Christopher J. Dion, CFA
Chris is a Managing Director and serves as Co-Chief Investment Officer for the firm’s institutional clients and OCIO platform. He leads investment strategy and is integrally involved in all aspects of the investment process including asset allocation, portfolio construction, manager selection and risk management.
Chris joined Brockenbrough in 2012 and has more than 20 years of investment experience. Prior to joining the firm, Chris was most recently an Associate Director of Investments with Spider Management Company at the University of Richmond.
Chris holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Richmond and received his CFA charter in 2004. Before recently stepping down after 13 years of service, Chris was the Chair of the Investment Advisory Committee for the Virginia529 College Savings plan, the largest 529 program in the United States.
Q&A with
Chris
What about working at Brockenbrough inspires you the most?
I am inspired most by the people I work with, by the people and the purpose of the Endowments and Foundations with whom we have the privilege of working, and by our underlying investment managers’ intelligence, ingenuity and dedication.
It is hard not to be inspired when one of our founding OCIO platform clients is going to provide grants that are three times the amount of money in 2022 versus 2012 when we started working with them. This particular Foundation provides grants for medical research, endowed teaching chairs and provides scholarships for medical, dental and nursing school. Having a job that doesn’t feel like work might be inspiration enough for most people, but to know the purpose of this work is actually helping to make the world a better place makes it especially rewarding.
What has surprised you most about the work you do for your clients?
A successful investment program is very much a team sport. It takes purposeful, meaningful relationships, communication and transparency, trust, and significant coordination between an Investment Committee, and OCIO team, and the OCIOs underlying investment managers to produce the foundations for a strong long-term investment program. Many people think it’s a ‘star’ system or an individual sport, but the best performing groups over time maintain balance over these three ‘legs of the stool’ and understand their importance to successful outcomes.
What gets you out of bed?
Usually my youngest son.
What is most important to you?
Family. Honesty, trust, doing what you say you’ll do.
What is a little-known fact about you?
Myers-Briggs test scores typically show me as an introvert, not an extrovert (though not by much).
Which living person(s) do you most admire?
My mom and dad. We weren’t blessed with a ton of money growing up. Far more important than money (realized much later), I was incredibly fortunate to have two parents that loved me to death, told me to always try my hardest, provided me with a strong moral compass and the (perhaps crazy) idea that I could be anything. What a gift.
What is your motto?
Keep showing up. Never give up. Strive to be the best version of yourself. Treat others like you want to be treated.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
My father gave me wonderful advice when I was younger, which was much better summarized and applied over a broader set of topics by Nelson Mandela, who said, “I never lose. I either win or learn.”
What was the first concert you attended?
Air Supply, circa 1985 for getting a good report card.
Favorite song genre?
90’s Grunge
Books or movies?
Movies….and podcasts.