Richard Chau Named Tulane CIO | Chief Investment Officer

Tulane University has promoted Richard Chau to the position of chief investment officer to oversee the school’s investment management office, which runs the university’s $1.4 billion endowment and related long-term investment assets.

Chau succeeds former CIO Jeremy Crigler, who retired last September. Prior to being named interim CIO last fall, Chau, who joined Tulane’s endowment office in 2013, was responsible for building and managing the private equity and real assets portfolios. His work included adding investment managers specializing in venture capital, growth equity, buyouts, distressed, energy and real estate, as well as expanding the endowment’s international exposure, particularly in Asia. He also contributed to the endowment’s investment strategy and policy, asset allocation, portfolio construction, reporting, risk management, cash planning, and liquidity management.

“I’m pleased that Richard will be assuming the permanent CIO position, and I look forward to working with him and his team on furthering the remarkable momentum of our great university,” Patrick Norton, Tulane’s senior vice president and chief operating officer (COO), said in a statement. “Our 10-year endowment performance has consistently been in the top quartile of all universities in the country, and Richard has played a large part in that success.”

Before joining Tulane, Chau was a vice president at Bessemer Trust, where he helped manage multi-billion-dollar private equity and venture capital portfolios. And prior to Bessemer Trust, Chau worked for the $7 billion Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, where he focused on private equity and asset allocation. He was also an investment banking associate in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) group at investment bank Houlihan Lokey.

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Chau takes over a $1.1 billion pooled policy portfolio that has outperformed its benchmark over the past one, three, five and 10 years, according to the endowment’s most recent annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30. The portfolio is heavily weighted toward alternative investments, with 27.5% of its assets allocated to marketable alternatives, with another 20% in private equity, and 10% in private real assets.

“I am honored and excited to lead a great team at the investment office to help advance the university’s mission and priorities,” Chau said. “I’m grateful to our retired CIO, Jeremy Crigler, for the years of mentorship and invaluable lessons that I’ll use in my new role as CIO.”

Chau earned a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree in economics and Chinese from Williams College.

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Tags: Bessemer Trust, chief investment officers, Endowments, Jeremy Crigler, Mellon Foundation, Richard Chau, Tulane University

The $247.7 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) committed more than $1.3 billion in new investments in March, nearly half of which was allocated to real estate funds, with the remainder going toward investments in fixed income, private equity, credit, and its Emerging Manager Program.

The pension fund committed $650 million to real estate funds, including $300 million to the LaSalle Property Fund, an open-ended fund structure that acquires and manages a diversified portfolio of core real estate; and $200 million to Oaktree Real Estate Opportunities Fund VIII, which focuses on opportunistic real estate debt and equity investments. Although the pension fund has an existing relationship with Oaktree Capital Management, it is a new relationship for the fund’s real estate team.

The pension fund also committed $150 million to the Kayne Anderson Real Estate Partners VI fund, a closed-end fund that will invest in alternative real estate sectors with “favorable demographic patterns,” such as health care-related real estate and student housing. As with Oaktree, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors already has a relationship with the pension fund, but this is the first time it has worked with the real estate unit.

Another $260 million was committed as part of the pension fund’s Emerging Manager Program, which was established to invest in newer, smaller, and more diverse investment management firms. The lion’s share, or $250 million of that amount, was committed to an Avance Investment Management fund that will pursue buyout transactions in the US lower middle market targeting the consumer and services industries. The remaining $10 million is earmarked for the Roxborough Fund III, a closed-end, commingled investment vehicle sponsored by The Roxborough Group that will focus on value-add multifamily, office, industrial, and distressed hospitality investments.

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Both Avance Investment Management and the Roxborough Group represent new relationships for the pension fund.

An additional $250 million was committed to New Century Advisors under the pension fund’s fixed-income portfolio. The investment was revised from a 100% Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) portfolio to 50% Treasurys and 50% TIPS.

As part of the pension fund’s credit portfolio, €100 million ($121.4 million) was committed to Blantyre Capital Ltd – Madison Square Fund II, LP which will invest in stressed and distressed corporate financing opportunities, non-distressed companies requiring complex capital structure solutions, and other credit-oriented special-situations investments in the European lower middle market.

And the fund committed a total of $48 million of investments within its private equity portfolio, $38 million of which will target China-related investments. The fund set aside $25 million for the Boyu Capital Fund V, which will pursue minority growth and growth buyout investments primarily in China, and $5 million in the Boyu Capital Growth Fund I, which will seek out minority growth and growth buyout investments mainly in China.

The pension also committed nearly $4.9 million to the 5Y Capital Growth Fund I, which will make investments in mid- to late-stage venture opportunities in China. Close to $3.3 million has been earmarked for the 5Y Capital Evolution Fund II, which will make early stage venture investments in China.

The remaining $10 million in credit investments went to the Viola Ventures VI, through the Hamilton Lane/NYSCRF Israel Fund, which will make early stage venture investments in the technology industry.