top 30

Family offices are a unique group of institutional investors. Set up to manage private wealth for owners of renowned family businesses and their descedants, their missions and goals differ greatly from one to another. Nevertheless, like other investors, they are not immune to volatility in capital markets and technology disruptions to investment processes. This list highlights 30 investment guardians behind world’s wealthiest families who manage high-worth portfolios during times of challenges and changes.

Presenting Trusted Insight’s Top 30 Family Office Investors:

Family Office Investors

TOP 30 FAMILY OFFICE INVESTORS

Lane MacDonaldPRESIDENTThe Crosby Group

Lane MacDonald is the president of The Crosby Group, the family office of the Johnson family located in Salem, New Hampshire. Before joining Crosby, MacDonald managed private equity investments for Harvard University’s endowment from 2008 to 2014. Before that, he was a partner at Alta Communications from 2000 to 2008, where he focused on originating and managing private equity investments. He received his MBA from Stanford University and a B.A. from Harvard University.

Solina ChauCO-FOUNDERHorizons Ventures

Solina Chau is the co-founder of Horizons Ventures, the family office backed by Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-Shing. The firm specializes in technology startups investments globally. Chau and her business partner Debbie Chang founded Horizons Ventures in 1992. Chau is also a partner of Cheung Kong Group, a Hong Kong multi-national conglomerates chaired by Li Ka-Shing. Chau graduated from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

J.B. PritzkerMANAGING PARTNERPritzker Group

J.B. Pritzker is a co-founder and managing partner of Pritzker Group, a private investment firm that invests in three channels: middle-market acquisitions, technology venture capital and asset management. He is a dedicated investor in supporting technology entrepreneurs in Chicago and the Illinoise area. He is a founding member of ChicagoNEXT, Chicago's council on innovation and technology, 1871, a digital startup center, and Illinois Venture Capital Association. He also leads the Pritzker Family Foundation with his wife M.K. Pritzker.

Richard SlocumCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERThe Johnson Company

Richard Slocum is the Chief Investment Officer of The Johnson Company, a large single family office based in New York City. He joined the family office in September of 2011 and developed an asset allocation plan for the family and for a charity that they direct. He has since built out a team and has actively diversified the portfolio. The office invests both in public and private funds, direct private equity and real estate. Slocum previously worked at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation from 2005 to 2011. Before that, he worked for over 20 years at three banks in New York City, primarily as a private placement specialist. Slocum received an MBA and a B.S. in economics, both from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

TOP 30 FAMILY OFFICE INVESTORS

Greg PennerFOUNDER & GENERAL PARTNERMadrone Capital Partners

Greg Penner is founder and general partner of Madrone Capital Partners, an investment management firm located in Menlo Park, California. He is the grandson-in-law of Wal-Mart's founder Sam Walton and the chairman of the Wal-Mart Board of Directors. Over a 20-year period, Penner has worked with Wal-Mart in a number of capacities, including as senior vice president and chief financial officer in Japan and senior vice president of finance and strategy for walmart.com. Penner earned a B.S. in international economics from Georgetown University in 1992 and an MBA from Stanford University in 1997.

George PavlovCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERBayshore Global Management

George Pavlov is the CEO of Bayshore Global Management. Previously, he was a general partner at Tallwood Venture Capital from 2000 to 2015. Earlier in his career, Pavlov served as parter and chief financial officer at Mayfield Fund and Blum Capital Partners. Pavlov graduated from Boston College in 1985.

Thomas RicksCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERH&S Ventures

Thomas Ricks is the chief investment officer of H&S Ventures, a venture capital firm investing capital for the Samueli Family Office. Prior to taking this position, Ricks was CEO of The University of Texas Investment Management Company from March 1996 to May 2001. Ricks also served as vice chancellor for asset management for The University of Texas System from August 1992 through February 1996 and as executive director of finance and private investments from 1988 to 1992.

Trent MayCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER1888 Management

Trent May is the chief investment officer of 1888 Management, the family office founded by the Koch brothers, Charles Koch and David Koch. May joined 1888 Management in 2011 from Wyoming Retirement System, where he was the chief investment officer and steered the state pension's investments from public equity to hedge funds, including Bridgewater Associates and Moore Capital Management, during his tenure. At 1888, May focuses on the firm's direct investments. May received his MBA from Rollins College - Crummer Graduate School of Business.

TOP 30 FAMILY OFFICE INVESTORS

Michael LarsonCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERBill and Melinda Gates Investments (BMGI)

Michael Larson is the chief investment officer to William H. Gates III. He is responsible for all of Mr. Gates’ non-Microsoft investments as well as all of the investments of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. Mr. Larson has managed wealth for Mr. Gates since 1994.

Alice RuthCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERWillett Advisors

Alice Ruth is the chief investment officer at Willett Advisors, the family offices that invests the personal and philanthropic assets of Michael Bloomberg. Before joining Willett in 2008, Ruth was the cheif investment officer at Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation from 2001 to 2008. She graduated from Dartmouth College with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1984.

Chris OrndorffCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERVulcan Capital

Chris Orndorff has served as chief investment officer of Vulcan, Inc., the single-family office for Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, since June 2016. Orndorff has over 30 years of investment management and leadership experience. He spent roughly half of his career managing global equities and the other half managing global fixed income. He also has extensive experience in asset allocation. Orndorff holds a B.S. in finance from Miami University and an MBA in finance and international business from The University of Chicago. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Chuck ChaiCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERHillspire, LLC

Chuck Chai is the chief investment officer of Hillspire, LLC, a single-family office created in 2006 to manage the capital of Google co-founder Eric Schmidt. Previously, Chai served in the Treasury Department under the Obama Administration, was managing director and portfolio manager at Perry Capital and was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Chai holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard University and an MBA from Stanford University.

TOP 30 FAMILY OFFICE INVESTORS

Frederic MartelCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERClaridge

Frederic Martel is the chief investment officer at Claridge, which manages the wealth of the Charles Bronfman family. Prior to joining Claridge, Martel worked in the investment banking group at Desjardins Securities in Montreal. Martel oversees a large part of Claridge’s investment program as well as its asset mix and risk allocations. Martel started his career as a sales engineer at Nortel Networks in Canada and Europe before taking the job as a sales engineer at Wind River Systems. Frederic holds an MBA from McGill University and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.

Andrew EberhartCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERHeinz Family Office

Andrew Eberhart is the chief investment officer at Heinz Family Office, a prestigious single-family office located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Previously, Eberhart served as managing director at Lazard Freres & Co., managing partner at the Marshall Fund, managing director at Citigroup Private Bank and U.S. Trust and investment consultant at Cambridge Associates. Eberhart earned a B.A. in economics from Cornell University, actively served for more than a decade as a U.S. Navy aviator and then earned an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

William ScalzulliDIRECTOR OF INVESTMENTSThe Kraft Group

William Scalzulli has served as director of investments at The Kraft Group since March 1992. Scalzulli holds a B.S.B.A in finance from Northeastern University and an M.S. in investment management from Boston University.

Suzi Kwon CohenCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERMousse Partners Ltd.

Suzi Kwon Cohen is chief investment officer at Mousse Partners Limited, which manages the wealth for the Wertheimer family. Previously, Kwon Cohen was managing director at GIC for nine months, head of private equity in the Americas at Quandrangle group and principal at Credit Suisse Private Equity/DLJ Merchant Banking. Kwon Cohen holds an MBA from Stanford University and a B.A. in economics and comparative literature from Brown University.

TOP 30 FAMILY OFFICE INVESTORS

Melissa CheongCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERZoma Capital

Melissa Cheong is the chief investment officer at Zoma Capital, the private family office of Ben and Lucy Ana Walton. Zoma seeks to invest in a broad range of market-based sustainable solutions toward addressing environmental and social problems. Previously, Cheong was the chief investment officer at Treehouse Investments and managing director of direct investing and private credit at Imprint Capital Advisors, among other roles. Cheong holds an MBA from Columbia University and a B.A. in political science from The University of Chicago.

Bruce MaddingCEO & CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERCM Capital

Bruce Madding is the CEO and chief investment officer of C.M. Capital Corporation, which provides investment insight and opportunities to the Cha Family and the Cha Group's affiliated companies. The Cha Group began in 1949 with Dr. Cha Chi Ming’s creation of China Dyeing Works and now spans the globe with companies involved in textiles, manufacturing, real estate, technology and financial services. Previously, Madding was associated with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation for 22 years as senior vice president and CFO. Prior to Kaiser, he was a director and senior audit manager at Price Waterhouse & Company. Madding holds an MBA from the University of Southern California.

Scott EarthyMANAGING PARTNERFremont Group

Scott R. Earthy founded Fremont Private Holdings in 2012. He has more than fifteen years of experience making direct private investments in growing middle market companies using long-term family office capital. Prior to joining Fremont, Earthy was a managing director and a member of the investment committee at Ingleside Investors, a single-family investment office in New York. Earlier in his career, he sourced and executed direct investments on behalf of the Chicago-based Pritzker family and the Vancouver-based Armstrong family. Earthy holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen's University and an MBA from Stanford University.

John FisherPRESIDENTPisces, Inc.

John Fisher serves as president of Pisces, Inc., a single-family office established in 1992 to manage the wealth of the Fisher family, founders of the Gap clothing store. He holds an A.B. from Princeton University and an MBA from Stanford University.

TOP 30 FAMILY OFFICE INVESTORS

J.T. KingCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERNonami

As CIO, J.T. is responsible for the foundation and family investment portfolios of Nonami, the family office of Tom Cousins. This encompasses all aspects of investment selection and performance. One of the primary investment focuses of Nonami is to partner with exceptional management teams who have a clear vision for growth and a vested stake in the business. Nonami seeks to actively bring its relationships and resources to bear in achieving that vision.

Prior to joining Nonami, J.T. founded and managed a Julian Robertson backed credit hedge fund. He spent the first 11 years of his career at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette/Credit Suisse focused on leveraged finance and M&A advisory. He holds a BS from the University of North Carolina where he was a Morehead Scholar. J.T. is a board member for Brand Bank and a board observer for Savant Capital.

Clark ChengCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERMerrimac Corp.

Clark Cheng, CFA, FRM, joined Merrimac at the end of 2014 and is the chief investment officer. Prior to Merrimac, he was responsible for managing the hedge fund due diligence process in the Americas for HSBC’s Alternative Investment Group, which had $39B in hedge fund investments across both discretionary and advisory mandates. Before joining HSBC, Cheng performed hedge fund research at Guggenheim Partners and Morgan Stanley between 2002 and 2005. Before that, he worked at Credit Suisse First Boston’s equity research department in 2001 and spent six years building and establishing West Coast Economics. Cheng holds the Chartered Financial Analyst, Financial Risk Manager and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designations. He holds an MBA from Duke University and a B.A. in business/economics and psychology from UCLA. He has also completed his coursework towards his master's degree in psychology from California State University, Los Angeles.

TOP 30 FAMILY OFFICE INVESTORS

Asher NoorCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER & GROUP CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERAlTouq Group

Asher Noor is the Chief Investment Officer and Group CFO for AlTouq Group – a sophisticated Saudi Arabian family investment office and a sought after public speaker. Asher is based in Saudi Arabia for more than 14 years and has worked for PwC and Banque Saudi Fransi in the past. His last position was CFO for Morgan Stanley in Saudi Arabia. Asher is or has been on the board of many companies, in sectors as diverse as aviation, energy, financial services, infrastructure, information technology and telecom amongst others, representing AlTouq Group’s global investments. His achievements include taking a company public, executing the first equity swap on Saudi stock exchange, several M&A transactions, trade sale exits as well as financial restructuring and advisory roles for subsidiary companies. He is also the chairman of the leading MENA alternative investments asset manager in UAE. Asher is a gold medalist, qualified trust & estate practitioner, chartered accountant and recipient of Middle East CFO of the year 2014 award and runner-up award as the MENA Investor of the Year 2016. He holds family business advising certification from Family Firm Institute in USA and also on their faculty and editorial board. He is also an MBA in family business from EDHEC Business School, France as well as elected to the university’s global alumni board.

Alan ChangMANAGING DIRECTOR NORTHEAST ASIACapricorn Investment Group

Alan Chang is a partner and managing director at Capricorn Investment Group, an investment arm of Jeff Skoll’s family office. Chang is responsible for a multi-asset portfolio in Asia and other emerging markets as well as Capricorn’s global venture portfolio. Previously, Chang worked in early-stage venture investments at DFJ New England and was an analyst at Montgomery Securities. Chang holds a BSE from Duke University in electrical engineering, computer science and art history. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Dalibor PivcevicMANAGING PRINCIPALGraham Partners

Dalibor Pivcevic is the managing principal at Graham Partners. He joined the firm in 1993. He is responsible for sourcing and evaluating new investment opportunities as well as providing oversight for a number of Graham Partners’ current portfolio companies. Pivcevic earned his B.A. in business and MBA, both from Temple University.

TOP 30 FAMILY OFFICE INVESTORS

Scott SoffenVICE PRESIDENT & SENIOR INVESTMENT OFFICERAmerican Trading and Production Corporation (Atapco)

Scott Soffen is a senior investment officer at the American Trading and Production Corporation (Atapco), where he manages the corporation's non-real estate investments. Prior to this, he was a director at Calvert Education, an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore, a managing director of equity research at Legg Mason, the first vice president of equity research at Lehman Brothers and the vice president of equity research at Robert W. Baird. He has a B.A. in economics from Rutgers University and an MBA from New York University. He is also a CFA charter holder.

Robert TobinCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICERPersimmon Capital Partners

Robert Tobin is the chief investment officer at Persimmon Capital Partners. He leads the firm's private equity and alternative investment activities and also oversees the firm's overall portfolio allocation strategy. Before joining the firm in 2012, Tobin served as an investment professional at ABS Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on later-stage growth investments. He currently serves on the boards of multiple Persimmon's portfolio companies. Tobin received an MBA from Columbia Business School and a B.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

David BradleyPRESIDENTHuizenga Capital Management

David Bradley is the president of Huizenga Capital Management, a Chicago-based family office managing the wealth for the Huizenga family. Prior to joining the firm in 2000, Bradley had a successful career overseeing numerous successful private companies and was responsible for multiple operating businesses across industries in North America. He received a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Champaign and a Certificate in Portfolio Management from the University of Chicago.

TOP 30 FAMILY OFFICE INVESTORS

Stephen ChangCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER & MANAGING PARTNERLBCW Private Holdings

Stephen Chang is the cheif investment officer for LBCW Private Holdings, a suburban Philadelphia family office. He is also the founder and managing partner of Acrewood, which invests on behalf of successful, first-generation wealthy individuals, exclusively providing asset-backed principal participations with their peer group of established and serial entrepreneurs. Chang previously founded and sold two software concerns. He subsequently spent 13 years at Citigroup and Deutsche Bank/Bankers Trust, focusing on M&A, special situations and structured solutions. He serves on numerous boards including New Era Ltd, Elegantree Global Credit, Lafayette Homes and Akkadian Ventures. Chang received an AB cum laude in applied mathematics from Harvard University and an MBA in finance from the University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School.

Michael T. KaneCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER & MANAGING PARTNERKestrel Investments

Michael T. Kane is the founder and managing director of Kestrel Investments, a single-family office near Philadelphia. Previously, he served as vice president of finance for Kane Is Able, Inc., a third-generation family-owned logistics company. Kane holds an undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Georgetown University and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Boston College. He has also studied at Oxford University and Freiburg University in Germany.

Trusted Insight Exclusive Q&A With:

Asher Noor CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER & GROIP CFO, AlTouq Group

Asher Noor is the chief investment officer and group CFO for AlTouq Group – a sophisticated Saudi Arabian family investment office and a sought after public speaker. Asher has been based in Saudi Arabia for more than 14 years and has worked for PwC and Banque Saudi Fransi in the past. His last position was CFO for Morgan Stanley in Saudi Arabia. Asher is or has been on the board of many companies, in sectors as diverse as aviation, energy, financial services, infrastructure, information technology and telecom amongst

others, representing AlTouq Group’s global investments. His achievements include taking a company public, executing the first equity swap on Saudi stock exchange, several M&A transactions, trade sale exits as well as financial restructuring and advisory roles for subsidiary companies. He is also the chairman of the leading MENA alternative investments asset manager in the UAE.

Trusted Insight: To set the stage, tell us a bit about your career progression thus far. Asher Noor: Well, I started out by qualifying as a chartered accountant while working for four years at PwC in Pakistan. My first job thereafter was at Banque Saudi Fransi in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was a French JV bank, which was recruiting expertise, as the famous IAS 39 standard on financial instruments was being implemented. I worked on that and served the bank on several other major initiatives as well, including leading the bank in its Basel II implementation. My next job was as CFO for Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia. I helped secure the full bouquet of licenses from the Saudi Capital Market Authority for the bank, and executed the first equity swap on the exchange. After that, I joined AlTouq Group, which is where I now serve as the chief investment officer and group CFO.

Trusted Insight: How does working for a family office differ from your institutional experience? Asher Noor: Working for banks felt to be a very mechanized, impersonal process, and typically very hierarchical. While I cannot generalize for every family office, at least in most Middle Eastern family offices, it is much more personal and inclusive. Not every family member needs to be part of the process, but the key family stakeholders are committed to being a part of the investment decision-making process. For me, it actually helps, because in my banking days I could see that the front office did not really have their own skin in the game. They were just doing it as their job description. Here, in a family office, it is so real and personal that every dollar gained or lost is not merely a “client statement.” We all have skin in the game, and this is how it’s very tangible and different. Trusted Insight: You have been working with AlTouq Group for several years now. How would you describe this transition into the family office realm? Asher Noor: Gosh! Where do I start? I might not have their surname, but they have treated me like family from day one. Family offices, especially in our part of the world, are very choosy about who they hire, so I am incredibly grateful for having met their standards and hopefully continue to meet them. It was a leap of faith leaving my banking days and joining a single-family office. I also did not have the chance to benefit from the experience of anyone around at that time who had done something similar. Now, when I look back, I think it was a fantastically brave move, which was made equally rewarding, welcoming and fulfilling because I chose a very well-regarded family to work for. The first and second generation of the family have really built an unrivalled class act.

TRUSTED INSIGHT EXCLUSIVE Q&A WITH: ASHER NOOR

The transition into a family office environment felt awkward at first, because there was no bureaucracy and even less politics to deal with. What I found incredibly refreshing though, was that I could actually get things done without the proverbial “Chinese walls” at banks, which are only keeping red-tapism alive and porous otherwise.

Trusted Insight: Does the family take an active interest in the investment process?Asher Noor: The AlTouq family is very much part of the actual investment decision making process themselves. As the chief investment officer, I report to the Investment Committee, which is very active, chaired by the patriarch, Sheikh Ibrahim AlTouq. We have family members from the first and second generation, including the second generation CEO Mr. AbdulMohsen AlTouq, who are part of the Investment Committee. The family’s investments are very important to them, so together we invest our time in analyzing the deal flows that come our way and deciding when to invest, where to invest and how much to invest. Post investment review and eventual exits are equally well debated in our Investment Committee meetings.

Trusted Insight: AlTouq Group is one of the most sophisticated single-family offices in the Middle East. What differentiates you from other single-family offices? Asher Noor: AlTouq Group is, as you rightly said, a sophisticated single-family office. It is focused on investing the patriarch’s investable net worth in both traditional and alternative asset classes on a proprietary basis. What differentiates us from many other family offices in the region is that we are principally a financial investor. We do have stakes in operating companies, but we are not necessarily operators. We do have board seats and help steer the strategy, but we are not necessarily the management. Essentially, we are very good as a global financial investor, where the focus is on steady and healthy dividend yield or distributions as well as profitable capital gain exits in due course. While this model of passive financial investment in direct deals as well as funds may have its challenges, if structured right with good convictions, it plays out very well, and that’s what differentiates us from others.

Trusted Insight: Do you collaborate with other single-family offices?Asher Noor: The answer is both yes and no. The reason the AlTouq Group is a single-family office is because it wants to be a single-family office. We, and many other family offices, may end up doing club deals at times, but this is not necessarily the primary strategy. All the owners of these single-family offices out here, may know each other; from past business deals, common friendship circles or even inter-marriages. So they may thus end up piggybacking on the due diligence of others, and that’s how one may end up with a club structure, but it’s not really the same as becoming a multi-family office. Being a single-family office gives you tremendous flexibility – which we all possibly yearn for.

Trusted Insight: In terms of co-investment strategy, can you explain to me some of the opportunities and challenges of co-investing? Asher Noor: You can park your money into any number of blind pool investment funds, which is how family offices usually start. However, when the family offices become more sophisticated they crave for greater control and visibility over their investments. Co- investing has the incentive of improving returns, bringing the LP closer to the GP as well as getting them more access to information and the specific underlying asset. The obvious advantages of lower costs and a shorter J-Curve adds even more sparkle for LPs. When GPs are maxed out in terms of their allowed allocation, co-investment allows skirting this, and it’s both good and something to be wary of. It would be fair to say co-investing is not as easy as it looks as well. In any case, I view it positively where GPs are able to offer co-investment opportunities to their LPs.

Trusted Insight: Are you investing in emerging markets? Asher Noor: We invest in most sectors and geographies, including emerging markets when we feel the time is right -- but we are far from generalists. I do not subscribe to the idea of putting your money in every asset class and every geography, and hoping for a home run in at least some of those allocations. While my gripe with emerging markets remains that it is yet to be accurately defined, anybody excluding them from their portfolio allocation would definitely be shortchanging their returns in the years to come.

TRUSTED INSIGHT EXCLUSIVE Q&A WITH: ASHER NOOR

Trusted Insight: Do you see venture capital as a viable source of returns, given the current valuations?Asher Noor: Historically, we have not been an active investor in venture capital, however, clearly right now it would be naïve to overlook VC. If we are to only look at this space from an accountant point of view, justifying the valuations is next to impossible. However, as a chief investment officer, you have to look at it more holistically. Even if valuations are high, if someone is willing to buy it at a higher price, then that’s what it’s all about – ability to exit at an even higher valuation. Venture capital is therefore something that we are looking at right now, and we have started allocating to as well. Nonetheless, in the current portfolio mix, VC is still a very insignificant, minority and possibly an opportunistic bet for us.

Trusted Insight: Do you see overvaluations as an issue in real estate too? Asher Noor: We do allocate substantially to direct and real estate funds, but from a valuation aspect, yes, there are some concerns in real estate. However, there are so many different shades of assets and strategies within real estate that there are always good opportunities around. Between buyer demand and economic fundamentals specific to the region in focus, it is actually quite easy to determine if it’s a bubble or an opportunity. Wherever I see investor speculation driving up prices instead of income growth or traditional home buying, I try to determine the role of the regulator. I don’t expect them to be very good at curbing overvaluation, but as long as they are doing something, it is a more comforting situation than places where the regulators are still oblivious or frozen in time.

Trusted Insight: What is the recipe for the portfolio success of AlTouq?Asher Noor: I doubt if the recipe should be public knowledge. However, I think there are a few things that AlTouq Group, under the able command of our CEO, Mr. AbdulMohsen AlTouq, has clearly gotten right that others might not consider as important in their quest for alpha. Our CEO believes in hiring and retaining the right and best talent. So the recruitment process might be onerous and a challenge but then we end up with zero churn once we onboard staff. We have the ability to not only know the difference between absolute and relative returns, but also the intelligence to know that we cannot eat relative returns. So our goal is mostly to find absolute return-worthy managers and products. This focus also naturally helps rein in low-volatility within the portfolio to some extent. But I would like to qualify that nonetheless by saying that in the low-return environment, successful portfolio management requires embedding more humility and patience too. We really do take the four letter word – “risk” – very seriously.

We also spend a lot of time crystal ball gazing. That is a phenomenal exercise that has truly kept us ahead of the curve. But at the end of the day we live and breathe and invest in the same ecosystem as everyone else. Finding and working with the right managers is half the battle won. Unfortunately, finding those rare managers is not everybody’s forte or cup of tea. Trusted Insight: Could you elaborate a bit more on your risk management process? Asher Noor: What is benign or enticing today might be risky or toxic a few years down the road. This is what I mean when I say we do a lot of crystal ball gazing. Surely I don’t sit around a ball all day for insights. I read, travel, meet managers, source out conflicting views – and then I and our other investment committee members, having gone through the same within their own networks, distill our takeaways, especially focusing on where we think the market is being naïve. We do not necessarily have to agree, but our discussions at the investment committee level are really fruitful when we eventually allocate capital, because only we know our portfolio mix and thus are able to discern trends and its implications on our portfolio.

Coming back to risk management, I guess there are four ways of tackling risk embedded in any financial portfolio or investment. These are to (i) accept it, (ii) transfer it, (iii) reduce it or (iv) eliminate it. We don’t think anyone can truly eliminate risk, so we put our effort into simply focusing on the first three. So, from things as simple as the implications of signing an NDA to swings in public equity or currency markets impacting our valuations, we work on the premise that tail risks are no longer few and far between. We give equal weightage to all potential red flags and, most importantly, we put in extra hours on mitigating counterparty risk as much as we can. Historically, we have been shielded from a lot of market risk simply because of our due diligence and protectionist measures in curtailing counterparty risk. Surprisingly, many put in measure to battle “black swans” while ignoring the “neon swans” staring them in the face.

TRUSTED INSIGHT EXCLUSIVE Q&A WITH: ASHER NOOR

Trusted Insight: How do you go about selecting your managers? Asher Noor: The reality is that we are fortunate to already have a good roster of credible managers with whom we have spent decades. But if you ask me about embracing new managers, I would definitely like to understand their track record and hard numbers performance. More crucial, however, is discovering their commitment and ability to let the relationship blossom over an extended period of time instead of pushing us into a business relationship from meeting number one. In the part of the world I live in, it’s all based around personal relationships before the business relationships happen. It’s not about going on holiday together. It’s about knowing each other’s successes and failures, desires and vision and the passion to build a mutually productive and lasting relationship. Trusted Insight: Is there something you think in the investable universe that people are not giving due attention to? Asher Noor: Within the investable universe, some of us work in corporates, others in endowments, family offices, financial service industry and elsewhere. The one common thread amongst it all is that we are always chasing alpha. We are always looking for the “home run” deal. We are trying to make money out of money or putting money to good use or parking it for an unknown future. But some of the real winners in this game are the ones who have stepped off the treadmill. They are not chasing anything. It has nothing to do with their net worth or AUM. What they have achieved is the ability to curb their enthusiasm and say no, even if the economics of the deal appear juicy, but it is not something their portfolio needs. They have instilled discipline in their investment strategy. I am seeing many going too fast, too soon. Discipline within investing is not some warm, fluffy, philosophical abstract. Discipline is the key to a stable portfolio. Clearly, not everyone is giving this the due attention that it merits. Trusted Insight: You recently completed your MBA in family business from EDHEC Business School in France. How does that tie in with your role as the chief investment officer at a family office? Asher Noor: This is a fantastic question at this juncture of our conversation. My CIO and CFO hats are my job description and I spend my majority of time on them. However, if I were to step back and determine who I serve, obviously I serve a family and so does everyone else, regardless of which corporate entity they work for. At the helm is always a family or a group of families. This pioneering EDHEC Business School MBA in family business provided me with unrivalled access to not just academic learning, but also brought me in contact with next generation family members. They ended up becoming not just my class fellows, but lifelong friends from varied continents all around. Talking to them and the classroom lectures opened up new vistas for me, such as issues in governance and succession planning, which are equally crucial while playing the daily roulette of capital preservation versus capital appreciation in the financial markets. I am really appreciative of my CEO who encouraged me in this endeavor. The learnings are so crucial to the otherwise cut-throat role of a CIO that I would really encourage others to arm themselves with this wisdom as well, if possible. That’s where the chance to not just stand apart from the crowd lies, but also gives one the ability to see and serve the family in a more meaningful manner. Trusted Insight: Is there anything I failed to ask that you would like to highlight in general? Asher Noor: Let me follow up on my “neon swan” comment earlier. Some CIOs are asleep at the wheel and missing the neon swans all around them. In the investable world, products and strategies are changing at an unbelievable speed. Just as the private banking model is suffering because it was not receptive to change, I believe that the CIO’s of today will need to get out of their comfort zone. Allocating capital to managers and harping on diversification mantra, while simply rebalancing from one sector or geography to another is no longer the hallmark of active or profitable investing. The future of investments may well be in pure play with some of the unicorns of today, that many are loathe to add to their portfolio as being too exotic or risky.

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