

by Marcelino Pantoja

A couple of Carnegie Mellon professors looked into how private equity funds have used subscription lines of credit to improve...

Panama’s Sovereign Wealth Fund – One of the Newest

by Ashby Monk

  An update on one of the newest SWFs on earth (Panama) in an article with an update on the...

Ashby Monk’s Tweet Storm on Consultant Misaligned Incentives

by Ashby Monk

https://twitter.com/sovereignfund/status/1146454035655880704 https://twitter.com/sovereignfund/status/1146454040210837509 https://twitter.com/sovereignfund/status/1146454044040282112 https://twitter.com/sovereignfund/status/1146454048230400000 https://twitter.com/sovereignfund/status/1146454051875258368 https://twitter.com/sovereignfund/status/1146454056405102593 https://twitter.com/sovereignfund/status/1146454059781541889 https://twitter.com/sovereignfund/status/1146454063254347777 https://twitter.com/sovereignfund/status/1146454067318681600

Power of External Strategic Partnerships

by Ashby Monk

  Ashby Monk's latest paper on knowledge management in institutional investment focuses on the power of external strategic partnerships to...

Ash Williams – Florida SBA’s Reigning Chief (EP.104)

by Ted Seides

 Ash Williams is the Executive Director and CIO of the Florida State Board of Administration, where he oversees $200...

Capital Allocators Monthly – June 2019

by Ted Seides

Announcements and Gratitudes * We've added a new stream of content to the blog.  Stanford Professor Ashby Monk (see Episode 29)...

Shutting Down a School

by Marcelino Pantoja

Schools are shutting down throughout the country. Some of the conditions contributing to this perfect storm are of the institutions’...

New Team at Emory Endowment

by Marcelino Pantoja

A year ago Emory University hired a new Chief Investment Officer. In his role as CIO, [Srinivas “Srini”] Pulavarti will...

Compensation at Columbia Endowment

by Marcelino Pantoja

How much does a Chief Investment Officer at an Ivy League school make? Endowment chiefs at Ivy League and other...

Sam Sicilia – Seizing on a Long Time Horizon at HostPlus (EP.103)

by Ted Seides

Sam Sicilia is the Chief Investment Officer of HostPlus, Australia’s AUZ 37 billion ($25B USD) Superannuation Fund.  Sam joined HostPlus...

Be the First CIO at Mount Holyoke Endowment

by Marcelino Pantoja

There is an opportunity to become the first Chief Investment Officer for one of the oldest Seven Sisters schools. Mount...

David Swensen to Teach Future Fund Managers at Yale

by Marcelino Pantoja

Are you a couple of years out of college? Do you want to become a fund manager? There is a...

Scott Kupor Spilling Venture Capital Secrets

by Marcelino Pantoja

Scott Kupor, who is the Managing Partner of Andreessen Horowitz, just published a book called Secrets of Sand Hill Road....

Stanford GSB on Venture Capital Secrets

by Marcelino Pantoja

The world of venture capital was mostly overlooked till recently. Now the Stanford Venture Capital Initiative at the business school...

Martin Whittaker – JUST Capital (First Meeting EP.02)

by Ted Seides

Martin Whittaker is the founding CEO of JUST Capital, a non-profit created by a group of concerned, influential leaders, including...

Gift Policy at Harvard

by Marcelino Pantoja

Should a school return a gift years after accepting it? When asked for the gift policy, [University spokesperson Jonathan L.]...

Understanding Hedge Fund Risks

by Marcelino Pantoja

There are risks to all forms of investing, especially in hedge funds. The Principles and Best Practices for Hedge Fund...

Proper Hedge Fund Due Diligence

by Marcelino Pantoja

The Principles and Best Practices for Hedge Fund Investors report was issued during the financial crisis ten years ago. In...

Building a Hedge Fund Program

by Marcelino Pantoja

If you want to build a hedge fund program, you can study a report issued ten years ago by the...

Jon Wertheim – Sports AND… (EP.102)

by Ted Seides

Jon Wertheim is a sports journalist and author who has a passion for psychology and economics.  He is the Executive...

Irvine Foundation CIO Tim Recker on Venture Capital

by Marcelino Pantoja

Last year Tim Recker was asked whether venture capital was in a bubble. Back to venture, is it a bubble?...

Texas Permanent School Fund History

by Marcelino Pantoja

The Texas Permanent School Fund was one of the first sovereign wealth funds ever created. The Texas Permanent School Fund...

ILPA Due Diligence Questionnaire Template

by Marcelino Pantoja

If you are fundraising for your first fund, the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) prepared a template due diligence questionnaire...

Josh Wolfe on Science Fiction at Cornell

by Marcelino Pantoja

Josh Wolfe, the founder of Lux Capital, spoke to students at Cornell earlier this year on the type of startups...

Capital Allocators Presents: First Meeting with Ted Seides

by Ted Seides

I'm excited to announce the launch of a spinoff of capital allocators called first meeting. First meeting episodes will be...

Patrick O’Shaughnessy – O’Shaughnessy Asset Management (First Meeting, EP.01)

by Ted Seides

Patrick O’Shaughnessy is the CEO of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management, the host of the Invest Like the Best podcast, and a...

Job Duties at Columbia Endowment

by Marcelino Pantoja

What are the responsibilities of a Director of Investments inside an endowment? Ongoing development of the portfolio, including the contribution...

Endowment Purpose at Duke

by Marcelino Pantoja

Three years ago, Congress asked 56 schools to provide more information on their endowments. Duke responded. Like many educational, cultural...

Stanford CIO Rob Wallace on the Endowment

by Marcelino Pantoja

Last week Rob Wallace gave a brief interview on the endowment with the school newspaper. You can think of the...

Dartmouth College Budget

by Marcelino Pantoja

Ivy League schools these days are billion-dollar enterprises. The College reported over $1.435 billion in total revenue, including $404 million...

Capital Allocators Monthly – May 2019

by Ted Seides

Announcements and Gratitudes * Last month I wrote that I'm looking for my next opportunity to manage capital. I received...

Khe Hy – Radical Shift from Investing to Purpose (EP.101)

by Ted Seides

Khe Hy rose to be one of the youngest Managing Directors at Blackrock’s hedge fund of funds business. In his...

Job Duties at the Packard Foundation

by Marcelino Pantoja

There are a few roles open at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Do you have a background in private...

Endowment Purpose at Harvard

by Marcelino Pantoja

Three years ago, Congress asked 56 schools to provide more information on their endowments. Harvard published their response online. The...

Vanderbilt CIO Anders Hall on Due Diligence

by Marcelino Pantoja

When talking to an institutional investor during due diligence, a fund manager should expect to be analyzed as a person....

CFA Institute Book on Manager Selection

by Marcelino Pantoja

If your job is to evaluate fund managers, the CFA Institute published a book on manager selection. The task of...

Paying It Forward at Morehouse College

by Marcelino Pantoja

For commencement speakers worldwide, it will be difficult to top this. Then their commencement speaker went off-script with an extraordinary...

Endowment Purpose at MIT

by Marcelino Pantoja

Three years ago, Congress asked 56 schools to provide more information on their endowments. One of those schools, MIT, published...

UCLA CIO Justin Barton on Emerging Managers

by Marcelino Pantoja

If you are a new fund manager, what type of investor should you look for? There are so many different...

Carnegie Corporation CIO Kim Lew on Venture Capital

by Marcelino Pantoja

A few years ago Kim Lew was asked whether venture capital was in a bubble. The very nature of venture...

Tim Recker – Concentration at the James Irvine Foundation (EP.100)

by Ted Seides

 Tim Recker is the Chief Investment Officer of the $2.4 billion James Irvine Foundation. He joined the foundation in...

Former Stanford CIO Laurie Hoagland on Alternatives

by Marcelino Pantoja

Fourteen years ago, a profile of Laurie Hoagland was published on Institutional Investor. Laurie was the first CEO of Stanford...

Columbia Business Professors on Investment Edge

by Marcelino Pantoja

Any young analyst searching for investment opportunities should focus on discovering their edge. We want to hammer home this point...

Restructuring Pay at Harvard Endowment

by Marcelino Pantoja

How much does a University President make? How about an endowment chief? Who makes more? Faust Made $1.7 Million in...

Enhancing Manager Selection at Princeton Endowment

by Marcelino Pantoja

Last year Andy Golden, the President of Princeton University Investment Company (PRINCO), advised how we should invest. Look beyond long...

Michael Mauboussin – Who’s on the Other Side? (EP.99)

by Ted Seides

Michael Mauboussin is the well-known investment strategist currently plying his wares at Blue Mountain Capital. He joined me for the...

Blockchain Conference Discussing Crypto at Wharton

by Marcelino Pantoja

The Penn Blockchain Club at Wharton held their second annual conference on blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Ari Paul, the Chief Investment...

One Hundred Years of Education at UCLA

by Marcelino Pantoja

UCLA is celebrating its centennial this year. The seeds of today’s UCLA were planted in the 1881 creation of the...

Boston Children’s CIO Phil Rotner on Investment Strategy

by Marcelino Pantoja

A couple of years ago, Phil Rotner shared what distinguished his team's investment strategy. I think that when one looks...

CFA Institute Primer for Investment Trustees

by Marcelino Pantoja

The CFA Institute published a second edition of its primer for investment trustees a couple of years ago. The book...

Jon Hirtle – The Pioneer of OCIO (EP.98)

by Ted Seides

Jon Hirtle is the Executive Chairman at Hirtle, Callaghan & Co., a $20 billion Outsourced CIO business he founded in...

Capital Allocators Monthly – April 2019

by Ted Seides

Announcements and Gratitudes * I’m looking to bring together what I’ve been developing the last two years - managing a...

Yale CIO David Swensen on Investment Track Records

by Marcelino Pantoja

A couple of years ago, David Swensen was interviewed at the Council on Foreign Relations. Near the end, he was...

HBS Research on Unequal Private Equity Pay

by Marcelino Pantoja

Endowments invest in private equity funds through partnerships. They look for small teams of investors who have worked together and...

Former UVIMCO CIO Larry Kochard on Asset Allocation

by Marcelino Pantoja

Last year, Larry Kochard shared how his views changed on asset allocation from a decade ago when he wrote the...

CFA Institute Primer on Alternatives

by Marcelino Pantoja

The CFA Institute published a primer on alternatives. It defines alternative investments as anything that is not an ordinary stock...

Matt Levine – Money Stuff (EP.97)

by Ted Seides

Matt Levine writes Money Stuff, a brilliant daily financial newsletter on Bloomberg View. His column discusses current events in corporate...

Oaktree Howard Marks on Emotions at Wharton

by Marcelino Pantoja

Last year Howard Marks was interviewed as part of an Investor Series named after him at Wharton. At the Wharton...

Mount Sinai CIO Scott Pittman on Alternatives

by Marcelino Pantoja

There is a trend in the asset management world to reclassify the traditional asset classes in a portfolio. We favor...

University of Illinois CIO Ellen Ellison on Agriculture

by Marcelino Pantoja

One overlooked aspect of endowments is that each of them support a unique school with its own history and idiosyncrasy....

Williams CIO Collette Chilton on Manager Selection

by Marcelino Pantoja

When managing a portfolio at an endowment, most recognize two key components to investment returns: asset allocation and manager selection....

David Zorub – The Path to a Hedge Fund Launch (EP.96)

by Ted Seides

David Zorub is the founder of Parsifal Capital, a new hedge fund he is launching later this year. Before founding...

Endowments Finally Investing in Crypto

by Marcelino Pantoja

More than a year ago Ted Seides shared why endowments should venture into crypto. Yet new ideas inevitably enter the...

Michael Moritz on the VC Long Game at Stanford GSB

by Marcelino Pantoja

Earlier this year Michael Moritz shared how Sequoia Capital does venture capital at the Stanford Business School's View from the...

GMO Founder Foundation Fighting Climate Change

by Marcelino Pantoja

According to Jeremy Grantham, the founder of GMO, you can divest from oil and not lose money. https://youtu.be/NFWS26xRs6s He sees...

New Harvard Endowment Website on Divestment

by Marcelino Pantoja

Harvard Management Company has a new website. There you will find a description of their new investment approach. HMC’s generalist...

Paul Rabil – Lacrosse and Entrepreneurship (EP.95)

by Ted Seides

Paul Rabil is the co-founder and CEO of the Premier Lacrosse League or PLL, a new tour-based league of the...

Why David Swensen is the Roger Federer of Investing

by Ted Seides

This article originally appeared here in Institutional Investor on April 12, 2019. In his seminal 1975 research paper “The Loser’s Game,” Charley...

Charlie Munger on Bitcoin at Michigan Ross

by Marcelino Pantoja

More than a year ago the Dean of Michigan Ross sat down with Charlie Munger and asked him about Bitcoin....

Yale Endowment on Puerto Rican Debt

by Marcelino Pantoja

How does Yale's endowment invest in Puerto Rican debt? Yale does not directly invest in Puerto Rican debt; it invests...

Origins of Bowdoin Endowment

by Marcelino Pantoja

A thousand dollars and a thousand acres is all it took to endow a school 225 years ago. Bowdoin’s endowment...

IAS CIO Mark Baumgartner on Hedge Fund Fees

by Marcelino Pantoja

A couple of years ago, the Chief Investment Officer for the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) was asked about fees...

Ted Seides – Interviewing and Manager Meetings (EP.94)

by Ted Seides

A few months ago, Marcel van de Hoef interviewed me on his podcast, The Meeting Strategist. He created Meeting Strategist...

Fossil Fuels on University Lands at Texas Endowment

by Marcelino Pantoja

Students are urging the UT System to divest from fossil fuels. Over the next few years, we must begin to...

MIT CIO Seth Alexander on 3 Ways to Earn High Returns

by Marcelino Pantoja

The investment office at MIT share the three ways they earn high returns on their portfolio. On a long-term basis,...

Yale CIO David Swensen on 3 Basic Tools for Investors

by Marcelino Pantoja

A few years ago David Swensen lectured on the three basic tools that every investor has to manage and grow...

Notre Dame CIO Scott Malpass on Team Stability

by Marcelino Pantoja

Notre Dame's first Chief Investment Officer has been at the job for more than 30 years. He built a team...

Capital Allocators Monthly – March 2019

by Ted Seides

A few announcements before my favorite content this month. * Sign up here to receive our new weekly blog focusing on Endowment...

Dan Ariely – Investing in Irrationality (EP.93)

by Ted Seides

  Dan Ariely is a leading behavioral economist, author, entrepreneur, and investor.  He is the James B. Duke Professor of...

Job Duties at University of California Endowment

by Marcelino Pantoja

There are quite a few roles open at the investment office for the University of California. Read the job descriptions...

University of Michigan CIO Erik Lundberg on Alternatives

by Marcelino Pantoja

It takes time to build a relationship with fund managers who consistently create value, especially those that invest in alternatives....

Industrial Wealth Behind Philanthropy

by Marcelino Pantoja

Art museums are breaking ties with the Sackler family and are no longer accepting gifts from them. Guggenheim Museum Says...

Bowdoin CIO Paula Volent Art of Investing

by Marcelino Pantoja

To the uninitiated, investing seems like a lot of number crunching. But after enough time practicing it you realize that...

Ted Seides Has Made His Mark, but He Feels like He’s Just Getting Started

by Ted Seides

My friend Jon Brolin, founder of Edenbrook Capital and adjunct professor of value investing at Fordham's Gabelli School of Business,...

Jordi Visser – Next Generation of Manager Allocation (EP.92)

by Ted Seides

Jordi Visser is the President & CIO of $1.7 billion Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers, an asset management firm with a 40-year...

Princeton Doubles Net Assets Since Financial Crisis

by Marcelino Pantoja

Most schools have recovered since the financial crisis a decade ago. How the wealthiest colleges manage their endowments in a...

Commercializing Research at Harvard

by Marcelino Pantoja

The effort to commercialize research has a long, haphazard history in higher ed. But schools such as Harvard, Stanford, and...

Trinity Church Real Estate Holdings

by Marcelino Pantoja

Unlike other places of worship in Manhattan that have to sell their air-rights to get by, Trinity Church has been...

Buying Your Way into College

by Marcelino Pantoja

Warren Buffett once said that it takes 20 years to build a reputation and only 5 minutes to ruin it....

Manny Friedman – EJF on Economic Opportunity Zones (EP.91)

by Ted Seides

Manny Friedman is the founder of EJF Capital.  Manny discussed his background and his nuanced take on markets last summer...

Startup Culture at Stanford

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Some companies are born in the classroom. Terry Winograd looks like an academic, with bushy white hair and a mustache...

Texas Endowment Described

by Marcelino Pantoja

"The majority of UT System’s endowment is separated into two funds — the Permanent University Fund [PUF] and the Long...

Harvard Vineyards Environmental Review

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Harvard’s foray into wine country is part of a broader shift in the Central Coast of California toward large investors...

Yale Venture Capital Program

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Yale’s venture capital program, one of the first of its kind, is regarded as among the best in the institutional...

Thomas Russo – All About Google (EP.90)

by Ted Seides

Tom Russo is the Managing Member of Gardner Russo & Gardner. Last week, Tom talked in detail about his holding...

Harvard Medical School $200 Million Blavatnik Gift

by Marcelino Pantoja

"With today’s gift, [Len Blavatnik] now ranks among the leading benefactors in Harvard history. The $200-million pledge is not quite...

Yale Dipping into Crypto

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Swensen’s endorsement of crypto assets is significant because he’s considered a pioneer in institutional investing, having managed one of the...

Texas Permanent School Fund in Alternatives

by Marcelino Pantoja

"The changes triggered a transformation of the Permanent School Fund. In 2006, the fund as a whole was relatively conservative,...

Capital Allocators Named in Barron’s Best Podcasts in Business and Finance

by Ted Seides

Recognized alongside How I Built This, Invest Like the Best, and Masters in Business. Here's the article

CIO Job Requirements at Penn State

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Penn State has several requirements for finding its new CIO, who will report to David Branigan, the university’s executive director...

Thomas Russo – All About Berkshire Hathaway (EP.89)

by Ted Seides

Tom Russo is the Managing Member of Gardner Russo & Gardner.  Tom and I sat down in Episode 16 to...

Capital Allocators Monthly – February 2019

by Ted Seides

As always, please feel free to forward this email to friends. You can sign up to receive our new weekly...

Penn President Triples Endowment

by Marcelino Pantoja

"She's overseen record fundraising and a more than tripling of the endowment. [University President Amy] Gutmann has raised more than...

Ford Foundation on Endowment Management

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Earning high returns isn’t just a matter of bragging rights — endowment income supports the missions of nonprofit institutions, whether...

Recruiting Endowment Leaders

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Since 2011, Barrett’s boutique has found new leaders for the endowments of Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, and Emory, among many other...

Harvard President on Divestment

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Harvard presidents have long maintained that the University’s endowment is not an appropriate tool for enacting social change despite persistent...

Matt Botein – Flexible Investing and Institutional Challenges (EP.88)

by Ted Seides

Matt Botein is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Gallatin Point Capital, a $1.5 billion private investment company he founded...

Cook Children’s New CIO from Columbia Endowment

by Marcelino Pantoja

"The Cook Children’s Health Care System has hired a senior investor from Columbia University’s endowment as its new chief investment...

Endowments Return 8.2% in 2018

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Other than the upturn at the University of Texas system, which saw a jump of 16.4 percent, the list of...

Cambridge Associates on Cryptoassets

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Most large institutions have steered clear of the 10-year-old, $120 billion industry because it’s largely unregulated and cryptocurrencies have been...

Klarman Foundation Hires CIO

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Baupost is also well known as a distressed-debt investor, profiting from trades such as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s bankruptcy. In...

Rahul Moodgal – Master Fund Raiser (EP.87)

by Ted Seides

Rahul Moodgal has spent 20 years as a fund raiser across long only strategies, hedge funds, fund of funds, customized...

Harvard Breaking Higher Ed Fundraising Record

by Marcelino Pantoja

"All but the first fiscal year of the capital campaign saw annual fundraising totals in excess of $1 billion. Last...

CNBC clip

by Ted Seides

Ted appeared on CNBC to discuss off-the-run investment opportunities.

UTIMCO CIO Britt Harris First Year at Endowment

by Marcelino Pantoja

“‘I’d heard that endowments were in general strong performers, but they are even stronger than I had anticipated,’ Harris admits....

College Giving in 2018 Up 7.2%

by Marcelino Pantoja

"The S&P 500 Index’s 14 percent return in the period may have helped encourage giving from a variety of donors....

Columbia Building Manhattanville Campus

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Today, the heart of industrial Manhattanville, which is sandwiched between Broadway and 12th Avenue at the end of West 125th...

Chris Ailman – CalSTRS’ Venerable CIO (EP.86)

by Ted Seides

Chris Ailman is the chief investment officer of the $220 billion pool for California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS). He...

The Price That Makes Hedge Funds a Steal

by Ted Seides

This article originally appeared here in Institutional Investor on January 31, 2019 Hedge funds are expensive. Would you buy them...

Johns Hopkins $1.8 Billion Bloomberg Gift

by Marcelino Pantoja

"I have always been grateful for that opportunity. I gave my first donation to Hopkins the year after I graduated:...

Texas Endowment Billion Dollar Royalties

by Marcelino Pantoja

“Mineral rights are also seen as a relatively low-risk way to get exposure to energy and generate income compared with...

Hewlett Foundation CIO on Fund Managers

by Marcelino Pantoja

"We've got a fairly mature portfolio. This means we don't have a lot of new managers in and out of...

Capital Allocators Monthly – January 2019

by Ted Seides

As always, please feel free to forward this email to friends. Here Ye, Here Ye We crossed ONE MILLION downloads...

What Happened When I Met Jack Bogle

by Ted Seides

This article originally appeared here in Institutional Investor on January 31, 2019 The Vanguard founder espoused low-cost index investing. I...

Harvard CIO Narv Narvekar on Endowment Changes

by Marcelino Pantoja

"In a refinement, or perhaps a restatement, of his description of the duration of that transition, [CEO] Narvekar wrote that...

Steve Kuhn – Life After Hedge Funds (EP.85)

by Ted Seides

Steve Kuhn is a retired hedge fund manager.  He spent two decades in the industry, specializing in mortgage-backed securities at...

Ivy League Endowments 2018 Performance Analysis

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Fiscal year 2018 was a stronger year for Ivy endowment performance than fiscal year 2017. Traditional outperformers continued to outperform,...

Harvard Vineyards Thirst for Water in California

by Marcelino Pantoja

"The county supervisors issued an emergency moratorium on new agricultural wells starting Aug. 27, 2013—not just wells in the affected...

Amherst CIO Mauricia Geissler on Fund Managers

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Moving to a broader asset allocation structure/model is probably one of the most significant shifts over the last 15 years....

Stanford CIO Rob Wallace on Endowment Purpose

by Marcelino Pantoja

"The endowment is actually a collection of more than 7,000 individual gifts from donors. These generous gifts are meant to...

Donna Snider – Inside the Investment Process at the Kresge Foundation (EP.84)

by Ted Seides

 Donna Snider is a Managing Director at the $4 billion Kresge Foundation, where she has worked for ten years...

Pittsburgh Foundation on PE Funds

by Marcelino Pantoja

"We look for consistency of fund size, the experience of the team and consistency regarding how they approach their investment...

Founding a University

by Marcelino Pantoja

"When railroad magnate and former California Gov. Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford, lost their only child, Leland,...

Princeton CIO Andy Golden on Investment Returns

by Marcelino Pantoja

“Princeton aims for a 10 percent annualized return, which is close to the long-term return for the S&P 500, not...

Higher Ed Hustle

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Another source of strength was that this disparate collection of largely undistinguished colleges and universities had succeeded in surviving a...

Ron Biscardi – Putting Hedge Funds in Context (EP.83)

by Ted Seides

Ron Biscardi, the Co-Founder and CEO of Context Capital Partners and a Partner and Board Member of Context Summits.  Ron sits...

Notre Dame CIO Scott Malpass Humble Beginnings

by Marcelino Pantoja

"The story goes that [Scott Malpass] came back to campus with $20 in his pocket and needing a job and...

New Study on Endowments Large and Small

by Marcelino Pantoja

"The study was based on the IRS filings of 28,696 endowments and foundations. In addition to comparing university endowments to...

Harvard Monetizing Campus Real Estate

by Marcelino Pantoja

“Fourthly, in strictly monetary terms, the University is holding land it values at $969 million in its most recent financial...

UTIMCO CIO Britt Harris on Endowment Strategy

by Marcelino Pantoja

"Our strategy for being among the best endowments is to: - Have a clearly defined culture that is extreme. -...

Jean Hynes – Inside Wellington Management (EP.82)

by Ted Seides

 Jean Hynes is a Managing Partner at Wellington Management, where she one of three people responsible for the governance...

Yale CIO David Swensen on Fund Managers

by Marcelino Pantoja

"We want people who are maniacally focused on beating the markets, generating superior investment returns. That’s an incredibly important distinction...

University Endowments

by Marcelino Pantoja

I am thrilled to share with you here on the Capital Allocators blog interesting articles and publications on University endowments....

Jennifer Prosek – Branding an Asset Management Firm (EP.81)

by Ted Seides

 Jennifer Prosek is the founder and CEO of Prosek Partners, a leading international public relations and financial communications consultancy...

Capital Allocators Monthly – December 2018

by Ted Seides

  Every year we turn over the calendar and start fresh.  Some years it feels daunting.  This time, maybe not...

Top 10 Episodes of Capital Allocators in 2018

by Ted Seides

Please enjoy this countdown of the top 10 most downloaded episodes of Capital Allocators in 2018 (and top 5 most...

The Top 10 Episodes of 2018

by Ted Seides

   Thanks to you, this little pet project interviewing great leaders in the investment industry will cross one million...

Tim McCusker – Consistency and Creativity at NEPC (EP.80)

by Ted Seides

 Tim McCusker is the Chief Investment Officer at NEPC, an investment consultant that advises on $1 trillion in assets...

Brent Beshore – Micro Buyout Adventur.es (EP.79)

by Ted Seides

 Brent Beshore is the founder and CEO of Adventur.es, an investment firm that buys small family-owned businesses with the...

Tom Bushey – Launching a Hedge Fund (EP.78)

by Ted Seides

 Tom Bushey is the founder of Sunderland Capital, a Boston-based hedge fund he started in 2016.  Tom graduated from...

Capital Allocators Monthly – November 2018

by Ted Seides

  Please feel free to forward this email to friends and colleagues. Readings are few in quantity, very high in...

Mark Baumgartner – Luck, Risk and Uncertainty at the Institute for Advanced Study (EP.77)

by Ted Seides

 Mark Baumgartner is the CIO of the Institute for Advanced Study, where he oversees a $1 billion portfolio that...

Annie Duke – Thinking More in Bets (EP.76)

by Ted Seides

 Annie Duke is a decision-making expert, former world-famous poker player, and author of the best seller, Thinking in Bets. ...

Michael Lombardi – Leadership Through Football (EP.75)

by Ted Seides

 Michael Lombardi is a thirty-year veteran of professional football, including as a General Manager and a three-time Super Bowl...

Jeffrey Solomon – Grief and Goodness in Squirrel Hill (SPECIAL EPISODE)

by Ted Seides

 Last week, the senseless and tragic events at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh left me and many...

Capital Allocators Monthly – October 2018

by Ted Seides

  I've been on the speaking circuit of late.  Great to catch up with lots of investors and allocators and...

Karl Scheer – Competing Sensibly as CIO of the University of Cincinnati (EP.74)

by Ted Seides

 Karl Scheer is the Chief Investment Officer of the University of Cincinnati’s billion-dollar endowment.  Before taking the helm at...

Andrew Tsai – Catching a Theme on the Chalkstream (EP.73)

by Ted Seides

 Andrew Tsai is the Chief Investment Officer of Chalkstream Capital Group, which he founded in 2003 to manage the...

Michael Schwimer – Moneyball as an Investment Strategy (EP.72)

by Ted Seides

 Michael Schwimer is the CEO of Big League Advance, a company that makes investments in Minor League baseball players...

Origins of an Investing Podcast

by Ted Seides

  Published on Medium on October 14, 2018 Did you find the podcast, or did the podcast find you? On a...

Michael Batnick – The Best Investors and Their Biggest Mistakes (EP.71)

by Ted Seides

 Michael Batnick is the Director of Research at Ritholz Wealth Management, author of the Irrelevant Investor blog, co-host of...

What Billy Beane and Jim Simons Have in Common

by Ted Seides

  Published in Institutional Investor on September 28, 2018 Major League Baseball’s playoffs are approaching, and I’m left with a...

Andrew Golden – Princeton University’s Chief Investing Tiger (EP.13)

by Ted Seides

 Andy Golden is the President of Princeton University’s Investment Management Company (or PRINCO) for the last 22 years.  Having...

Capital Allocators Monthly – September 2018

by Ted Seides

  Investing is simple, but it's not easy. Although I don't trade much, last year I bought Bitcoin in September...

Raphael Arndt – Australia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund CIO (EP.70)

by Ted Seides

 Raff Arndt is the Chief Investment Officer of Australia’s AUZ$145 billion Sovereign Wealth Fund, the Future Fund.  He trained...

Stephen McKeon – Professor of Crypto Security Tokens (EP.69)

by Ted Seides

 Stephen McKeon spent six years out of college working in finance for venture-backed startups before returning to graduate school...

The Death of Passive Management

by Ted Seides

  Published in Institutional Investor on September 9, 2018 Once upon a time, allocators in public markets chose between passive...

Michael Mervosh – Invest in Yourself (EP.68)

by Ted Seides

 Both times I was interviewed (by Khe Hy and Patrick O'Shaughnessy) and shared those conversations on Capital Allocators, I made reference to...

Sarah Williamson – Focusing Capital on the Long-Term (EP.67)

by Ted Seides

 Sarah Williamson is the CEO of FCLTGlobal, a non-profit consortium of large asset managers, allocators, and corporations dedicated to...

Capital Allocators Monthly (Aug 2018)

by Ted Seides

  Back to school, back to work! I'm diving into research on funds investing in Economic Opportunity Zones on behalf...

Kristian Fok – Australia’s CBUS Superannuation CIO (EP.66)

by Ted Seides

-  Kristian Fok is the Chief Investment Officer of Australia’s A46B ($35B USD) Construction & Building Industry Superannuation Fund,...

Josh Wolfe – Seeing the Lux (EP.65)

by Ted Seides

 Josh Wolfe is the co-founder of Lux Capital, a $1.5 billion venture capital firm that targets cutting-edge solutions to...

Ben Reiter – Moneyball 2.0 (EP.64)

by Ted Seides

 Ben Reiter is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and the author of Astroball:  The New Way to Win...

Roz Hewsenian – Helmsley Trust’s Chief of People and Process (EP.63)

by Ted Seides

 Roz Hewsenian is the Chief Investment Officer of the $6 billion Helmsley Charitable Trust. Prior to joining Helmsley in...

Capital Allocators Monthly (July 2018)

by Ted Seides

  A great month to catch up on reading and listening.  My favorite reads this month triggered mentions of others...

Charley Ellis – Indexing and Its Alternatives (EP.62)

by Ted Seides

 Investment luminary Charley Ellis is the founder of Greenwich Associates, author of 16 books, and one of the most...

Manny Friedman – Non-Linear Financial Systems (EP.61)

by Ted Seides

 Manny Friedman is the CEO of EJF Capital, a firm he co-founded in 2005 that manages $9 billion with...

REPLAY – Scott Malpass – The Fighting Irish’s Twelfth Man (Capital Allocators, EP.25)

by Ted Seides

This replay is the one of the most downloaded shows from last year, and one that new listeners may have...

Anthony Scaramucci – It’s Called A Mooch (EP.60)

by Ted Seides

The name Anthony Scaramucci currently has 55% name recognition in the U.S. according to Politico. Anthony has been an entrepreneur...

Peter Troob – Monkey Business in High Yield (EP.59)

by Ted Seides

 Peter Troob is the co-Founder and CIO of Troob Capital Management, an opportunistic investor and family office with particular...

Capital Allocators Monthly (June 2018)

by Ted Seides

  Summer reading time, and this month was a good one. We launched a premium content subscription to Capital Allocators,...

James Aitken – Macro Strategist Extraordinaire (EP.58)

by Ted Seides

 Australian James Aitken is the Founder and Managing Partner of Aitken Advisors, a one-man macroeconomic consultancy based in Wimbledon,...

Brian Portnoy – From Complex to Simple (EP.57)

by Ted Seides

 Brian Portnoy is the Director of Investment Education at $100 billion investment solutions provider Virtus Investment Partners, where he strives...

Tom Lydon – ETF Trends (EP.56)

by Ted Seides

 Tom Lydon is one of the leading experts in the ETF and mutual fund industries. He is the founder...

Tali Sharot – Optimism, Decisions and Mistakes (EP.55)

by Ted Seides

 Tali Sharot is a leading expert on human decision-making, optimism and emotion. A neuroscientist by trade, Tali combines research...

The Hedge Fund Fee Conundrum

by Ted Seides

This article originally appeared in Institutional Investor on June 1, 2018. Allocators want cheaper fees, but they also want the...

Capital Allocators Monthly (May 2018)

by Ted Seides

  Spring is upon us (just in time for summer!). My favorite pieces this month came from social media feeds...

John Pfeffer – Crypto for Institutions (EP. 54)

by Ted Seides

 John Pfeffer is an entrepreneur, investor and author of “An (Institutional) Investor’s Take on Cryptoassets.”  He is currently Partner...

Ross Israel – Stable, Predictable Cash Flows (EP.53)

by Ted Seides

Ross Israel is the Head of Global Infrastructure Investments for QIC, Queensland, Australia’s 82B AUZ ($62B USD) investment fund. The...

Kim Lew – The Carnegie Way (EP.52)

by Ted Seides

 Kim Lew is the Vice President and CIO of Carnegie Corporation, where she is responsible for the investment and...

CNBC Clip

by Ted Seides

Back to basics on hedge funds. Watch here  

Paul Black – Gratitude, Fun, and Growth Stocks (EP.51)

by Ted Seides

 Paul Black is Co-CEO and portfolio manager at WCM Investment Management, a $26 billion manager of global equities that...

Capital Allocators Monthly (April 2018)

by Ted Seides

  I'll be heading the Omaha this weekend for my last annual public drubbing.  Stop me and say hello if...

James Williams – Curating The Getty’s Assets (EP.50)

by Ted Seides

   Jim Williams is the Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Treasurer of the Getty Trust, where he oversees...

Your Brain Wants You To Make Bad Decisions. Here’s How To Avoid Them.

by Ted Seides

This article originally appeared in Institutional Investor on April 24, 2018. The human brain is hard-wired to confirm biases, overweight...

Michael Cembalest – Eye on the Market (EP.49)

by Ted Seides

   Michael Cembalest is the Chairman of Market and Investment Strategy for J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management, a...

Steven Galbraith – In the Boardroom (EP.48)

by Ted Seides

   A year ago, I sat down with my friend Steven Galbraith to record the first conversation of Capital...

The Edge You May Be Overlooking

by Ted Seides

This article originally appeared in Institutional Investor on April 13, 2018. When it comes to institutional investors, home field can...

Chris Brockmeyer – On Broadway (EP. 47)

by Ted Seides

   Chris Brockmeyer is the Director of Employee Benefit Funds for the Broadway League, the national trade association for...

Capital Allocators Monthly (March 2018)

by Ted Seides

  Having fun with these markets (or weather) yet?  The more things stay the same... Reading 1. My latest Institutional...

Andy Redleaf – Evolution of Markets (EP.46)

by Ted Seides

   Andy Redleaf is the Founding Partner of Whitebox Advisors, a $5.5 billion multi-strategy hedge fund launched in 1999...

It’s Not About the Money (EP.45)

by Ted Seides

   Last fall, I sat down with a fellow former hedge fund of funds professional Khe Hy, who left...

Wayne Wicker – Managing for Millions who Matter (EP.44)

by Ted Seides

   Wayne Wicker is the Senior VP and CIO of ICMA Retirement Corporation, an asset manager that oversees $50...

Clare Flynn Levy and Cameron Hight – Moneyball for Managers (EP.43)

by Ted Seides

   Our exploration of the use of modern data analytics to enhance investment results continues this week with two...

Learning from the Dumb Money

by Ted Seides

This article originally appeared in Institutional Investor on March 5, 2018. For years, Ted Seides refused to pay attention to...

Basil Qunibi – Moneyball for Allocators (EP.42)

by Ted Seides

   Increased sophistication in manager assessment is an important trend in the search for alpha. My conversations with Michael...

Capital Allocators Monthly (February 2018)

by Ted Seides

  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Markets back to the bull, volatility in check, and...

Rick Selvala – Harvesting Volatility (EP.41)

by Ted Seides

   Rick Selvala is the co-founder and CEO of Harvest Volatility, a ten-year old manager of a variety of...

The Hidden Tax on Private Equity Investors

by Ted Seides

This article originally appeared in Institutional Investor on February 23, 2018. Private equity firms now extracting their extra pound of...

Ali Hamed – Novel Asset Investing (EP.40)

by Ted Seides

   Ali Hamed is the co-founder of CoVenture and Managing Partner of the CoVenture VC Fund.  CoVenture is an...

Annie Duke – Improving Decision Making (EP.39)

by Ted Seides

 Annie Duke is a renown public speaker and decision strategist. For two decades, she was one of the top...

Capital Allocators Monthly (January 2018)

by Ted Seides

  I'm going to endeavor to send out an email monthly with writing and podcast updates. Feel free to pass...

Seth Masters – Investment Polymath (EP.38)

by Ted Seides

  Seth Masters recently retired from Alliance Bernstein, where he spent 26 years across six different careers.  He started as...

Bill Spitz – Seasoned Commodore (EP.37)

by Ted Seides

  Bill Spitz was the longtime head of Vanderbilt University’s endowment before retiring, for the first time, in 2007. He...

Michael Mauboussin – Active Challenges, Rational Decisions and Team Dynamics (EP.36)

by Ted Seides

  Michael Mauboussin currently is the Director of Research at BlueMountain Capital, a multi-billion dollar hedge fund and asset manager. ...

When Will Yale Buy Bitcoin?

by Ted Seides

This article originally appeared in Institutional Investor on January 5, 2018. Hedge funds grew from a boutique investment area serving...

Margaret Chen – Leadership and Outsourcing the Investment Office (EP.35)

by Ted Seides

  Margaret Chen is the Head of CA Capital Management, Cambridge Associates’ $20 billion Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) business....

Deep Dive into Hedge Funds (EP.34)

by Ted Seides

  I received several emails over the last bunch of months asking for my take on the investing world and...

Chris Acito – Credit Where Credit is Due (EP.33)

by Ted Seides

  Chris Acito is the CEO and CIO of Gapstow Capital Partners, a credit-focused investment organization. Chris started his career...

Paul Johnson and Paul Sonkin, The Perfect Investment (EP.32)

by Ted Seides

  Paul Sonkin and Paul Johnson are investors, professors, and co-authors of Pitch the Perfect Investment.  Paul Sonkin is an...

Meredith Jenkins – A Path to Trinity (EP.31)

by Ted Seides

  Meredith Jenkins is the Chief Investment Officer of Trinity Wall Street, where she oversees $5.5 billion of the church’s...

Larry Mestel – Making Music Royalties Sing (EP.30)

by Ted Seides

  Larry Mestel is the Founder and Co-CEO of Primary Wave, one of the largest independent full-service entertainment companies. Primary...

Leading Allocators Get Active

by Ted Seides

This article originally appeared in Institutional Investor on October 26, 2017. “The problem with modern portfolio theory is that it’s...

Ashby Monk – Asset Giant Futurist (EP.29)

by Ted Seides

  Dr. Ashby Monk is the Executive and Research Director of the Stanford University Global Projects Center. He is also...

Jason Klein – Investing to Cure Cancer (EP.28)

by Ted Seides

  Jason Klein is the Senior Vice President and CIO at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he oversees the hospital’s...

Ellen Ellison – Playing to Your Strengths (EP.27)

by Ted Seides

  Ellen Ellison is the Chief Investment Officer of the University of Illinois Foundation, which she joined in 2013 as...

David Barrett – Searching for Leaders (EP.26)

by Ted Seides

  David Barrett is the founder of David Barrett Partners, a leading executive search firm focused exclusively on buy-side asset...

Scott Malpass – The Fighting Irish’s Twelfth Man (EP.25)

by Ted Seides

 Scott Malpass is the esteemed Vice President and CIO of Notre Dame University, where he oversees the school's $12...

Jim Dunn – Protect, Perform, Provide (EP.24)

by Ted Seides

  Jim Dunn is the CEO and CIO of Verger Capital Management, an Outsourced CIO business whose anchor client is...

Why Communication is Key to Active Management

by Ted Seides

This article originally appeared in Institutional Investor on September 1, 2017. If investing is a people business, then creating real...

Dan Egan – Better Investment Outcomes (EP.23)

by Ted Seides

  Dan Egan is the Director of Behavioral Finance and Investing at Betterment, the leading robo-advisor overseeing $10 billion in...

Chatri Sityodtong – Warrior Spirit (EP.22)

by Ted Seides

  Chatri Sityodtong is the Founder and Chairman of ONE Championship, Asia’s largest sports media property. Chatri started his career...

Richard Lawrence – Compounding in Asia (EP.21)

by Ted Seides

   Richard Lawrence is the Chairman and Executive Director of The Overlook Group, a $5 billion investment organization focused...

Kip McDaniel – CIO Whisperer (EP.20)

by Ted Seides

  Kip McDaniel is the Chief Content Officer and Editorial Director at Institutional Investor.  Prior to joining II a year...

Dan Schorr – Death, Ice Cream, and Entrepreneurship (EP.19)

by Ted Seides

  Dan Schorr is the founder of Vice Cream, an early stage company that is bringing back unapologetic indulgence to...

Thomas DeLong – Authentic Leadership (EP.18)

by Ted Seides

  Tom DeLong is a renown expert in organizational behavior, leadership, and human development of high performance professionals, the so...

Adam Blitz – Inside Hedge Fund Allocation (EP.17)

by Ted Seides

   Adam Blitz is the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Evanston Capital Management, a $4.5 billion hedge fund...

Thomas Russo – Buy and Hold…and Then What (EP.16)

by Ted Seides

   Tom Russo is the Managing Member of Gardner Russo & Gardner, where he manages $11 billion in a...

Reflections – Hardly a Waste of Time (EP.15)

by Ted Seides

  A few months ago, an idea came to me to share some conversations with great capital allocators that I’ve...

Chris Douvos – Venture Capital’s Super LP (EP.14)

by Ted Seides

   Chris Douvos is Managing Director at Venture Investment Associates, a fund that invests $1B in commitments to venture...

Mario Therrien – The Canadian Pension Model (EP.12)

by Ted Seides

   Mario Therrien is Senior Vice President of External Portfolio Management at Canadian asset manager Caisse de dépôt et...

Larry Kochard – Endowment Professor (EP.11)

by Ted Seides

  Larry Kochard is the CEO and CIO of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO), where he provides...

David “Bull” Gurfein – Interdisciplinary Lessons from the Marines (EP.10)

by Ted Seides

  David Gurfein, whose nickname “Bull” fits the bill, is a decorated Marine Corps Combat veteran who enlisted at age...

Jeffrey Solomon – Vision, Tenacity, and Empathy (EP.09)

by Ted Seides

   Jeffrey Solomon is the President of publicly listed Cowen Group (TK: COWN), a financial services company focused on...

Charley Ellis – Multiple Ways to Win (EP.08)

by Ted Seides

  Charley Ellis is one of the most highly regarded experts in the investment business.  After spending nearly a decade...

Jenny Heller – Thinking it Through (EP.07)

by Ted Seides

  Jenny Heller is the President and Chief Investment Officer of Brandywine Trust Group.  Brandywine formed 25 years ago to...

Josh Brown – When Witchcraft Failed (EP.06)

by Ted Seides

  Josh Brown is the CEO of Ritholz Wealth Management, a NYC-based financial advisor that helps people align their investments...

The Bet with Buffett (EP.05)

by Ted Seides

  Today’s show is a little different from my ongoing series of conversations with Capital Allocators.  As you probably know,...

Tom Lenehan – Perpetual Thinking at Rockefeller University (EP.04)

by Ted Seides

   Tom Lenehan is the Deputy Chief Investment Officer of The Rockefeller University, where he helps lead the management...

Brett Barth – Asset Allocation for Families (EP.03)

by Ted Seides

   Brett Barth is a founder, Managing Partner, and Director of Investment Research at BBR Partners. BBR manages north...

André Perold – The Academic Practitioner (EP.02)

by Ted Seides

  André Perold is the Chief Investment Officer and Co-Managing Partner at HighVista Strategies, where for the last dozen years...

Steven Galbraith – Five Tool Player (EP.01)

by Ted Seides

  Steve Galbraith is an investment manager, brilliant writer, engaging thinker and one of the most well-liked men on Wall...

How to Start a Hedge Fund: Interview with Ted Seides

by Ted Seides

This interview originally appeared in Forbes on May 2, 2016. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to...