Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hewsenian predicted in 2018 Gavin Newsom's policies would trigger Silicon Valley exodus
“The other thing that has us very excited is that we think that Silicon Valley is only going to last for so long. If for no other reason, California is becoming very business unfriendly. If Gavin Newsom wins the gubernatorial race, And he does to California wha…”
Insight
Hewsenian: Viewing Career Obstacles Through Immutable Traits Drives Self-Victimization
“If you look at everything through the lens of some immutable characteristic, then you'll victimize yourself faster than anybody else will.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
CalPERS eliminated its hedge fund program after top funds refused fee cuts
“The best hedge funds wanted nothing to do with CalPERS because CalPERS wasn't willing to pay their fees, and Ted Eliopoulos, the chief investment officer, eliminated the hedge fund program”
Insight
Hedge funds work for $3B foundations but fail for $300B public pensions
“If you're a three billion dollar foundation, hedge funds can work for you. When you're a three hundred billion dollar governmental pension funds, not so much. Context is everything.”
Insight
Fixed allocation targets force institutional allocators into lower-tier investment managers
“If I had a specific bucket with a target, I'd have to fill it, which means that not only am I investing in the best, if I can get into the best, I might have to invest in the second best and maybe even the third best to get my allocation filled.”
Insight
Brilliant fund managers have significant shortcomings and require sane partners as ballast
“And this is an interesting thing about truly brilliant people. They typically have a flat side. So when I'm assessing money managers, and I've met a lot of them with huge egos and flat sides, I look for A partner. Do they recognize their own shortcoming, and d…”
Insight
Consultants should never say no outright to institutional clients
“You never say no, and then figure out how to give them at least some of what they want, so that this way you show them that you've heard them, and that's 90% of what the issue is. The client wants to be heard.”
Insight
Style-box investing forces allocators to pass on exceptional unclassified opportunities
“And I recognize right away that the box approach to investing was a disaster. It forced you to fill a box because you had one, and then you had to pass on an investment if you didn't have a box for it. So one of the things that became clear is that opportunist…”
Disclosure
Helmsley uses a standby credit line to fund grants during market downturns
“We paired it with a committed standby line of credit, and the committed standby line of credit can actually fund the grant making so that we can fund the investment side”
Insight
Giving junior associates manager sourcing authority removes biases and yields better opportunities
“My associates, my investment officers, and my directors, who are all responsible for managers, have equal opportunity for sourcing and doing due diligence, and by allowing the younger people to have the same authority to source a manager, I get
Some very inte…”
Assertion Supported
The Gates Foundation uncovered the massive fraud at the Abraaj Group
“The Gates Foundation did invest with them, and they were the ones who figured out that something was wrong.”
Opinion
Boutique fund founders frequently refuse to meet junior staff due to ego
“Especially if they're boutique-y and they're full of themselves and all this other stuff. They're not going to meet more junior people, and that's because top man syndrome still exists in this industry.”
Insight
Manager excuses for lagging holdings usually explain 110% of total fund underperformance
“The manager starts making excuses for an investment holding instead of just selling it and getting on with it. And you start looking at the investment excuses, and you do sub-portfolio attribution, and you figure out the investment excuses are really what's ac…”
Disclosure
Helmsley Trust achieved a triple-digit IRR from an Israeli VC investment
“We're a big investor in Israel. Big investor. Now, nobody has seen a triple digit IRR out of VC in a long time. I've got one. Out of one of our Israel investments.”
Insight
Helmsley avoids re-underwriting private co-investments, relying solely on underwriting the manager
“We're not re-underwriting the investment the way some of our peers have. We don't feel we can bring anything to that party. We underwrote the manager, and that's where our due diligence ends as far as the underwriting is concerned.”
Insight
Investment committees should verify policy adherence rather than duplicating staff due diligence
“They're really not in a position to duplicate our work. What they're really there to do is to make sure that we adhere to policy.”
Insight
Hewsenian: Abrupt CIO Exits Cause Investment Teams to Resign Preemptively
“Around us, CIOs were leaving their jobs without a transition, and the teams below them would leave In anticipation of a new boss coming in over them, and they wanted to take matters into their own hands rather than just wait for fate to dictate what would happ…”
Disclosure
Hewsenian: Helmsley Operates a Generalist Team Without Asset-Class Silos
“One of the things, Ted, that I think it's important to understand about Helmsley is that the team is set up not in buckets or lanes or categories. We give a lot of latitude to the staff to work on a lot of different projects.”
Insight
Hewsenian: Departing CIOs Need a One-Year Gap Before Joining Committee
“First of all, I wasn't given a choice, but second of all, I think ideally that would be the best way to do it because it gives the successor the opportunity to get his or her sea legs under them without necessarily the scrutiny of sitting there in front of you…”
Disclosure
Hewsenian: Investment Committees Should Test Conviction, Not Approve Deals
“My job wasn't to approve or disapprove. My job was to ensure that all the policies and the procedures that Helmsley had were adhered to, test conviction, and ensure that due diligence was appropriately undertaken.”
Opinion
Hewsenian: Fenton's Generalization Ability Drove His Appointment as CIO
“I felt that Josh's ability to generalize was stronger than the other members of the team, and that was probably a key differentiating factor.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hewsenian: Helmsley Defended Staff From Rival Foundations Lacking Succession Plans
“In fact, Helmsley had to play defense protecting our own team From being raided by these other foundations that suddenly were shorthanded staff because they didn't plan or manage their own transition.”
Insight
Charitable foundations must prioritize liquidity risk to meet IRS payout mandates
“The biggest risk we have to manage for a foundation is liquidity risk, because we have to pay out five percent of our assets every year.”
Assertion Supported
Many major foundations remain below their 2007 peak values due to illiquidity
“That fight for cash Left some of them still permanently impaired. Some of those foundations still have not gotten back to their 2007 high watermark.”
