Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher says investors have to make many decisions, and an organization should have beliefs, a unified culture — some would call these values — to make sure everyone in the organization is operating in the same way. He’s identified 10 beliefs that the Office of the Chief Investment Officer holds that inform their work.

  1. We invest for the long term. We focus on investments over 10 years and beyond where we can. This offers many more opportunities than those available to short- and intermediate-term investors.
  2. We invest in people. The contributions of talented people drive the success for any investment organization. So we’ve made the recruitment and retention of exceptional staff a cornerstone of our strategy.
  3. We build a high-performing culture. Every organization needs a clearly defined culture to make sure everyone is working toward the same ends and speaking the same language. Our culture is one of responsibility, accountability and high performance.
  4. We are all risk managers. Our aim is simple: To earn the best risk-adjusted return that meets the objectives of our various portfolios. An effective risk management function enables leadership to delegate authority to the investment teams.
  5. We allocate wisely. The key to investing, and the most important driver of performance, is asset allocation. To make effective investment decisions, and achieve the appropriate combination of risk and return, we have to maintain a clear and balanced understanding of stakeholders’ unique objections, time horizon, risk tolerances, liquidity and other constraints.
  6. Costs matter. High quality advice comes at a cost. But we also believe fees and costs for external managers must be fully transparent. Plus, cost savings can be considered a risk-free return. We intend to capture every dollar of risk-free return we can.
  7. We diversify with care. Diversification is invaluable, but it’s not a cure-all. It allows us to spread risk and reduce the impact of any individual loss. But diversifying too broadly can draw you into assets and products you don’t fully understand. We prefer a more focused portfolio of assets and risks we know extremely well.
  8. Sustainability affects investing. Sustainability is a fundamental concern that we incorporate into our decision-making, particularly how it can improve investment performance. Sustainable businesses are often more rooted in communities and resilient, which means investing in them makes good business sense.
  9. We collaborate widely. We are proud to be a part of the University of California, as well as the broader community of institutional investors. Through active collaboration, we aim to leverage the unique resources of the university.
  10. Innovation counts. We must always be innovating and identifying new opportunities. There are advantages in thinking differently and partnering with peers that are willing to work with us on innovative projects. Collaboration is one of the most powerful drivers of innovation.