Amy Paterson, Author at TIFF

Press July 6, 2022

More Investors Consider Direct Route to Owning Stakes in Private Firms

Brendon Parry, CFA

Head of Private Markets, Deputy CIO

Investors have committed billions of dollars over the past several years to fund managers that buy modest stakes in private-equity firms, but some of those same investors now want to go it alone.

“Private equity is a great business to own with highly recurring revenue, high free cash-flow margin, large upside kicker in the form of [profit shares or] carried interest,” said Brendon Parry, managing director of private investments with TIFF Investment Management. The nonprofit organization, which acts as an outsourced chief investment officer for other nonprofit groups and foundations, is considering investing directly in firm-management companies.

More Investors Consider Direct Route to Owning Stakes in Private Firms

CIO Commentary July 1, 2022

2nd Quarter 2022 CIO Commentary

Jay Willoughby, CFA

Co-Chief Investment Officer & Board Member of TIFF Advisory Services

Download PDF

The times are getting tougher

Pretty much the whole world has been wrong about how high inflation would go – including us. As investors’ views have changed, they have sold fixed income securities, pushing prices down and driving the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate to its worst quarter in 40 years at -5.93% in Q1 2022, followed by -4.69% in Q2. This -10.35% year-to-date loss is the worst first half of the year ever for the index. Results this poor don’t tend to occur when investors anticipate and are properly positioned for what lies ahead.

We believe the single most important investment question today is whether the Fed will – or won’t – get ahead of inflation. Typically, the Fed must balance the dual mandate of full employment and low inflation. Because inflation has been low for most of the past 40 years, the Fed has historically been able to respond quickly to economic or market events by easing rates. With inflation today above 8.5%, that calculus has changed: We expect that until inflation comes under control, the Fed will be talking tough and raising short rates, even if stock and bond prices are falling and even if the economy appears to be slowing. Until the Fed proves their mettle in taming inflation, they have lost the option of easing rates. We believe that only once the Fed has shown they can get inflation under control will they regain the ability to provide liquidity when markets require. This suggests a more difficult and volatile market backdrop in the short term, with the end of this term dictated by the path of inflation.

This is an excerpt from a longer commentary. Please Download the PDF to read the entire 2Q2022 CIO Commentary.

Press June 28, 2022

Traditional Managers Have ‘Nowhere to Hide.’ Can Hedge Funds Pick Up the Slack?

Zhe Shen, CFA

Managing Director, Head of Diversifying Strategies

With fixed income falling short in protecting on the downside, TIFF Investment Management is betting on hedge funds to help diversify some investment risks.

Despite the bad headlines and their mixed track record, TIFF Investment Management, will keep betting on hedge funds to soften the blow of market stress.

Traditional Managers Have ‘Nowhere to Hide.’ Can Hedge Funds Pick Up the Slack?

Press June 27, 2022

Press Release: TIFF Investment Management Appoints Alyssa Rieder and Rick Slocum to its Board of Directors

Radnor, PA – June 27, 2022 – TIFF Investment Management (“TIFF”), the not-for-profit OCIO focused on serving nonprofits with $7.8 billion AUM, including committed capital, today announced it has appointed Alyssa Rieder, Chief Investment Officer at CommonSpirit Health, and Rick Slocum, Chief Investment Officer at Harvard Management Company (“HMC”), to the Board of Directors of TIFF Advisory Services, Inc. Alyssa and Rick join the Board that includes some of the most prominent CIOs, CEOs, and leaders within the nonprofit investment industry.

Their investment expertise along with their extensive knowledge of the nonprofit industry will support TIFF’s asset allocation and portfolio construction, provide general market and investing insights, as well as experienced Board governance and oversight.

Alyssa oversees the investment team at CommonSpirit Health and its $50 billion investment program comprised of corporate, retirement, foundation, and self-insurance assets. She led the ten-fold growth of the program through a combination of organic growth and merger integration, demonstrates a thorough understanding of enterprise risk implications for strategic asset allocation, and is a recognized leader in sustainable investing. Alyssa’s previous experience as an equity portfolio manager, deep and diverse investing network, and established strength in manager selection will contribute greatly to TIFF’s mission.

Rick oversees the investment team at HMC and a portfolio of more than $53 billion. Alongside the CEO, they recently led a multi-year restructuring of HMC, transitioning the investment model to focus almost exclusively on external asset managers while also working with the University to identify the appropriate level of risk for their endowed funds. From his decades of experience in the financial industry, Rick brings a skill set that will greatly benefit TIFF, including a strong track record of building portfolios, designing asset allocation, and private equity investing.

For more information on TIFF’s Board, visit: https://www.tiff.org/people/#board-of-directors.

About TIFF Investment Management
TIFF is a mission-driven, not-for-profit organization focused on delivering investment solutions to foundations, endowments, and other charitable institutions. Since its inception in 1991, TIFF has served the non-profit community by providing experienced manager selection and access, risk-sensitive asset allocation, and integrated member service to institutions with long-term investment horizons. For more information, visit: www.tiff.org.

For media inquiries, please contact Sue Watt, swatt@prosek.com.

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Independent Boards

Rick Slocum

Advisory Board Member

Managing Director and CIO - Harvard Management Company, Inc.

Rick Slocum joined Harvard Management Company (HMC) as managing director and chief investment officer in March 2017. Alongside the CEO, they have restructured the endowment’s investment operations to form a mostly outsourced investment model. They also repositioned the portfolio by increasing allocation to both hedge funds and venture capital, while working with the University to identify the endowment’s optimal risk level.

Previously, Mr. Slocum served as chief investment officer of The Johnson Company, a large single-family office based in New York City. Prior to that, Mr. Slocum was responsible for private equity and portfolio management at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Mr. Slocum has also worked as a senior director at the Office of Investments at the University of Pennsylvania, as a private placement specialist at two different banks in New York City and began his career as a credit analyst at Chemical Bank.

Mr. Slocum holds a BS and MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves on the Rockefeller Foundation’s Investment Committee.

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