Letitia Johnson, CIO of Amherst College, manages a $4B endowment with a concentrated, long-term approach. They discuss portfolio construction, risk management, long-term investing, and competition for capital. Johnson emphasizes building strong relationships with managers, flexible capital allocation, and her passion for biotech investments. The episode also covers her personal hobbies and the influence of committee members on her professional journey.
Ten East's investment platform offers private market access through co-investment opportunities with a decade-long track record.
Letitia Johnson highlights the importance of employee treatment, honesty, and adaptive strategies in organizational success.
Deep dives
Investment Platform for Sophisticated Investors
Ten East, an investment platform founded by Michael LaFell, offers private market access to investors, providing exposure to private credit, real estate, venture capital, and idiosyncratic investments not typically available through traditional channels. The platform, led by Michael and his team, emphasizes co-investment opportunities where they source, diligence, and commit personal capital to each investment, leveraging their decade-long track record across 350 transactions.
Endowment Management Strategies
Letitia Johnson, Chief Investment Officer at Ampersand College, shares insights on managing the school's $4 billion debt with a concentrated bottom-up approach. Discussing portfolio construction, risk management, long-term investing, and capital competition, Letitia details the challenges and philosophies guiding endowment management through several investment committee meetings and strategic decision-making processes.
Impact of International Perspective on Career Choices
Letitia recounts her international upbringing and educational experiences at Brown and Yale, highlighting her passion for mathematics, literature, and an open curriculum that shaped her diverse skill set. From being a gardener in California after graduation to pursuing an MBA at Yale, Letitia's journey underscores the importance of adapting skills to evolving career opportunities.
Lessons Learned from Varied Work Experiences
Letitia reflects on her work trajectory from managing a garden crew to earning her MBA and joining the investment world. Drawing management lessons from her diverse work experiences, she emphasizes the significance of employee treatment and honesty in enhancing productivity, profitability, and overall quality of life within an organization.
Navigating Manager Selection and Portfolio Strategy
Letitia delves into the challenges of manager selection, portfolio strategy, and decision-making in endowment management. Emphasizing the importance of long-term partnerships, conviction-building, and maintaining high-quality relationships with managers, she highlights the complexities of balancing risk, liquidity, and performance attribution within a flexible investment framework at Amherst.
Developing Deep Understanding of Portfolio Dynamics
Through collaborative efforts with her investment committee, Letitia focuses on developing a deep understanding of the Amherst portfolio and its manager dynamics. Learning from diverse investment philosophies, teamwork approaches, and decision-making processes, she highlights the continuous learning journey and adaptive strategies required to navigate the complexities of endowment management.
Letitia Johnson is the CIO of Amherst College, where she manages the school's $4 billion endowment. After thirteen years working with twenty-five clients and attending over 1,000 Investment Committee meetings at Cambridge Associates, Letitia developed a view about investing that differs from many similar pools of capital and has applied that view over the last five years. Our conversation covers the subtleties of managing an endowment with a concentrated, bottom-up manager-selected approach for the long-term, including portfolio construction, risk and liquidity management, long-term investing, and competition for capital.