E177:How a Small Endowment Invests like Harvard w/Rip Reeves

Jun 20, 2025

Rip Reeves, CEO of Institutional Investor and former CIO of AEGIS, shares valuable insights from his 40-year career in investment management. He discusses his unconventional journey from Salomon Brothers to leading a major investment platform. Rip emphasizes the importance of building genuine relationships in finance, the flexible nature of endowment portfolio allocation, and the resurgence of fixed income. He also reveals how casual conversations can influence managerial evaluations and the evolving dynamics between investors and fund managers.

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INSIGHT

OCIO Model Benefits Smaller Endowments

Smaller endowments benefit from OCIOs to access top-tier talent and research.
Location outside financial hubs makes internal hiring for portfolio management harder.

INSIGHT

Flexible 40/30/30 Endowment Model

The 40/30/30 allocation for stocks, bonds, and alternatives is a flexible endowment model.
Wide allocation guardrails allow portfolio managers room to optimize portfolio based on conditions.

INSIGHT

CIO Role and Fixed Income Revival

CIO role requires stepping back to give flexibility to front-line managers.
Fixed income is gaining attractiveness post-2022 interest rate hikes for endowments.

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In this episode, I speak with Rip Reeves, CEO of Institutional Investor and former CIO of AEGIS Insurance Services. Rip brings over four decades of experience across investment management, insurance, and endowments. We discuss his unconventional path from Salomon Brothers to leading one of the most iconic platforms in the investment world, his views on the OCIO model, portfolio construction, the “art” of manager selection, and why he believes building authentic relationships matters more than ever in this industry. We also cover his deep ties to LSU, how he uses qualitative signals (like waiting room conversations) in manager evaluations, and the future of Institutional Investor in a changing GP-LP landscape.

Highlights:

Why LSU’s endowment chose the OCIO model with Cambridge Associates
Rip’s view on optimal allocation for endowments — and why 40/30/30 isn't as rigid as it looks
The surprising importance of culture and hallway conversations when vetting asset managers
How Institutional Investor uses experiential events (like raft races) to build real trust
Rip’s perspective on how the public vs. private market divide is blurring — and what that means for allocators
Why fixed income is “back” for the first time since the GFC
The hidden value of his wife Susie’s honest feedback in his investment thinking
The one thing GPs should never do at an Institutional Investor event

-- Guest Bio: Rip Reeves is the CEO of Institutional Investor, a leading global platform serving allocators, asset managers, and consultants through content, community, and convenings. Before joining II in 2023, he spent over 11 years as CIO and Treasurer of AEGIS Insurance Services. Prior to that, Rip was Global CIO of Argo Group and held senior roles at BNY Mellon Asset Management, J.P. Morgan Investment Management, and Salomon Brothers.

Rip serves on the LSU Foundation Board, teaches finance at LSU, and is an advisor to Northern Trust Asset Management and Preferred Mutual. A Louisiana native, he holds a B.S. in Marketing and an MBA from Louisiana State University.

Our Podcast now receives more than 300,000 downloads a month. Are you interested in sponsoring an episode? Please email David Weisburd at david@weisburdcapital.com.

-- Stay Connected: X / Twitter: David Weisburd: @dweisburd

LinkedIn: David Weisburd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dweisburd/ Rip Reeves: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rip-reeves-1b725717/

Links: Institutional Investor: https://www.linkedin.com/company/institutional-investor/

-- Questions or topics you want us to discuss on How I Invest? Email us at david@weisburdcapital.com.

(0:00) Episode preview (5:27) Importance of portfolio construction over manager selection (11:23) Qualitative factors and company culture in manager selection (21:59) Building relationships with asset managers (24:58) Rip Reeves on Institutional Investor magazine's impact and event value (31:33) David Weisburd's closing remarks and subscription call-to-action (36:37) Best practices for GP and LP relationship building (41:55) Touch points and allocations between GPs and LPs (44:18) Leveraging Institutional Investor for GP benefits (45:36) Learning about Institutional Investor with Rip Reeves (46:01) Closing remarks