E334: Texas Tech CIO: How We Find Asymmetric Bets

4 snips

Mar 26, 2026

Tim Barrett, CIO of the Texas Tech Endowment with 30+ years in institutional investing, shares how his team finds asymmetric bets across private equity, real estate, and hedge funds. He discusses buying discounted trophy offices, leveraging governance for fast decisions, co-investment asymmetry, portable alpha mechanics, and why lower-middle-market buyouts can beat venture for consistent returns.

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INSIGHT

Co-Invest Only When Asymmetry Is Clear

Co-invest selectively for asymmetric downside protection rather than fee savings alone.
Texas Tech found the best co-invests had locked contractual revenue (e.g., DoD contracts) offering sticky upside and downside protection.

ADVICE

Build Portable Alpha With Swaps And Treasury Buffers

Use swaps to obtain cheap beta and deploy cash into uncorrelated alpha and treasuries to buffer drawdowns.
Portable alpha: buy index exposure via swap, put cash into multi-strat hedge funds and 30% treasuries as collateral.

INSIGHT

Design Alpha For Downside And Correlation

The alpha pool must be built for low correlation and drawdown resilience, not just high returns.
Texas Tech stress-tests correlations and designs the alpha sleeve to survive large market drawdowns while delivering idiosyncratic return.

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Why buy an office when everyone else is selling? In this episode, I sit down with Tim Barrett, CIO of the Texas Tech University Endowment, to explore how he builds high-conviction portfolios across private equity, real estate, and hedge funds. Tim shares why governance, manager selection, and a generalist team structure drive consistent alpha, how he balances risk and upside with portable alpha, and why lower middle market investments can outperform flashy venture deals. He also dives into building team culture, aligning incentives, and using the endowment’s size and flexibility to access niche opportunities others can’t.

Highlights:

Why Tim sees opportunity in trophy office assets despite negative headlines
How governance authority lets the team move fast and capture alpha
Why lower middle market buyouts offer consistency over venture capital
The role of manager selection, partnerships, and co-investment asymmetry
How portable alpha works and why true alpha justifies hedge fund fees
Why generalist teams improve total portfolio management and risk-adjusted returns
How team culture and incentive design drive collaboration and long-term performance

Guest Bio:

Tim Barrett is the Chief Investment Officer at the Texas Tech University Endowment, overseeing public and private markets with a focus on private equity, credit, real estate, and hedge funds. With over 30 years in endowment and institutional investing, he emphasizes governance, manager partnerships, and team culture to drive consistent, risk-adjusted returns, while leveraging the endowment’s size and flexibility to access niche opportunities unavailable to larger allocators.

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Disclaimer:

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Nothing in this episode should be interpreted as an offer to buy or sell any securities or to participate in any investment strategy. All opinions expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the views of Weisburd Capital. Participants may hold positions or have financial interests in the companies, funds, or investments discussed. Any references to specific investments are for illustrative purposes only. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of capital. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. Any third-party data or opinions have not been independently verified. Listeners should conduct their own research and consult their own advisors before making any investment decisions.

(0:00) Introduction (0:11) Opportunities in office space investment and looking beyond headlines (2:00) Governance, flexibility, and impact on investment strategy (5:29) Governance's impact on investment strategy and portfolio management (6:38) Shift from venture capital to lower middle market buyout investments (8:43) Manager relationships and selection for alpha (10:26) Co-investment strategies and minimizing downside risk (18:39) Explaining and applying Portable Alpha in portfolios (21:08) Leveraging alpha for optimal returns and endowment advantages (23:53) Hiring generalists over specialists strategy (26:15) Changes in talent management and open culture at Texas Tech (28:35) Incentive schemes and justifying hedge fund fees (32:11) Shifting to stable portfolio structures and managing volatility (36:06) Closing remarks