Bruce is Of Counsel to Sentinel Trust and provides ad hoc investment consulting advice.
Bruce was the firm’s first dedicated investment professional and, after building the firm’s institutional-quality investment platform, led Sentinel Trust’s investment strategy. Prior to joining Sentinel Trust, Bruce worked with several families involved in real estate development to diversify their holdings. Bruce has a special interest in real estate; he wrote his doctoral dissertation on Real Estate Investment Trusts.
With over thirty years of experience investing on behalf of wealthy families, Bruce speaks to family office and academic audiences including Rice University and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Professional Background:
- Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, Sentinel Trust Company, LBA, Houston, TX (1998–2019)
Responsibilities included investment strategy by including overseeing teams responsible for all asset classes, making tactical allocation decisions across all portfolios, and creating an investment platform around the unique needs of wealthy families. - Director of Non-Real Estate Investments, Hines (Gerald D.) Interests, Houston, TX (1987–1998)
First dedicated family office employee. Responsibilities included investing assets outside of this family’s high-profile core real estate business. Invested tactically (and directly) in numerous asset classes, both traditional and alternative, including a full range of credit, international, derivative, and commodity based strategies. - Director of Investments, Taubman Investment Co., Bloomfield Hills, MI (1985–1987)
Community Involvement:
- The Fay School, Former Trustee, Treasurer and Chairman of Finance and Search Committees
- Houston Committee on Foreign Relations, Member
- Harvard University Houston Schools Committee, Interviewer for admissions
- The Kiwanis Foundation of Houston, Board Member and Investment Committee Chair
Talks:
- “Getting Started in Private Equity” – Opal Investment Forum
- “Confessions of a Mean-Reversionist” – Rice University, Center for Computational Finance and Economic Systems
- “A Family Office Perspective on Venture Capital Investing” – Mohr Davidow Annual Meeting
- “Real Estate Investment Opportunities: Putting the Pieces Together” – Marcus Evans Private Wealth Management Summit
Publications:
- “Global Warming-Not Just Yet”
- “The Bubble Years: Were They Just a Dream, Dr. Greenspan?”
- “Capital Market Assets: Dead Men Walking?”
- “New Age Economics: Do You Believe?”
- “The New Carry Trade: Let’s Make a Deal”
- “And Then There was One”
- “Economic Recovery Plays OK, U.S. Equities Not the Way”
- “Sentinel Horizons”
- “Investment Themes for Year 2000 and Beyond”
On Watch – December 2013
In this issue:
“Ladies and Gentlemen…Bets Please” by Bruce L. Swanson, PhD
“Functional Investment Committees” by D. Fort Flowers, Jr., CFA
On Watch – November 2012
In this issue:
“Private Flight Options” by William R. Berger, CFA, CPA, and Lissa Gangjee, JD, CFP®
“Engaging the Next Generation in Your Family Foundation” by Lissa Gangjee, JD, CFP®
“International Micro-Cap Value Stocks: Tiny Niche or Something More?” by Bruce L. Swanson, PhD
On Watch – May 2012
In this issue:
“Nowhere to Hide in a World Without Safe Havens” by Bruce L. Swanson, PhD
“Minimizing Foreign Travel Nightmares” by Lissa Gangjee, JD, CFP® and Ross W. Nager, CPA
On Watch – August 2011
In this issue:
“Are Modern Portfolio Theory and Diversification Dead?” by D. Fort Flowers, Jr., CFA
“Japan Trip Report” by Bruce L. Swanson, PhD
“The How and Why to Be a Great Beneficiary” by Ross W. Nager, CPA