meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Kim Lew – The Carnegie Way (Capital Allocators, EP.52)

Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Ted Seides – Allocator and Asset Management Expert

Investing, Capitalallocation, Business

4.8806 Ratings

🗓️ 14 May 2018

⏱️ 73 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Kim Lew is the Vice President and CIO of Carnegie Corporation, where she is responsible for the investment and oversight of the Corporation’s $3.5 billion Foundation. Kim joined Carnegie in 2007 after spending a dozen years at the Ford Foundation. She is also a Trustee of Ariel Investments, the Board Chair of the Stevens Cooperative Schools, and a member of the investment committees of the Girl Scouts of America and the ACLU, and the steering committee of the Private Equity Women Investor Network. Last year, Institutional Investor awarded her Endowment & Foundation CIO of the year.

 

Our conversation covers the American dream story of Kim’s parents, Kim’s path to picking technology stocks and venture capital managers at Ford Foundation, two very different models of successful Foundation investing, blow-by-blow of the creation of an atypical Co-CIO seat at Carnegie, responsibilities that CIOs hate, idiosyncratic investments, committee meetings that foster long-term thinking, evolution of a farm team of managers, risk-taking in investing and life, and what to do when you turn 50 years old.

 

Learn More

Join Ted's mailing list at CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com

Write a review on iTunes

Follow Ted on twitter at @tseides

For more episodes go to CapitalAllocatorsPodcast.com/Podcast

 

Show Notes

1:52 – A look at Kim’s background

4:03 – How did her family life impact her schooling

5:26 – Was there anything in her upbringing that drew her to business

6:18 – First job out of college

7:15 – Heading to Harvard Business School

8:42 – The move to Prudential

9:48 – Her time at Ford Foundation

17:35 – Move to venture funds at Ford

18:20 – Comparing the job of sourcing managers then to today

20:27 – Kim’s move to Carnegie

22:42 – How the investment thinking was different at Carnegie

26:32 – How did their thinking on investing play out in individual decisions

27:55 – The decision to have Co-CIO’s

34:22 – Worst parts of being a CIO

37:13 – An outside responsibility that has been helpful to Kim’s career

38:56 – How the thinking on an investment committee for a pension can be different

40:05 – Stepping into the sole CIO role

41:06 – Imparting your influence on investment decisions when you are less in the weeds

41:42 – Carnegie's investment strategy

46:38 – Implementation

56:59 – Taking risks vs being smart with your capital

1:01:36 – 50 things she had never done before

1:05:42 – Closing questions

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Capital Allocators is brought to you by Ten East, an investment platform for sophisticated investors to access private markets.

0:10.5

Ten East brings benefits of having your own family office without the cost and headaches of doing so.

0:16.8

It's founded and led by Michael LaFelle, former deputy executive managing member of Davidson Kempner.

0:24.2

Michael and his investment team offer members the opportunity to co-invest by offering at their

0:29.1

discretion. Michael and his team source, diligence, and commit material personal capital to each

0:35.3

investment. The opportunities shared on the Ten East platform

0:38.9

offer exposure to private credit, real estate, niche venture and private equity, and other

0:44.5

idiosyncratic investments that typically aren't available through traditional channels.

0:49.2

The principles have over a decade track record of investing in these types of exposures

0:53.5

across more than 350

0:55.7

transactions. Post-investment, the Tennis team conducts ongoing monitoring and reporting,

1:01.8

just as you'd expect from an institutional investment organization. I've known Michael for about a

1:07.0

decade, and after becoming impressed by the quality of 10 East offerings, its research

1:11.6

process, and high-quality investment team, I became an advisor to the organization, an investor

1:17.1

in multiple offerings. You can learn more and join me as a member at 10-east.com. That's the number 10,

1:25.4

east.co.O.

1:33.4

Capital Allocators is also brought to you by SRS Aquium.

1:37.2

Want to make sure your M&A processes aren't stuck in the past?

1:43.6

How about partnering with a company that's been defining the future of dealmaking for nearly two decades instead?

1:46.0

When it comes to M&A innovation,

1:52.7

SRS Aquium has reshaped the way deals get done more than anyone else, streamlining processes for maximum efficiency and minimum headaches. Professional shareholder representation, online

1:59.2

M&A payments, digital stockholder solicitation,

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ted Seides – Allocator and Asset Management Expert, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ted Seides – Allocator and Asset Management Expert and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.