Bruce MacDonald is CIO of VCU Investment Management Company, managing the endowment for Virginia Commonwealth University.
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“When we say a huge part of the portfolio, 50% or more has to be generic US equity risk. We invest on the behalf of a U.S. Institution. Their expenses are dollar-based. We don't want to have too much overseas risk.”
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More from Bruce MacDonald
Opinion
Private Asset Obsession Destroyed Endowments' Ability to Invest Countercyclically
“Historically, endowments have done a great job of that, but in the last 10 or 15 years with the obsession of private assets, that tool has been taken out of the toolkit.”
Bruce MacDonaldApr 6, 2026▶ 29:01Bruce MacDonald – The Playbook for Building a Mid-Sized Endowment from Scratch (EP.495)
Opinion
India Faces Severe Macro Pressures From AI Disruption and Energy Dependencies
“India right now is going through a very difficult period. It's got a double whammy now of being in the crosshairs of AI because of IT services and the huge part of their economy that that sector represents. It's got the risk that it's facing from the Iran war,…”
Bruce MacDonaldApr 6, 2026▶ 48:37Bruce MacDonald – The Playbook for Building a Mid-Sized Endowment from Scratch (EP.495)
PredictionNot checkable as stated
Liquidity Constraints Will Trigger Indiscriminate Selling Across Private Credit Markets
“There will be indiscriminate selling in private credit. There's good reasons why many of those companies will be sold, but there'll be many reasons where it's just liquidity that's driving prices down.”
Bruce MacDonaldApr 6, 2026▶ 49:31Bruce MacDonald – The Playbook for Building a Mid-Sized Endowment from Scratch (EP.495)
Insight
Liquidating Legacy Portfolios Let Allocators Build Culture and Process Faster
“If you keep those portfolios, you're going to spend most of your time reviewing what's in there, slowly changing things out and adding new stuff. Whereas if you start over and start from scratch, you get to build the institutional knowledge from day one. You g…”
Bruce MacDonaldApr 6, 2026▶ 24:25Bruce MacDonald – The Playbook for Building a Mid-Sized Endowment from Scratch (EP.495)
Insight
Secular Tailwinds Provide Margin of Safety Against Suboptimal Manager Selection
“One of the nice things about trying to invest in these secular tailwinds is you don't necessarily have to get the manager selection piece right. We like it when there's multiple ways to win in the stuff that we do. The nice thing about the secular tailwind is …”
Bruce MacDonaldApr 6, 2026▶ 35:21Bruce MacDonald – The Playbook for Building a Mid-Sized Endowment from Scratch (EP.495)
Insight
Concentrated Secular Themes Provide Better Diversification Than Market-Cap Weighted Indices
“If you can pick some of these higher octane or more promising secular tailwinds and marry it at that total portfolio risk, You end up with a portfolio that is more robust, better diversified than the index, which as you know, is so concentrated these days.”
Bruce MacDonaldApr 6, 2026▶ 38:12Bruce MacDonald – The Playbook for Building a Mid-Sized Endowment from Scratch (EP.495)
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