OVERVIEW The Outsourced Chief Investment Officer Relationship Efficiently Sharing Responsibility for Endowment Management
The Rise of the Outsourced Chief Investment Officer ( OCIO ) Recent market volatility, coupled with growing demands on investment returns in a lower-return environment, has left many non-profits reconsidering their approach to the way they manage their endowment assets. Partnerships that provide an extra layer of management and expertise, in the form of an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer, have been a growing solution for both large and small institutions. Why are more institutions outsourcing with OCIO firms? 1 1 Lack of Internal Resources Many organizations rely on an investment committee and/or small internal staff to operate and manage their endowment. These resources are thinly stretched across the multitude of disciplines required to effectively run an endowment. 2 Desire for Additional Fiduciary Oversight Events of recent years have yielded increased regulatory and donor scrutiny on the way that many endowments are invested and managed. This heightened attention has resulted in more onerous compliance and reporting requirements for prudent management of institutional funds. 3 Need for Better Risk Management The investment diversity within an endowment-style portfolio makes risk measurement and aggregation challenging. Given that risk-taking is integral to investing, an institution needs focused attention on managing risks in order to foster intergenerational equity over market cycles. 4 Absence of Fast Implementation and Decisions The traditional framework of quarterly investment committee meetings and decision-making potentially leaves meaningful investment opportunities on the table. Considering the velocity of change in financial markets in recent years, meaningful opportunities can be overlooked, particularly on an intra-quarter basis. 1 Source: 2015 Outsourced Chief Investment Officers Buyers Guide, AI-CIO
The OCIO Solution 1 2 3 4 An OCIO brings resources and expertise across many aspects of endowment management to the table in a cost-effective way. An OCIO takes accountability for performance and helps an institution meet governance responsibilities. An OCIO brings an integrated risk management infrastructure to help budget risks and manage tail events. An OCIO uncovers alternative and traditional investment opportunities and executes on them quickly. Focused Investment and Operational Expertise: Additional Governance Support: Risk Management Expertise: Timely Response to Market Changes: Asset allocation Discretionary manager selection Portfolio construction Assistance in IPS creation to ensure that an institution s financial goals are reflected in its investment portfolio Risk evaluation at every stage, from defining asset allocation targets to ongoing asset monitoring and rebalancing Vigilance over day-to-day markets Ability to execute on market dislocations and timely Ongoing portfolio and manager monitoring Executes and reconciles trades Reviews and reconciles cash activity and performance Assists with institution s monthly/quarterly/year- Process-oriented execution that allows for checks and controls around operations, trading, accounting and compliance Timely and appropriate reporting to enable an institution to make informed fiduciary decisions Aggregated risk monitoring and reporting at the total portfolio level Liquidity management to balance long-term goals with short-term needs Diversified asset allocation to help weather market volatility opportunities Ongoing evaluation of relative attractiveness across strategies and asset classes Streamlined connection between investment decisions and operational implementations end processes Provides the IC with more time to devote to mission-related, strategic decisions KEY POINT There are many types of firms that classify themselves as OCIOs, making it difficult to fit them into a singular definition. In general, an OCIO is an external partner who takes on resource-intensive responsibilities and provides value-enhancing and holistic expertise to the manner in which an endowment is managed, operated and invested.
How does an OCIO differ from a consultant? Consultant OCIO The desire of institutions to seek external investment support was initially satisfied by the use of consultants on an advisory basis. A high-level comparison of the OCIO and traditional consulting models is useful, considering the prevalence of each in the non-profit sector. Taken on by CONSULTANT? INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY Taken on by OCIO? Approving Asset Allocation Rebalancing Manager Selection Approval Trade Execution Reporting Intra-Quarter Decisions Mission-Related Strategy We believe that the consultant model is ideal for institutions that have a board and staff with the resources and expertise to be highly involved throughout the portfolio implementation process. We believe the OCIO model is ideal for institutions that want to be highly involved in policy considerations, but do not have the resources to manage and execute the day-to-day portfolio. Today, endowment management requires expertise and peak performance in a variety of functions often simultaneously. Michael Jawor CIO, Covariance
The Covariance OCIO Offering Covariance has built a partnership structure that is well suited to add value to institutions with purpose-driven, long-term capital. Our endowment management expertise includes in-depth knowledge not only of investing, but also risk analytics, accounting, operations, and other services that can help an institution execute on its vision, investment-related and otherwise. When an institution partners with Covariance, it automatically has the power of Covariance s resources and expertise strengthening the capabilities of its internal staff and investment committee. Covariance Employees Have Been on Your Side of the Table TIAA Shares Our Values and Provides Added Stability Consistency in purpose across the firm Strategic team of highly experienced investors and operators from both the non-profit and private sectors Covariance s team brings experience from a number of respected institutions, including Rice University, Harvard University, The University of Chicago, The University of Richmond, The University of Texas, The University of Virginia, Glenwood Capital, Wilshire Associates and BlackRock, Inc. Institutionalized Organizational Structure Formalized governance structure across our Investment, Valuation and Risk committees Our Co-Chief Investment Officer structure allows for depth at the most senior investment level and contributes to a full vetting of investment opportunities. Covariance professionals are supported by TIAA legal, finance, risk management, compliance, information technology, and human resources. We are supported by a parent organization TIAA that for almost 100 years has been serving the same complex needs of non-profit organizations that are now making use of Covariance s services. The substantial support of TIAA has allowed Covariance to invest heavily in its infrastructure and personnel. Covariance operates as an independent subsidiary of TIAA with a separate investment engine. Client Service from the Top Covariance believes clients should have direct access to our key decision-makers. Covariance encourages clients to work directly with senior management on all important matters. Each client account is completely customized to meet the unique needs of each client partner. Covariance believes that performance is defined by more than just numbers. We understand that holistic endowment management draws upon cross-functional resources, and we expect to be evaluated on performance across all these measures as we aim to not only preserve our clients capital, but to grow it sensibly over time.
MISSION Covariance offers principled investment leadership to empower non-profit institutions to further their mission through the responsible growth of their permanent capital. We deliver comprehensive endowment management services drawing from our accomplished team, deep resources, and the values of our non-profit heritage. HEADQUARTERS 1221 McKinney Street, Suite 1800 Houston, TX 77010 713 770-2000 Covariance_IR@CovarianceCapital.com Copyright 2016 by, Inc., a TIAA-CREF company. All rights reserved. Certain products and services offered by, Inc. may not be available or appropriate for all investors. This report may not be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form, in whole or in portion, by any means, without written permission from Covariance Capital Management, Inc. C0000028654