E179: How UCLA's Endowment Wins in Private Equity w/Deputy CIO Michael Marvelli
Michael Marvelli leads the private markets strategy at the UCLA Investment Company, managing a portfolio that spans private equity, real estate, and real assets. But his route to institutional investing wasn’t linear. Before UCLA, he spent time at Prudential and The Irvine Company in real estate and mortgage finance, and even helped launch a venture-backed startup as COO and CFO. That operating experience gives him a unique lens when evaluating managers today. In this episode, we talk about how UCLA builds conviction in lower-middle-market GPs, how they manage dry powder and fund pacing, and what it was like spinning out UCLA’s investment office into an independent entity.
Highlights:
- The origins of the UCLA Investment Company
- What it took to build the team, processes, and governance from scratch
- Why UCLA is drawn to undercapitalized and underfollowed private equity managers
- How real estate and real assets fit into a long-term endowment portfolio
- The importance of downside protection and flexible pacing in private markets
- How being a startup COO informs his view on GP talent, decision-making, and alignment
- What he looks for in truly “great” allocators and investors
-- Guest Bio: Michael Marvelli is the Deputy Chief Investment Officer of the UCLA Investment Company, where he leads the firm’s private markets strategy, overseeing private equity, real estate, real assets, and credit. He joined UCLA in 2003 and played a key role in the 2011 launch of the UCLA Investment Company.
Before joining UCLA, Michael worked in real estate and mortgage finance at Prudential and The Irvine Company, and co-founded a venture-backed startup where he served as COO and CFO. He holds a BS from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
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Links: UCLA Investment Company: http://www.uclainvestmentcompany.org/home
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Transcript
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