At CU, you majored in advertising, not business …

You can’t invest successfully without conducting thoughtful research — a skill I learned at the journalism school.

You retired before the age of 40 after helping build an investment firm to over $5 billion in assets. Why CU?

I moved back here, brought my family and got off the beach in California because I wanted to make a difference. I’m a parent. I have five children. Outside of being a good father, it is the best way I know to change the world: to provide more money for education. I’m drinking the Kool-Aid here. One, it’s for my alma mater. And two, I really believe in what we’re doing.

So when will the economy get better?

The economy doesn’t turn around until housing prices stop dropping. We are about 2 ¾ years into what’s historically been about a four-year cycle.

We’ve seen this movie before. You look at Sweden and Norway in the early ’90s. They went through massive bank deregulation. The banks made a lot of risky lending, housing prices inflated dramatically, banks got in trouble, housing prices dropped and there was a gradual, slow re-inflation of housing prices.

How does managing nearly a billion dollars differ from managing a smaller sum?

Since endowments live forever, we can make decisions that have a very long-term payback. So our tolerance for risk is higher. Most individuals wouldn’t invest in Australian farmland, sheep and cattle. We can because we think it’s going to have significant return over the next decade.

That’s something the CU Foundation invests in?

It is. I spent some time in China over the past year and the increase in disposable income is dramatically changing the typical diet. If you get a few more dollars in your pocket, you eat a little less rice and a little more protein. Australia has a significant export market there.

How should individuals invest their money?

Everyone should have a plan. But I tell people, ‘If it’s not your life’s work, go hire a professional.’ It’s what I do nearly all day, every day and at night, and I love it and I’ve been doing it my entire career. If you’re a doctor and you’ve spent your entire career as a doctor, you shouldn’t be expected to be a professional money manager on your nights and weekends.

Any CU anecdotes?

I collect books. Actually, books collect me. About 15 years ago I was on campus and it appeared the entire university had only a few complete sets of yearbooks. So I started collecting yearbooks to give a full set to CU. I’ve got a little over 80 volumes now.

What’s funny is I’ll get an e-mail from someone who says, “My grandfather ran track for CU in the late ’30s. Can you get a picture for me?”  And I’ll scan it and send the picture. It’s a fun way to connect people’s families.

Alumni with rare CU yearbooks can contact Chris Bittman at Chris.Bittman@cufund.org.