Tom Lenehan discusses the return hurdles and distribution requirements needed to preserve Rockefeller University's endowment.
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Lenehan: China will very shortly become the world's largest economy
“But from our perspective, we actually think that China's going to be the largest economy very shortly. It will grow. It'll continue to grow. At a rate higher than any other developed country kind of post COVID.”
Insight
Chinese regulatory crackdowns cyclically occur every seven to ten years
“If you take a broader perspective and kind of open up the aperture, this is cyclical. This happens every seven to 10 years, where the Chinese government makes sure everybody knows and realizes kind of who's in charge at the end of the day.”
Insight
Lenehan: Diligencing a new fund manager from scratch cannot be done over Zoom
“Otherwise, if we were meeting a group from scratch, it's great that we can certainly meet them on Zoom, but until we actually get on the ground, walk the floor, meet the people, meet the team in person, one-on-ones, you can't do it.”
Opinion
The Federal Reserve never successfully executes economic soft landings
“I tend to think that the Federal Reserve, they never seem to get it right. They're right in the direction, but in the execution, they never really navigate a soft landing, per se. We're expecting bumps along the ride.”
Insight
Lenehan: Distressed debt windows close too fast for dedicated funds
“I've seen the last 10 years as if there is a distressed moment in time, it's a blip. There is so much capital that is just waiting on the sidelines to kind of plow into from dedicated distress managers and their time, the window just opens and closes very quic…”
Opinion
Lenehan: Widespread inflation across corporate operating costs is not temporary
“I was speaking to somebody yesterday who has a public investment, I think, in DoorDash, and he talks to that management team quite often, and the inflation that they're feeling is everywhere. It is in the packaging of the materials. It is in the food costs. It…”