Optimizing Investment Strategies for Endowment Funds

Trish DiGirolomo, investment manager at Babson College sits down with David Weisburd to discuss scaling Babson College’s endowment via disciplined strategy and process. In addition, they discuss the advantages of patience and a focus on cash on cash returns, criteria for manager selection, and leveraging experienced alumni in the investment process. (0:00) Trish DiGirolomo discusses the investment strategy and process at Babson Endowment (4:57) Role of private equity in Babson's portfolio and philosophy on holding positions post IPO (10:34) Importance of patience, conviction, and timing in venture capital investments (13:08) The role of secondaries market in venture capital (16:11) Leveraging relationships and the value Babson brings to a fund (20:16) The structure of Babson's investment office and criteria for assessing potential managers (26:27) Sponsor: Deel (28:31) Diversified alpha and return thresholds (33:07) Importance of conviction and thesis in strategy (41:59) Dealing with difficult personalities in GPs