Episode 10 of The Clockwork CIO is now live, featuring Mark Yusko, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management, an SEC registered investment advisor based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Mark is also the Managing Partner of Morgan Creek Digital, which was formed in 2018. Morgan Creek Digital is an early stage investor in blockchain technology, digital currency and digital assets.

Next year will be the 20th anniversary of Morgan Creek, which has successfully implemented the Endowment Model in its investment process, and which today manages approximately $2 billion in discretionary and non-discretionary assets.

Mark is a well-known and highly respected figure in the alternative assets industry, having plied his craft as an institutional allocator for many years before establishing Morgan Creek. He was Senior Investment Director for the University of Notre Dame Investment Office, his alma mater, before moving on to become CIO and Founder of UNC Management Company (UNCMC), the Endowment investment office for the University of North Carolina, during the years 1998 to 2004.

Mark is a big thinker and has an endless curiosity. One cannot fail to enjoy his enthusiasm, which comes across so clearly during this highly entertaining episode. It is fair to say, Mark is never short of an idea, or funny anecdote, to share. Which just goes to show that good leaders can still have a great sense of humour!

During the show Mark talks about:

• Being a big picture, ideas type leader whose roots are firmly embedded as a value investor

• Recognizing one’s blind spots – if you’re not a growth investor, outsource it to someone who is and who can implement big ideas at the individual company level

• Self-knowledge and being a good synthesizer – vital when you want people to follow your lead

• Build teams like an asset allocation exercise; find the best people to compensate for your own weaknesses, get the right combination of talent

• Why being a great CIO also requires being a salesperson

• Overcoming challenges/mistakes: Recognize it. Accept it. Learn from it. Forget it. Michael Jordan missed over 19,000 shots

• Judging the quality of investment ideas by the quality of its detractors

• The importance of personal innovation and his excitement as a venture capitalist in the digital asset space