Episode summary
Trevor Graham on Becoming Co-CIO at TIFF
Dakota Live!
· · 1 hr 5 min · Hosts: Robert Morier · Guests: Trevor Graham
Summary
Trevor Graham explains how TIFF Investment Management is navigating a planned leadership transition in real time as he steps in as co-CIO alongside Jay Willoughby. He argues that a long handoff is valuable because it preserves continuity, protects the firm’s first principles, and gives other senior leaders room to grow, citing Brad Calder as an example of that next layer of development.
The conversation also lays out TIFF’s investment philosophy: focus on client objectives, portfolio construction, and manager selection rather than simply chasing historical returns. Trevor says the firm looks for structural advantages, strong alignment, and strategic value from each manager, while avoiding the temptation to become a “collector of managers.” He emphasizes that portfolio design is especially important for nonprofits because the hardest moments to stick with a plan often arrive when abandoning it would be most damaging.
He also discusses hedge funds, private equity, and AI-related investing. Trevor says TIFF sees selective opportunity in hedge funds as a diversifier and still believes in an illiquidity premium in private markets, though competition has intensified. On AI, he cautions against paying for obvious winners without understanding where value will ultimately accrue, and says TIFF is using AI internally to save time and improve productivity.
Key takeaways
- Trevor Graham says TIFF’s long co-CIO transition with Jay Willoughby is designed to preserve continuity rather than force abrupt change.
- Trevor says the firm underweights historical returns in favor of structural edge, alignment, and whether a manager adds strategic value to the portfolio.
- Trevor argues that portfolio construction matters most when markets are stressful, because investors are most likely to abandon a good plan at the wrong time.
- Trevor says TIFF will invest with emerging managers on day one if the opportunity is compelling and the economics compensate for the extra business risk.
- Trevor says hedge funds remain useful as a true diversifier at TIFF, with portfolio beta kept around 0.25 to 0.3 and exposure held near current levels.
- Trevor says AI should be approached carefully in private markets because the biggest value creation may accrue to different parts of the chain than many investors expect.
Notable quotes
“I think Tiff's lucky. I think our clients are lucky that that Jay has agreed to a a sort of a lengthy transition process”
“The the key issue here is and every client is a little different. They have they have different um objectives slightly uh and they have different risk tolerances”
“the temptation to deviate from the plan. It will always be highest when when doing so is the worst decision”
“I do think there is an illquidity premium in in private investments. Um, but it's not, you know, it's it's not a sure thing”
“we are very careful about limiting how much equity beta equity exposure, residual long equity exposure is is resident in that portfolio”
How the episode opens
Welcome to the Dakota Live podcast. I'm your host, Robert Morier. The goal of this podcast is to help you better know the people behind investment decisions.
We introduce you to chief investment officers, manager research professionals, and other industry leaders to help you sell in between the lines and better understand the investment sales ecosystem. If you're not familiar with Dakota and our Dakota live content, please visit our website at dakota.com. Before we get started, I need to read a brief disclosure.
This content is provided forformational purposes and should not be relied upon as recommendations or advice about investing in securities. All investments involve risk and may lose money. Dakota does not guarantee the accuracy of any of the information provided by the speaker who is not affiliated with Dakota.
Not a solicitation, testimonial, or an endorsement by Dakota or its affiliates. Nothing herein is intended to indicate approval, support, or recommendation of the investment adviser or its supervised persons by Dakota. Today's episode is brought to you by Dakota Marketplace.
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Our guest today is Trevor Graham, co-chief investment officer of TIFF Investment Management. In this role, Trevor co-leads TIFF's investment strategy, asset allocation, manager selection, and portfolio construction alongside co-CIO Jay Willoughby, helping to guide client portfolios in support of long-term objectives.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- cios succession planning
- ocio diligence process
- advisory board sourcing
- private markets portfolio construction
- ai and technology for clients
Companies and tickers mentioned
- TIFF Investment Management
- MacArthur Foundation
- Rockefeller Foundation
Watch the episode
Watch “Trevor Graham on Becoming Co-CIO at TIFF” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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Dakota Live!, this episode and its artwork belong to Robert Morier. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
