Brandeis Seeks New CIO, Amherst Looks to Add to ‘Mighty’ Investment Team

Brandeis University and Amherst College are looking to bolster their investment teams, as Brandeis is seeking a new chief investment officer, while Amherst is looking to add an investment officer to its “small but mighty” team.

Brandeis is looking to hire a CIO to oversee its $1.2 billion endowment and succeed Nicholas Warren, who left the endowment in March after more than a decade to become CIO of Glenmede Trust Co. Tarek Saghir is currently Brandeis’ interim CIO.

According to a job posting on the university’s website, the CIO reports administratively to the university’s executive vice president of finance and administration and works very closely with the investment committee chair.

“The chief investment officer will be a proven investor and strategic player/coach with excellent judgment who can combine top-down thematic thinking with high quality bottoms-up manager selection and manager oversight,” the posting says.

The CIO is responsible and accountable for the overall management of the investment portfolio and leadership of the investment office staff. They are also responsible for the overall management of Brandeis’ investment portfolio, investment committee relations, and investment office personnel. Additional responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Guiding all aspects of the university’s investment objectives, policies, and processes.
Sourcing, evaluating, and executing all investment strategies, including selection and monitoring of external investment managers, as well as oversight of all investment activities.
Monitoring performance, portfolio positions, current events, and organizational changes of the invested fund managers and regularly completing analytical reviews evaluating the relative performance of each manager.
Leading, supporting, and mentoring Brandeis University’s investment office staff.

The posting also said prospective candidates should have at least 12 years of experience as a senior investor with an institutional asset management platform, including, but not limited to, an endowment, foundation, family office, or outsourced CIO. The university has hired David Barrett Partners to help in its search.

Meanwhile, Amherst College CIO Letitia Johnson is looking to add an investment officer to her team, which oversees the endowment’s nearly $3.8 billion investment portfolio.

“The Amherst College Endowment is looking for an investment officer to add to our small but mighty investment team!” Johnson said in a LinkedIn post.

According to a posting for the job, the investment officer will report to Johnson and is expected to collaborate with the team as well as mentor analysts and summer interns.

“The portfolio is concentrated and has low turnover,” says the posting. “As such, successful candidates will demonstrate a strong interest in spending time on the current portfolio and will exhibit a long-term mindset.”

Responsibilities for the job include, but are not limited to:

Sourcing, conducting due diligence, selecting, and monitoring existing and prospective investment managers in a variety of asset classes.
Helping prepare materials for the investment committee and other high-level audiences.
Taking appropriate actions to support a diverse workforce and committing to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Prospective candidates are expected to have a minimum of five to 10 years of related investment experience, and are required to have a bachelor’s degree, while MBA, CFA and/or CAIA designations are preferred.