Name: Robert Skinner II

Firm: IEQ Capital

Location: Foster City, CA

Team Custodied Assets: $41.7 billion

Background: Robert Skinner II grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts and attended the University of Connecticut, where he studied economics and political science and played on the golf team. His interest in investing began early, sparked by reading The Wall Street Journal with his grandfather. Skinner began his career at Fidelity Investments in the mid-1990s before joining Merrill Lynch in 2000, where he spent eight years building a high-net-worth practice. He later co-founded Luminous Capital in 2008, a research-driven multifamily office that leaned into distressed opportunities during the financial crisis. After the firm was sold to First Republic, Skinner spent seven years there before launching IEQ Capital in 2019. The firm has since grown from roughly $7 billion at inception to approximately $42 billion, with about 350 employees.

Competitive Edge: Skinner says one key differentiator is pooling client capital to negotiate better terms across investments and services. “We leverage our client capital to pool it together and reduce fees across lending, trading and alternatives and all of those savings get passed directly back to the client,” he says.

Investment Approach: Skinner’s investment philosophy centers on discipline, tax efficiency and high-conviction opportunities. “We evaluate every investment decision through an after-tax lens, because most of our clients’ capital is taxable,” he says. Rather than allocating purely for diversification, Skinner emphasizes targeted ideas. “The most important thing is high-conviction investing, not allocating just for diversification, but focusing on reliable sources of return,” he adds. That approach often leads the team to less crowded areas of the market. Recently, Skinner has focused on secondary opportunities—buying existing stakes from other investors—across private credit, private equity and real estate. “We look for areas where capital is not flowing aggressively, rather than chasing markets where product creation is outpacing investment quality,” he explains.

Best Advice: Skinner frequently reminds clients that opportunities often emerge when markets feel uncomfortable. “When things feel too easy, that’s usually not the time to take risk,” he says. “It’s when prices come down and things get uncomfortable that opportunity shows up.” He also notes that many client conversations extend beyond markets. “A lot of our conversations aren’t about markets. They are about how to raise great kids, how to create impact and how to use wealth in the right way,” says Skinner.