51: $550 Billion and 50 Years of Advice: Cambridge Associates' Long Term Approach, With Annachiara Marcandalli

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In an industry where size is often a boast, there are few powerhouses with great credentials and a low profile. Founded in the US in 1973, Cambridge Associates (CA) was established to provide investment research and advice to a group of major US university endowments.

Fifty years later, with over $550 billion of assets under advisement and 11 offices around the world, CA helps its investors customise portfolios. 

In this conversation, Annachiara Marcandalli, CA’s European Head of Sustainability and Impact Investing, as well as Partner at the firm, addresses their approach to customising portfolios.

She explains why it’s their belief that successful investing is incremental, not transformational. She discusses their search to identify managers’ economic incentives and alignment, before addressing the style drift, and why value and growth may cease to be relevant terms in the future.

She speaks of the challenge presented by the rush into impact and sustainable investing - separating the “surfers” from the “serious” - and why ESG engagement matters.

Finally she speaks of liquidity around private assets, how they address crypto investing and the dangers of excessive reliance on financial modelling (as opposed to building resilience into portfolio construction).