Name the most noticeable generational divide in investment style between sub-40-year-old investors and baby boomers.
More than a difference in investment style, the most noticeable generational divide I’ve observed is gender. It’s great to see more women in the sub-40-year-old investor group!
Your least favorite part of being an asset owner is...?
The thought of losing money.
The manager you don’t currently work with whose brain you’d most like to pick for an hour is...?
Bill Ackman (Pershing Square). Activists are getting so much attention these days and I think it would be fascinating to learn more about his style and process.
... and where would that meeting take place?
At a Herbalife sales convention (if they’d let him in the door).
Describe the weirdest interaction you’ve had with an asset manager.
When I was nine months pregnant, I met with an investment manager who asked my due date. I think it made him a little anxious when I replied, “today.” He finished up the meeting pretty quickly after that.
What asset class or investment troubles you most right now—and why?
In today’s low growth and low expected return environment across most asset classes, it’s going to be more and more challenging to grow pension fund assets in order to keep pace with liabilities.
Name your favorite food and drink.
I love sushi (especially spicy tuna rolls) and a glass of sauvignon blanc.
What’s the wildest institutional portfolio you’ve seen?
I’ve seen some concentrated, country-specific portfolios that have produced some volatile results but, fortunately, nothing I’d consider too ‘wild.’
Name a cultural aspect of asset management that gets under your skin.
Ego bothers me because even the smartest investors have made or will make mistakes.
Donald Trump is ________.
A compliance manager’s worst nightmare.
Name your four-member investment dream team for your own family office.
Warren Buffett for equities, Jeffrey Gundlach (Doubleline) for bonds, Ray Dalio (Bridgewater) for hedge funds, and Jonathan Gray (Blackstone) for real estate.
What’s the biggest investment or career misstep you’ve made?
One of my biggest mistakes is making the decision to terminate an underperforming manager and then watching that manager go on to produce top-quartile performance.
What should be an investment trend, but isn’t (yet)?
I think more concentrated and less benchmark-constrained equity mandates will continue to increase in popularity as asset owners demand greater levels of outperformance to justify the fees paid.
