Cambridge Associates leverages deep research and experience to identify the best ideas and opportunities in alternative assets.
For many institutional investors and private clients, the growing complexity of alternative assets and the importance of access to top-performing managers call for a highly experienced and specialized advisor. Cambridge Associates is a leader in alternative assets with over 35 years experience and a depth of resources that we believe to be unmatched in the independent investment consulting industry.
Nowhere is this experience and knowledge more crucial than in terms of manager selection. The large return differential between median and top-quartile managers in these asset classes makes an intensive due diligence process imperative. Our manager evaluation process is rigorous, with our staff conducting nearly 3,000 meetings or calls on hedge funds and private illiquid partnerships annually from our offices in the United States, Beijing, London, Singapore, and Sydney. Having strategically positioned offices in the leading financial hubs allows us to conduct on-the-ground research and helps our clients gain exposure to the best managers in the world.
We serve our clients in a highly engaged fashion, developing a fully customized alternative asset program to meet the client’s goals and objectives. With a team of more than 200 professionals dedicated to alternative assets, we offer our clients specialized coverage of every conceivable asset class and strategy. Our approach allows clients to achieve a highly customized direct alternative assets program, often at a lower cost and with more control and ownership of the underlying managers than alternative approaches.
Sovereign Wealth Fund Seeking Private Equity Performance Reporting and Benchmarking
Cambridge Associates uses its highly developed non-marketable reporting
system and industry-leading non-marketable fund database to provide this large Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund with a comprehensive overview of its portfolio. This is used both by the private equity department and by the organization's management, providing an unbiased and well-founded system that is used to measure the relative success of the program and to establish performance-related compensation levels.
Sovereign Wealth Fund Seeking Development of a Comprehensive Alternative Assets Blueprint
For an Asian sovereign wealth fund, Cambridge Associates was asked to
develop a comprehensive plan for the formation of an alternative assets program covering private equity (broadly defined), hedge funds, and private real estate. Though the fund employs a highly sophisticated investment staff, the organization had not previously invested in these non-traditional asset categories and a multi-layered governance structure required that substantial energy be devoted to educating trustees and other stakeholders. The scope of our assignment included defining appropriate long-term exposure targets for the asset classes, evaluating the full range of investment opportunities available to the fund, designing an actionable program framework, and recommending a detailed implementation strategy. The consulting team and in-house investment staff worked in close coordination to respond to trustee concerns, resulting in the adoption of a significant policy allocation to alternatives and a roadmap for near-term investments.
State Retirement System Seeking Private Equity Advice
For a $35 billion state employee retirement program seeking advice on
an alternative assets portfolio, Cambridge Associates proactively advises on $13 billion committed to non-marketable alternative assets. Commitments span all non-marketable asset classes including private equity, venture capital, and oil & gas. Cambridge Associates’ investment teams communicate daily with the investment staff, and have helped the retirement program develop relationships with top-tier managers. The retirement system has been a client since 1994 and has earned strong returns.