Lane MacDonald, CIO of SCS Financial, discusses the warning signs and risks of fund managers scaling assets under management beyond their core strategy.
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“With GPs who rationalize raising more money without being intellectually honest about it, Is a first indication that you should be thinking about heading for the exit.”
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More from Lane MacDonald
Opinion
MacDonald: Spinning out HMC internal teams to pay 1.5-and-20 was illogical
“All these initiatives at Harvard lead to spinning out these firms. You think about Adage, Highfields, Convexity, Charles Bank. Now you go from them being internal paying them that to them being external in paying them one and a half and 20. And pause some of t…”
Lane MacDonaldJan 26, 2026▶ 24:56Lane MacDonald – Teamwork, Alignment, and Investing at the Highest Levels at SCS (EP.483)
Opinion
MacDonald: Harvard's oil and gas divestment caused meaningful financial losses
“The loss to Harvard by not investing in a sector of oil and gas over the last eight, 10 years is very meaningful because it was a target rich environment for returns that go to support the financial aid for students.”
Lane MacDonaldJan 26, 2026▶ 25:36Lane MacDonald – Teamwork, Alignment, and Investing at the Highest Levels at SCS (EP.483)
Insight
MacDonald: Five-Million-Dollar LP Commitments Struggle to Be Meaningful to GPs
“When times are a little bit tough, you lean in and you understand things, but you also show up with a real check. You have to be a meaningful investor. If you're a five million dollar investor, it's hard to be meaningful.”
Lane MacDonaldJan 26, 2026▶ 23:45Lane MacDonald – Teamwork, Alignment, and Investing at the Highest Levels at SCS (EP.483)
AssertionSupported
MacDonald: HMC internal managers earned 4% to 8% carry on alpha
“Those folks were generally making roughly four to eight percent carry the alpha that they were generating while they were at HMC.”
Lane MacDonaldJan 26, 2026▶ 24:49Lane MacDonald – Teamwork, Alignment, and Investing at the Highest Levels at SCS (EP.483)
Insight
MacDonald: Family offices doing direct investing without top teams are tourist investors
“The flaws in many family offices, they don't hire the teams. If you're going to focus on direct investing in an area like private equity, in a sector like manufacturing, you better hire a world-class team who's got a real edge, experience, top quartile track r…”
Lane MacDonaldJan 26, 2026▶ 28:15Lane MacDonald – Teamwork, Alignment, and Investing at the Highest Levels at SCS (EP.483)
Insight
MacDonald: Lack of checks and balances in family offices causes suboptimal decisions
“In many family offices, there aren't enough checks and balances on the decision-making process. The family calls the shot. That leads to suboptimal decision-making.”
Lane MacDonaldJan 26, 2026▶ 29:16Lane MacDonald – Teamwork, Alignment, and Investing at the Highest Levels at SCS (EP.483)
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