Ranji Nagaswami: The Outsourced Chief Investment Officer

Ranji Nagaswami is chief executive officer of Hirtle Callaghan, a firm that helped popularize the idea of the outsourced CIO. Previously, she was co-head of U.S. fixed income at UBS Asset Management; she also was chief investment officer of Alliance Bernstein Investments, the group’s retail/mutual fund division, and served as chief investment adviser to the city of New York during the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (founder of Bloomberg LP). She discusses the agnostic approach to investing, considering everything from passive management on one end of the spectrum to alternative investments like private equity and venture capital on the other. Nagaswami, who has five women on her executive team, also explains why including women in leadership is important for investment firms, noting that extensive research shows that women are less emotional when it comes to portfolio management, make better decisions, and have better performance.