The university’s co-chief investment officer ad interim since March 2020, he will head the university’s Investment Office and oversee Tufts’ $2.0 billion endowment
Craig W. Smith, a highly experienced and respected investment professional in the institutional investment industry, has been named chief investment officer of Tufts University.
Smith, who has served as the university’s co-chief investment officer ad interim since March 2020, was chosen following an extensive national search.
As chief investment officer, Smith will head the university’s Investment Office and oversee Tufts’ $2.0 billion endowment, which was established to ensure a perpetual source of support to serve the university’s mission. The endowment helps the university to fund an exceptional education for dedicated students from all social and economic backgrounds, attract world-class educators and scholars, support the development of leading-edge educational opportunities, and meet budgetary obligations when other sources of revenue fluctuate.
“I look forward to our continued partnership with the investment committee, university leadership team, and broader Tufts constituencies to support the university’s priorities,” said Craig W. Smith. “As leader of the office that oversees the investment of Tufts’ endowment, the chief investment officer plays a critical role in supporting Tufts’ financial needs and long-term financial sustainability of the university and its mission,” said Howard. “Craig’s deep understanding of Tufts’ financial objectives and culture and the breadth of his prior investment experience uniquely position him to lead Tufts’ Investment Office forward as we continue to strengthen the university in a context of significant change across higher education.”
Smith called the appointment a great honor, noting that the position was previously held by Sally Dungan, the first CIO of the university’s Investment Office and a trailblazer in the field. Dungan passed away in April 2020.
“I am thrilled to be named Tufts’ chief investment officer,” said Smith. “It is an incredible opportunity to lead an outstanding investment team as we build on the platform that Sally created. I look forward to our continued partnership with the investment committee, university leadership team, and broader Tufts constituencies to support the university’s priorities.”
Smith joined Tufts in 2018 as investment director, leading the marketable investments team, a role in which he initiated a significant restructuring of the university’s public equity, marketable alternative, and fixed-income investments. Since his appointment as co-chief investment officer ad interim, Smith developed long-term strategic plans for endowment assets, helped guide the investment office through a period of change, and enhanced the level of engagement between the investment office and the broader university.
Prior to joining Tufts, Smith was a partner at Cambridge Associates, where he managed over a dozen portfolios for university endowment and foundation clients over 12 years. In addition, Smith was a founding member and a CIO within the firm’s outsourced chief investment officer practice, CA Capital. Prior to Cambridge Associates, he worked at Grove Street Advisors, where he conducted due diligence on private equity and venture capital managers.
Smith received an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Palmer Scholar, and an A.B. from Dartmouth College.
