As a woman entering the investment banking world at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in the mid-1980s, Nicole Arnaboldi was something of an anomaly. Twin that career starter with her transition to private equity only a few years later and you have the makings of a true female pioneer in the world of finance.
Today, as vice chairman of alternative investments at Credit Suisse, she oversees nearly $100 billion in alternative investment assets, one of the largest such portfolios in the world. She joined Credit Suisse in 2000 when it acquired DLJ and today holds dual responsibilities. She is the co-head of Credit Suisse's illiquid alternatives business, where she oversees the management and agency distribution of private equity, real estate, credit products and certain hedge funds. She also serves as chairman of DLJ Merchant Banking Partners.
Arnaboldi says her more than two decades of experience has given her the perspective to cope with today's very trying business environment, and the economic cycle more generally. Even many of those who have been through the ups and downs of the past 25 years suffer a bit of "short-term memory loss," she says. "I'm cautious when times are good, and also know things usually aren't as horrible as they can seem. There's lots of money to be made."
That's exactly Arnaboldi's philosophy today-rarely are opportunities better for significant profits than in a bear market when everyone else is pulling in their horns. It's a message she takes directly to her individual and institutional investors; steadying their nerves and convincing them to make new commitments can be "challenging," but the results prove that she and her team have excellent powers of persuasion.
Her diversified strategy for asset gathering has resulted in a roughly 40-percent increase in assets in the illiquid alternatives in the past two years. What's more, despite very difficult market conditions, management fee revenues are forecasted to be slightly higher this year than 2007.
The environment has not kept Arnaboldi, who received her BA, JD and MBA from Harvard, from continuing to innovate. Over the past 18 months, she and her team have developed several profitable new businesses: South America Partners, with $300 million in managed assets, is one of the largest private equity funds in Latin America; Global Infrastructure Partners, a joint venture with GE that just closed its first fund at $5.6 billion; and last year she established a pan-Asia private equity franchise.
Playing in the alternative investments realm means her group competes with many boutiques. But she thinks that Credit Suisse's unusual size in the alternative asset space is one of its great selling points. For starters, she says, the reach of Credit Suisse means the company sees "more than most" and can assess opportunities on a global basis. What's more Credit Suisse brings with it "industrial strength" risk management.
For Arnaboldi, diversification is not just an investment strategy, it's also a hiring strategy. The small shops she competes against often do not have a wide range of diversity, she says. By contrast, Arnaboldi actively recruits on college campuses to bring in more women and minorities. "Companies that are attractive to people of all backgrounds have a range of perspectives and see better performance over time. I think that's been pretty well established."
Arnaboldi is a member of numerous associations and serves as treasurer of New Yorkers for Children. Last year her group was named Credit Suisse's "Charitable Division of the Year" after she and other leaders created and personally funded a matching grant program that raised enough money to fully refurbish a Harlem playground.
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