From the Charles Skorina newsletter:

Chief investment officers, investment staffs (and OCIOs) earn serious money for their schools and cost a relative pittance to maintain. Many college athletic programs, on the other hand, are staggeringly expensive as Matt Hayes recounts in USA Today, and their intrinsic contribution to academic health is debatable.

And yet, when coaches meet with college boards the rooms come alive. Excitement builds, time is forgotten, and everyone wants a selfie with these masters of the arena.

But, alas, when CIOs take their turn it’s back to dreary business. Eyelids grow heavy, attention wanders. Like the Philips bulb commercial, The Magic’s Gone. Human nature I suppose, but still, endowments pay the bills and keep the lights on.

The U.S. has the greatest university system in the world, a true competitive advantage, thanks to generous donors and visionary leaders, and our endowments are a major source of financial support. Chief investment officers, their staffs and outside managers play a vital role in this success. Let’s show them some love. How about a selfie?

While fun is fun, and a lot of the past 4 years blows this up into Memeville, I go with the George Soros viewpoint: “ If investing is entertaining, if you’re having fun, you are probably not making any money.”

To wit, some years ago I was invited to attend a pension fund meeting for a client that had dozens of employees in attendance; it was probably 2006. The standing ovation and a “1st percentile” on the screen were like biblical lightening bolts out of the sky signaling to my now queasy stomach that something presently and imperceptibly awful was “due.”

Still standing.