Sep 2, 2026 · 1h 7m
Notre Dame’s former CIO makes the case for concentrated investing
E424: 32-Year Notre Dame CIO on Sequoia, Venture Capital & Concentration
Scott Malpass explains why durable investment results depend less on diversification than on institutional alignment, cultural judgment, and trusted relationships.
- 1Strong investment partnerships begin with coherent values, transparent cultures, and leaders who combine confidence with self-awareness.
- 2Manager growth can erode discipline when firms prioritize asset gathering, product expansion, or fee income over investment results.
- 3Grafton Street Partners favors concentrated, opportunistic exposure to exceptional managers, founders, venture capital, and micro-cap opportunities.
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Scott Malpass recounts meeting Enron’s CFO before the fraud became public, illustrating how repeated exposure to bad patterns can improve risk judgment.
The brief
Scott Malpass spent 32 years as Notre Dame’s CIO, where he built an investment operation around institutional alignment, cultural consistency, and long-term relationships.
His manager-selection test goes beyond returns: he looks for coherent philosophies, transparent cultures, self-awareness, and consistency from senior partners through junior staff.
Malpass warns that asset growth can turn disciplined firms into product factories, while over-diversification can leave institutions with too many managers and too little conviction.
At Grafton Street Partners, he applies the same logic through an all-equity, opportunistic strategy spanning external managers and direct investments across public and private markets.
The sharpest lesson is personal: experience with failures, including a meeting with Enron’s CFO before its fraud became public, sharpened Malpass’s ability to recognize risk.
Featuring
Scott Malpass
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Albert EinsteinListen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.