Tulane’s First-Ever Stanford Long-Term Investing Fellow
Recent NTC graduate Mateo Lucas Proaño will spend next year immersed in the world of long-term investing as Tulane University’s first-ever Stanford Long-Term Investing (SLTI) Fellow. Fellows take classes at Stanford, then work with stable, slow-growth vehicles like endowments and pensions — namely the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension system in the U.S. In this way, the SLTI Fellowship prepares high-potential fellows like Proaño to build mission-driven careers that prioritize stability, responsibility and lasting impact.
“I’ve worked with students interested in STLIF before, but I’ve never seen the level of commitment that Mateo Proaño brings to finance,” said Edith Wolfe, associate director of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships at Newcomb-Tulane College. “He has such a strong moral compass and a deep sensitivity to the ethics of investment, partly because of his experiences in Latin America and the opportunity he saw there during studies and family visits.”
Proaño’s interdisciplinary coursework, which earned him a BA in international development and a BSM in finance, uniquely positioned him to navigate the complexities of pursuing sustainable growth over quick profits. He notes that his path began with a fundamental question: "Why doesn't capital flow to the most pressing issues facing our world, whether that's climate or development?"
“I wanted to understand the structural reasons behind that gap and contribute to fixing it,” said Proaño.
Proaño’s extensive studies abroad as an Altman Scholar both intensified and broadened his inquiries. “I was also able to attend the Principles for Responsible Investment conference thanks to support from the Altman Program, where I saw firsthand how central the role of institutional investors like CalPERS is to closing the funding gap for climate solutions,” said Proaño. “Each of those experiences reinforced my belief that this problem is solvable, but only if you understand it from multiple angles.”
Proaño’s perspective was also shaped by understanding the potential for new technologies to transform finance. “Working at Morgan Stanley last summer in their firmwide AI department opened my eyes to the critical role technology will play in the future of finance, and that experience only strengthened my commitment to sustainability,” said Proaño. “Using technology to unlock the most impactful sustainable investment opportunities is what motivated me to pursue this fellowship.”
The knowledge and skills gained through this fellowship will help Proaño achieve his career goals, which are centered in Tulane’s motto of “non sibi, sed suis,” or “not for oneself, but for one’s own.”
“I want to pursue a career in helping the billions of people who are underserved by our current capital markets system, where basic survival needs are too often overlooked in pursuit of a better rate of return,” said Proaño. “My goal is to help institutions and individuals derisk and create bankable, investable projects that improve the livelihoods of people who struggle to survive every day.”