Separating the noise and hype from strategic asset allocation strategies is essential when running a $1BN endowment portfolio. Inflation concerns, innovation strategies, regulation, the AI bubble debate, and more always seem to be top of mind. Join us as we welcome our next guest to the Improving Alpha podcast, Geeta Kapadia, CIO at Fordham University, as she shares her background and approach to enhancing Fordham's endowment performance. This podcast is not to be missed.
Michael Oliver Weinberg, co-founder, Improving Alpha Podcast Series
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Evaluating all the investment pieces in a modern-day endowment portfolio requires a keen eye. You might have capital demands pouring in from the university to improve campus buildings, student education opportunities and equipment, professor salaries, and more. Today, these demands are then multiplied by concerns over inflation, regulation, and, in the case of our next guest, adhering to Jesuit principles, that have been mandated by the Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In our latest episode of the Improving Alpha podcast, we welcome Geeta Kapadia, CFA, Vice President and CIO, Fordham University. Geeta brings +13 years of experience heading up the investment office at Yale New Haven Medical Center before landing at Fordham University. Across its multiple locations, Fordham is home to over 17,000 students and $1BN in AUM. In this discussion with host Michael Oliver Weinberg, Geeta highlights the following key ideas that she’s paying attention to in managing Fordham’s portfolio and ways that she is separating the noise and hype from actionable investment ideas:
- How are inflation pressures managed today by the endowment, and what is the impact on future university spending?
- Given the breakneck speed of innovation in endowments, how is Fordham providing opportunities for students, the community surrounding their campuses, and their overall legacy?
- In contrast to our last episode entry with Aswath Damodaran, what does Geeta think of ESG in the endowment setting, and why is she proud of the Bronx Green Jobs Center?
- In terms of technology and AI, how is Fordham’s endowment leveraging technology and interacting with others in the endowment space to develop best practices not only in their investing process but also in running their jobs more efficiently?
- What are the ramifications of not having a sounding board to bounce investment ideas and other thoughts off in the endowment space?
- What is the likelihood of major endowments moving into the position of being sellers in private market assets, and what does Geeta really think of the democratization of alternatives?
- And more.
About Geeta M. Kapadia, CFA
Fordham University
Geeta M. Kapadia, CFA, is a global institutional investment leader and strategist with success advising on, developing, and implementing sophisticated investment portfolios. She is the Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at Fordham University, where she is responsible for all aspects of managing the endowment of $1 billion in assets. For over thirteen years prior to joining Fordham in August 2022, she was the Associate Treasurer of Investments at Yale New Haven Health System, where she led the team responsible for assets of approximately $5.5 billion.
Prior to joining Yale New Haven Health, Ms. Kapadia served as Senior Investment Consultant for Mercer Investment Consulting in the United Kingdom, where she provided strategic investment advice to institutional investors and was responsible for heading up specific research into asset classes. Before Mercer, she served as Investment Analyst and Director of Marketing at Capital Metrics & Risk Solutions in Pune, India. Early in her career, Ms. Kapadia worked in a clinical setting at an academic medical center as part of a research team conducting phase one chemotherapy studies. While she found the work tremendously rewarding, she decided to leverage her undergraduate degree in mathematics and started her investment profession as an investment analyst at Stratford Advisory Group in Chicago, where she rose to consultant, leading institutional investor relationships and heading up asset class research.
Ms. Kapadia holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago and a master's degree in financial markets and trading from the Illinois Institute of Technology. She is a CFA charterholder and holds the UK’s Investment Management Certificate. She is a member of the CFA Institute, the CFA Society of New York, and 100 Women in Finance. In 2019, she was named one of the Top 30 Healthcare Chief Investment Officers Investing by Trusted Insight. She is the President of the Board of Chester County Family Academy, a Board of Trustees and Finance Committee member for the Memorial Library of Radnor Township, and a board member of the FINRA Investor Issues Committee.
About Our Host: Michael Oliver Weinberg, CFA
For three decades Michael has invested directly at the security level and indirectly as an asset allocator in traditional and alternative asset classes. Most recently he was a Managing Director, Head of Alternative Alpha, on the Investment Committee, and a board member at APG, a Dutch pension provider. Previously he was the Chief Investment Officer at MOV37 and Protege Partners. Michael is also an Adjunct Professor of Economics and Finance at Columbia Business School, where he teaches Institutional Investing, an advanced MBA course that he created.
Michael is a published author, having written for The New York Times, international investment books, and other publications. Michael has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, CNBC, Bloomberg and Reuters. He is a frequent panelist, moderator and lecturer for investment banks, institutional and family office organizations, and business schools.
The information covered and posted represents the views and opinions of the guest and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Vidrio Financial, and/or our host, Michael Oliver Weinberg. The Content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional investing advice. Always seek the advice of your financial advisor or other qualified financial service provider with any questions you may have regarding your investment planning.
