(Bloomberg) — It’s easy to call Kim Lew a pathbreaker.
Her journey has taken her from Harlem to Harvard University — and now back to the Ivy League, this time as chief executive officer of Columbia University’s endowment, valued at about $13.5 billion. That post makes Lew, 54, part of an elite club of three women that oversee funds at the Ivies.
Born in Harlem to a Chinese father and an African-American mother who were teenagers at the time, Lew was raised in the Bronx. She landed a spot at Bronx High School of Science, one of New York’s top public schools, and then attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. It was a world away from her home.
“I didn’t just grow up in the Bronx, I grew up in the housing projects in the Bronx,” Lew said in a television interview on “Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein.” “And there were very few people that went to college, let alone a college like Penn.”
After abandoning plans to be an accountant, she entered the credit training program at Chemical Bank, went to Harvard Business School and ended up in nonprofits. Her posts included helping lead private-equity investments at the Ford Foundation and becoming chief investment officer of Carnegie Corp. of New York.
In November, she moved to Columbia, taking over an investment office still smarting from the 2016 departure of N.P. “Narv” Narvekar, who led the school to some of its best returns and now runs Harvard’s endowment. Lew’s task will be to restore Columbia’s performance, a goal with urgency given that the fund returned 5.5% in the year ended June 2020 — ranking it sixth out of the eight Ivies.
Lew’s interview with Rubenstein has been edited and condensed. It’s being broadcast Tuesday at 9 p.m. New York time.
Q: As you look at the investment environment, what makes you the most nervous? The most optimistic?
A: I’m most optimistic about technology. It’s solving so many of the world’s problems. I do believe that we’re going see solutions to the climate issue. The biotech field is awash with wonderful opportunities and brilliant people solving problems. I’m most pessimistic about so many large world problems that are not things that we as investors can predict the outcomes of. And since we can’t predict the outcomes of these sort of big, global, geopolitical issues, we’re trying to invest around them and trying to hedge as best we can.
Q: When you went to Wharton, did you say: These people are pretty smart, they have better backgrounds than I do, they’re wealthier?
A: It is much more apparent and much more challenging for students who come from poor backgrounds now than when I was there. The wealthis conspicuous now in a way that wasn’t the case back then.
Q: In rising to be head of Columbia’s endowment, was the rise up hurt more by the fact that you’re a woman or a person of color? Or did it not affect you at all?
A: There are many challenges for women and people of color to get opportunities in this space, because it tends to be relationship driven and network driven. And obviously — especially someone like me, who’s come from a background where I didn’t know anybody growing up that had relationships in this area — your name is not as well known or you’re not as easily identified as others would be.
Q: What do you look for when you’re hiring managers?
A: I start with their strategy. Is their strategy unique? Does it offer the opportunity for them to make outsized returns? Then I look at their organization. Have they created and built an organization that supports their strategy and makes sense? Then I look at their alignment. Are they aligned with this institution and are they treating us as partners? Do they have high integrity? And are they thinking about the long term in the same way that we’re thinking about it?
Q: Sometimes alums and others say universities should disengage and not invest in oil or gas or other kinds of things that are socially controversial. How do you deal with those issues?
A: It is very important for the investment arm of any institution to be aligned with the values of an institution. On the other hand, as a chief executive officer of the endowment, I want to have as few restrictions as I possibly can because my principal goal is the return. But I don’t think that we can do that at the expense of values. And so Columbia has been very clear that they have a value around sustainability.
Q: What is the best investment advice you’ve ever received?
A: It’s the fact that we are in the business of taking risk. If you want to produce returns, you have to be willing to take risk and analyze and mitigate that risk the best you can. And to make sure that the return potential of an investment is equal to the risk. But you can’t avoid risk.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
