Hilton Foundation CIO Randy Kim Exits

Kim—who spent a decade under David Swensen at Yale’s endowment—split with Hilton Friday, CIO has learned.

35_aiCIO1212_ClassHilton_JKimmelConrad N. Hilton Foundation investment chief Randy Kim has exited the organization after nearly eight years. 

Kim, when reached by CIO for confirmation, said he resigned Friday but declined to comment further. 

The foundation had removed Kim from its website’s staff listing as of late Friday, but a spokesperson did not respond to request for comment by time of press. 

Kim’s 18-year career as an asset owner spans only two institutions. He joined Los Angeles-based Hilton in July 2008, following a decade at the Yale University Investments Office. 

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He began working under Yale CIO David Swensen in 1998, shortly after graduating from the Ivy League school with a BA. 

“I will forever be grateful to David, Dean [Takahashi], and the rest of my former Yale Investments Office colleagues for 10 years of invaluable investment training and personal mentorship,” he said in a 2011 update on endowment alumni

Another Yale alum—Jay Kang—joined Kim at the Hilton Foundation, serving as his deputy until last year. Kang joined Stanford’s endowment as one of CEO Rob Wallace’s first hires when he rebuilt the team

Kim’s departure leaves an investment staff of seven at Hilton. The group managed $5.3 billion at the close of 2015, according to the nonprofit, including $2.6 billion in foundation assets and $2.7 billion from related charities. 

Kim earned $972,523 in 2014, Hilton reported, making him the foundation’s best-paid employee by far. 

The non-profit has not yet announced a replacement or search plan for a new CIO.

Related:The Stanford Endowment Experiment

Harvard Endowment Downsizes In-House Equities Team

The $37.6 billion fund has cut a number of positions from the public equity group in favor of hiring external managers.

The Harvard Management Company (HMC) is downsizing its internal equities platform.

The $37.6 billion endowment has removed positions in its public equities trading group, a person familiar with the matter confirmed.

HMC eliminated eight roles last week, according to Bloomberg.

“We continuously evaluate how we can best allocate capital and leverage HMC’s comparative advantages to maximize performance over the long term,” the endowment’s spokesperson told CIO.

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HMC will pursue more relationships with external managers, the insider said, in addition to cutting staff positions.

 

The in-house team will redirect its focus to optimal beta management, for better target portfolio completion, rebalancing, and hedging, the source continued. The group will also aim to make more highly selective equity allocations.

 

 

A blend of internal and external investors manage Harvard’s public equities. The asset class returned 2.9% for the 2015 fiscal year, according to the annual report. 

 

“Our hybrid portfolio consists of the best managers, whether internal or external to HMC, who are capable of delivering outperformance and strong investment returns through a diverse set of strategies across a broad range of market conditions,” CEO Stephen Blyth wrote in the 2015 report.

The endowment has seen a number of high-profile exits since Blyth began restructuring the fund’s asset allocation and investment decision-making processes.

Last November, Vice President for Sustainable Investing Jameela Pedicini left to join outsourced-CIO Perella Weinberg. Head of Natural Resources Investments Alvaro Aguirre-Simunovic stepped down in September nearly 12 years with the fund.

Related: Harvard VP Leaves for Perella Weinberg’s OCIO; Another Leader Exits Harvard Endowment; Harvard Has a Cold

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