Endowments & Foundations
We have worked with endowments and foundations for more than 40 years, and we’re proud to be associated with so many institutions that are making the world a better place.
We understand the investment challenges non-profit investors face. We also believe that every institution is different. That’s why our investment teams work to understand each client’s needs and to build a customized portfolio, aligning the portfolio with each client’s long-term investment objectives, risk tolerances, liquidity needs, and other enterprise considerations.
We have experienced investors operating in key financial hubs around the world to source and evaluate opportunities — including many types of alternative assets — with the goal of delivering the best investment ideas to our clients. We also leverage our market presence and scale to negotiate favorable terms and fees with managers, often creating a net reduction in overall fees paid. To increase alignment with our clients, we do not offer our own proprietary off-the-shelf investment products or accept payments by managers for recommending their products.
Services We Offer
Outsourced CIO
For Investment Committees who want to delegate day-to-day portfolio management decisions, our discretionary outsourced CIO (OCIO) model seeks to replicate the best practices of leading in-house investment offices. We are responsible for portfolio strategy, implementation, day-to-day management, and operations, allowing the committee to focus its time on investment policy, spending, and other tasks where members can have the highest impact as fiduciaries. Our OCIO clients are served by CA Capital Management.
Non-Discretionary Portfolio Management
For organizations with Investment Committees who want to retain final decision-making on all investment decisions, our investment teams will provide proactive and decisive recommendations on asset allocation, portfolio structure, and manager selection — all subject to approval by the Committee. Investment teams include expertise on all relevant asset classes.
Staff Extension
For organizations with significant investment staff, we design a coverage structure to augment their in-house staff, bringing our expertise and manager relationships across asset classes or in specific asset classes only.
Asset Class Mandates
For organizations that want to leverage our expertise in a single asset class — including private investments, hedge funds, real assets, private credit, or co-investing — we develop a program within a specific asset class either on a discretionary or non-discretionary basis that meets their investment objectives.
Latest Research
Community Foundations: The Power of Aggregated Capital
Community foundation assets have grown steadily over the years, accumulating a mix of endowment funds and other funds with more expedient spend-down expectations. With the right expertise and attention, the endowment model can be applied to these complex, dynamic assets to differentiate the foundation and deliver on its mission. This paper discusses how community foundations can develop customized investment programs to better support their long-term goals.
Read More »
Healthcare Systems Describe Mounting Pressures & Investment Remedies: 2019 Survey Results
Due to mounting pressures in the healthcare industry, many hospitals will likely rely on spending from investment pools to support operations and capital plans. While investments will be a source of funding, our survey of healthcare clients indicates that for many, investment strategy will balance spending needs and growth goals.
Read More »
VantagePoint: Third Quarter 2019
In this edition of VantagePoint, we uncover four of the most common inaccuracies we hear about US equities.
Read More »
The Case for Dedicated China Exposure
While we have advised a gradual approach to investing in China, today we believe that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. Looking past the uncertainty and negativity, investors will find a large investment opportunity set, a robust universe of public and private managers, and appealing public equity valuations.
Read More »
Mission Critical: Maximizing the Impact of Healthcare System Investments
The past few decades have been generally favorable for healthcare systems; inexpensive debt, solid revenue growth, and consolidation have fueled the accumulation of sizable capital…
Read More »
Harvesting the Potential of Private Investments
In the November 2017 issue of Benefits Magazine, which covers benefit issues affecting multiemployer, single employer and public plan representatives, senior investment director and investment…
Read More »
Private Credit Strategies: An Introduction
Private credit offers distinct advantages and appeal in a low return environment, but investors should be aware that behind the name is a diverse array of strategies, some more familiar to institutional investors than others, each with idiosyncratic risks. In this report, we describe the broad array of private credit strategies and position them along the risk/return spectrum, review the investment process, discuss expectations for the performance of these strategies in various parts of the economic cycle, and highlight some key risks for investors to consider.
Read More »
Can College and University Endowments Do More?
Recent policy proposals assume endowments can do more to reduce the reliance on student revenue, and thus the cost of a college education. These proposals aim to shift more endowment wealth to current student beneficiaries. Our analysis shows that while well intentioned, these proposals will affect endowment and organizational stability and intergenerational equity. While endowments may be able to do more to support the enterprise and thus lower the cost of attendance, considering the implications of current policy proposals is critical, as is examining other strategies that could address current pricing concerns.
Read More »
Mission-Related Investing: Current Practices and Views of Non-Profit Investors
Investor approaches to mission-related investing (MRI) are as varied as the social and environmental outcomes they seek to achieve. This survey report explores trends in the structure and implementation of MRI programs, investor motivations and perceived challenges, and expectations for future growth in MRI investment activity, based on responses from 159 non-profit clients, 50 of which are actively making mission-related investments.
Read More »
Community Foundations: The Power of Aggregated Capital
Community foundation assets have grown steadily over the years, accumulating a mix of endowment funds and other funds with more expedient spend-down expectations. With the right expertise and attention, the endowment model can be applied to these complex, dynamic assets to differentiate the foundation and deliver on its mission. This paper discusses how community foundations can develop customized investment programs to better support their long-term goals.
Read More »
Healthcare Systems Describe Mounting Pressures & Investment Remedies: 2019 Survey Results
Due to mounting pressures in the healthcare industry, many hospitals will likely rely on spending from investment pools to support operations and capital plans. While investments will be a source of funding, our survey of healthcare clients indicates that for many, investment strategy will balance spending needs and growth goals.
Read More »
VantagePoint: Third Quarter 2019
In this edition of VantagePoint, we uncover four of the most common inaccuracies we hear about US equities.
Read More »
The Case for Dedicated China Exposure
While we have advised a gradual approach to investing in China, today we believe that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. Looking past the uncertainty and negativity, investors will find a large investment opportunity set, a robust universe of public and private managers, and appealing public equity valuations.
Read More »
Mission Critical: Maximizing the Impact of Healthcare System Investments
The past few decades have been generally favorable for healthcare systems; inexpensive debt, solid revenue growth, and consolidation have fueled the accumulation of sizable capital…
Read More »
Harvesting the Potential of Private Investments
In the November 2017 issue of Benefits Magazine, which covers benefit issues affecting multiemployer, single employer and public plan representatives, senior investment director and investment…
Read More »
Private Credit Strategies: An Introduction
Private credit offers distinct advantages and appeal in a low return environment, but investors should be aware that behind the name is a diverse array of strategies, some more familiar to institutional investors than others, each with idiosyncratic risks. In this report, we describe the broad array of private credit strategies and position them along the risk/return spectrum, review the investment process, discuss expectations for the performance of these strategies in various parts of the economic cycle, and highlight some key risks for investors to consider.
Read More »
Can College and University Endowments Do More?
Recent policy proposals assume endowments can do more to reduce the reliance on student revenue, and thus the cost of a college education. These proposals aim to shift more endowment wealth to current student beneficiaries. Our analysis shows that while well intentioned, these proposals will affect endowment and organizational stability and intergenerational equity. While endowments may be able to do more to support the enterprise and thus lower the cost of attendance, considering the implications of current policy proposals is critical, as is examining other strategies that could address current pricing concerns.
Read More »
Mission-Related Investing: Current Practices and Views of Non-Profit Investors
Investor approaches to mission-related investing (MRI) are as varied as the social and environmental outcomes they seek to achieve. This survey report explores trends in the structure and implementation of MRI programs, investor motivations and perceived challenges, and expectations for future growth in MRI investment activity, based on responses from 159 non-profit clients, 50 of which are actively making mission-related investments.
Read More »
Contact Us
We have been working with endowments, charities, and foundations for more than 40 years, and we’re proud to be associated with so many institutions that are making the world a better place.
We believe that every institution is different and understand the investment challenges non-profit investors face. Our dedicated E&F investment teams build customised portfolios to align with each client’s long-term investment objectives, risk tolerances, and liquidity needs.
With deep expertise in alternative assets, mission-related investing and governance issues, we bring the needed resources to bear and deliver the portfolio that’s right for each client. Our enterprise advisory group specialises in linking enterprise factors like governance, finance, and fundraising to the investment portfolio to help inform good investment decisions — supported by decades of peer data and best practices.
Our global footprint enables us to uncover areas of significant investment potential in diverse alternative assets including private equity, venture capital, and real assets, while our scale allows us to negotiate competitive terms that benefit our clients. For four decades, we have built a network of established and promising new managers for one simple objective: to get access to the best investment managers for each client’s unique needs.
The relationships we build are grounded in an alignment of interests with our clients. We don’t offer proprietary investment products or have financial relationships with managers for recommending their products.
Services We Offer
Portfolio Management
In building and managing a total portfolio, we work in either a fully discretionary or non-discretionary basis. Under our discretionary (OCIO) model, we are responsible for portfolio strategy, implementation, day-to-day management, and operations. Under a non-discretionary arrangement, we are responsible for day-to-day oversight of the portfolio, providing directive recommendations on asset allocation, portfolio structure, and manager selection — all subject to approval by the client.
Asset Class Mandates
With investment expertise across asset classes and specialised resources in alternative assets, we can manage a portion of a portfolio, such as private equity, private credit, co-investments, hedge funds, real assets, or other asset classes. As with our total portfolio management services, portfolio management of asset class mandates is available on either a discretionary or non-discretionary basis.
Staff Extension
We partner closely with organisations that have significant investment staff to complement and augment their in-house resources. In this capacity, we provide our expertise and manager relationships across asset classes, or in specific asset classes, and act as a sounding board for investment ideas.
Latest Research
VantagePoint: Second Quarter 2019
We recently argued that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach to investing in China, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. This edition of VantagePoint addresses five key questions regarding implementation decisions.
Read More »
The Case for Dedicated China Exposure
While we have advised a gradual approach to investing in China, today we believe that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. Looking past the uncertainty and negativity, investors will find a large investment opportunity set, a robust universe of public and private managers, and appealing public equity valuations.
Read More »
Ready, Steady, Co-Invest
Co-investments are one of only a handful of control levers within an LP’s toolbox, and we encourage all private market investors, regardless of size, to consciously consider implementing a co-investment program.
Read More »
VantagePoint: Second Quarter 2019
We recently argued that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach to investing in China, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. This edition of VantagePoint addresses five key questions regarding implementation decisions.
Read More »
The Case for Dedicated China Exposure
While we have advised a gradual approach to investing in China, today we believe that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. Looking past the uncertainty and negativity, investors will find a large investment opportunity set, a robust universe of public and private managers, and appealing public equity valuations.
Read More »
Ready, Steady, Co-Invest
Co-investments are one of only a handful of control levers within an LP’s toolbox, and we encourage all private market investors, regardless of size, to consciously consider implementing a co-investment program.
Read More »
Contact Us
We have worked with endowments and foundations for more than 40 years, and we’re proud to be associated with so many institutions that are making the world a better place.
We understand the investment challenges non-profit investors face. We also believe that every institution is different. That’s why our investment teams work to understand each client’s needs and to build a customized portfolio, aligning the portfolio with each client’s long-term investment objectives, risk tolerances, liquidity needs, and other enterprise considerations.
We have experienced investors operating in key financial hubs around the world to source and evaluate opportunities — including many types of alternative assets — with the goal of delivering the best investment ideas to our clients. We also leverage our market presence and scale to negotiate favorable terms and fees with managers, often creating a net reduction in overall fees paid. To increase alignment with our clients, we do not offer our own proprietary off-the-shelf investment products or accept payments by managers for recommending their products.
Services We Offer
Outsourced CIO
For Investment Committees who want to delegate day-to-day portfolio management decisions, our discretionary outsourced CIO (OCIO) model, which seeks to replicate the best practices of leading in-house investment offices. We are responsible for portfolio strategy, implementation, day-to-day management, and operations, allowing the committee to focus its time on investment policy, spending, and other tasks where members can have the highest impact as fiduciaries. Our OCIO clients are served by CA Capital Management.
Non-Discretionary Portfolio Management
For organizations with Investment Committees who want to retain final decision-making on all investment decisions, our investment teams will provide proactive and decisive recommendations on asset allocation, portfolio structure, and manager selection — all subject to approval by the Committee. Investment teams include expertise on all relevant asset classes.
Staff Extension
For organizations with significant investment staff, we design a coverage structure to augment their in-house staff, bringing our expertise and manager relationships across asset classes or in specific asset classes only.
Single Asset Mandates
For organizations that want to leverage our expertise in a single asset class — including private investments, hedge funds, real assets, private credit, or co-investing — we develop a program within a specific asset class either on a discretionary or non-discretionary basis that meets their investment objectives.
Latest Research
VantagePoint: Second Quarter 2019
We recently argued that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach to investing in China, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. This edition of VantagePoint addresses five key questions regarding implementation decisions.
Read More »
Ready, Steady, Co-Invest
Co-investments are one of only a handful of control levers within an LP’s toolbox, and we encourage all private market investors, regardless of size, to consciously consider implementing a co-investment program.
Read More »
The Case for Dedicated China Exposure
While we have advised a gradual approach to investing in China, today we believe that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. Looking past the uncertainty and negativity, investors will find a large investment opportunity set, a robust universe of public and private managers, and appealing public equity valuations.
Read More »
Growth Equity: Turns Out, It’s All About the Growth
Growth equity continues to offer investors a compelling return profile that combines the downside protection of buyouts with some of the upside potential of venture capital.
Read More »
Trade Finance: An Expanding Opportunity for Institutional Investors
While trade finance is among the oldest forms of institutionalized credit, it has only recently become an accessible market for most institutional investors. Providing high…
Read More »
VantagePoint: Second Quarter 2019
We recently argued that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach to investing in China, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. This edition of VantagePoint addresses five key questions regarding implementation decisions.
Read More »
Ready, Steady, Co-Invest
Co-investments are one of only a handful of control levers within an LP’s toolbox, and we encourage all private market investors, regardless of size, to consciously consider implementing a co-investment program.
Read More »
The Case for Dedicated China Exposure
While we have advised a gradual approach to investing in China, today we believe that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. Looking past the uncertainty and negativity, investors will find a large investment opportunity set, a robust universe of public and private managers, and appealing public equity valuations.
Read More »
Growth Equity: Turns Out, It’s All About the Growth
Growth equity continues to offer investors a compelling return profile that combines the downside protection of buyouts with some of the upside potential of venture capital.
Read More »
Trade Finance: An Expanding Opportunity for Institutional Investors
While trade finance is among the oldest forms of institutionalized credit, it has only recently become an accessible market for most institutional investors. Providing high…
Read More »
Contact Us
We have worked with endowments and foundations for more than 40 years, and we’re proud to be associated with so many institutions that are making the world a better place.
We understand the investment challenges non-profit investors face. We also believe that every institution is different. That’s why our investment teams work to understand each client’s needs and to build a customised portfolio, aligning the portfolio with each client’s long-term investment objectives, risk tolerances, liquidity needs, and other enterprise considerations.
We have experienced investors operating in key financial hubs around the world to source and evaluate opportunities — including many types of alternative assets — with the goal of delivering the best investment ideas to our clients. We also leverage our market presence and scale to negotiate favourable terms and fees with managers, often creating a net reduction in overall fees paid. To increase alignment with our clients, we do not offer our own proprietary off-the-shelf investment products or accept payments by managers for recommending their products.
Services We Offer
Outsourced CIO
For Investment Committees who want to delegate day-to-day portfolio management decisions, our discretionary outsourced CIO (OCIO) model seeks to replicate the best practices of leading in-house investment offices. We are responsible for portfolio strategy, implementation, day-to-day management, and operations, allowing the committee to focus its time on investment policy, spending, and other tasks where members can have the highest impact as fiduciaries. We build customised portfolios for our OCIO clients and do not offer commingled client investment solutions such as fund-of-funds.
Non-Discretionary Portfolio Management
For organisations with Investment Committees who want to retain final decision-making on all investment decisions, our investment teams will provide proactive and decisive recommendations on asset allocation, portfolio structure, and manager selection — all subject to approval by the Committee. Investment teams include expertise on all relevant asset classes.
Staff Extension
For organisations with significant investment staff, we design a coverage structure to augment their in-house staff, bringing our expertise and manager relationships across asset classes or in specific asset classes only.
Single Asset Mandates
For organisations that want to leverage our expertise in a single asset class — including private investments, hedge funds, real assets, private credit, or co-investing — we develop a program within a specific asset class either on a discretionary or non-discretionary basis that meets their investment objectives.
Latest Research
VantagePoint: Second Quarter 2019
We recently argued that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach to investing in China, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. This edition of VantagePoint addresses five key questions regarding implementation decisions.
Read More »
Ready, Steady, Co-Invest
Co-investments are one of only a handful of control levers within an LP’s toolbox, and we encourage all private market investors, regardless of size, to consciously consider implementing a co-investment program.
Read More »
The Case for Dedicated China Exposure
While we have advised a gradual approach to investing in China, today we believe that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. Looking past the uncertainty and negativity, investors will find a large investment opportunity set, a robust universe of public and private managers, and appealing public equity valuations.
Read More »
Growth Equity: Turns Out, It’s All About the Growth
Growth equity continues to offer investors a compelling return profile that combines the downside protection of buyouts with some of the upside potential of venture capital.
Read More »
Trade Finance: An Expanding Opportunity for Institutional Investors
While trade finance is among the oldest forms of institutionalized credit, it has only recently become an accessible market for most institutional investors. Providing high…
Read More »
VantagePoint: Second Quarter 2019
We recently argued that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach to investing in China, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. This edition of VantagePoint addresses five key questions regarding implementation decisions.
Read More »
Ready, Steady, Co-Invest
Co-investments are one of only a handful of control levers within an LP’s toolbox, and we encourage all private market investors, regardless of size, to consciously consider implementing a co-investment program.
Read More »
The Case for Dedicated China Exposure
While we have advised a gradual approach to investing in China, today we believe that investors should take a systematic and comprehensive approach, overweighting Chinese assets relative to their index weights. Looking past the uncertainty and negativity, investors will find a large investment opportunity set, a robust universe of public and private managers, and appealing public equity valuations.
Read More »
Growth Equity: Turns Out, It’s All About the Growth
Growth equity continues to offer investors a compelling return profile that combines the downside protection of buyouts with some of the upside potential of venture capital.
Read More »
Trade Finance: An Expanding Opportunity for Institutional Investors
While trade finance is among the oldest forms of institutionalized credit, it has only recently become an accessible market for most institutional investors. Providing high…
Read More »
