| Insights Blog

Announcing the Commonfund Diverse Manager Portal

September 10, 2019 |
2 minute read
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In the fall of 2018, Commonfund announced the creation of its Diversity and Inclusion Office with the mission to “intentionally promote and foster inclusion and equity across Commonfund and our investment process, thought leadership and professional and organizational development.”

As a result, the Office brings together the three core elements of Commonfund: a focus on the inclusion of diverse managers within investment portfolios, a desire to advance the understanding of the value of diversity and inclusion and serve as the central clearinghouse for information on diversity and inclusion in the asset management industry, and finally, to provide firm-wide opportunities for professional and organizational development.

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As part of our efforts to expand our universe of diverse managers, and ultimately, the number of diverse managers we invest with, over the last year Commonfund built a cross-asset class Diverse Manager Database of managers that we have met and evaluated.  The first objective of the database was to determine the size and depth of our diverse manager universe, relative to the broader “known” universe available through traditional database sources.  The result of this project was to show us that while we have made substantial progress in expanding our coverage and investment with diverse managers, we realized we can do better and must do more.

To that end, we are excited to launch the next wave in our Diverse Manager investment efforts: the development of a Diverse Manager Portal.  The Portal is designed to facilitate the receipt of investment information specifically from diverse managers (defined as firms with 33% or more ownership by women, people of black or African American, Latino/Hispanic, Asian, Native or Pacific Islander descent, veterans and/ or people with disabilities). 

The Portal comes with a pledge to review every manager who submits their materials.  Managers who submit their performance, presentation and due diligence materials between September 1st and November 1st will have their submissions reviewed before year end.  Based on the outcome of this exciting program, we will determine future steps at that time.

Investing in diverse managers is not simply a social justice issue, it expands our client access to investment talent.  In 2018 we published a blog on investing in diverse managers.  In that blog, we referenced a 2016 study sponsored by the Knight Foundation, conducted by Professor Josh Lerner of the Harvard Business School, that demonstrated that top quartile diverse manager performance is in line with the top quartile performance of the broader investment universe for mutual funds, hedge funds, private capital and real estate.  Lerner’s study was updated in 2018 and his results reconfirmed the findings from his original study. 

With an expanded database of diverse managers, our hope is to increase the number of investment prospects for our clients, giving them access to a broader array of investment talent.

Visit our Commonfund website today to learn more about responsible investing. 

Access our Diverse Manager Portal Now.

 
Caroline Greer

Author

Caroline Greer

Managing Director

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Disclaimer

Certain information contained herein has been obtained from or is based on third-party sources and, although believed to be reliable, has not been independently verified. Such information is as of the date indicated, if indicated, may not be complete, is subject to change and has not necessarily been updated. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be given by The Common Fund for Nonprofit Organizations, any of its affiliates or any of its or their affiliates, trustees, directors, officers, employees or advisers (collectively referred to herein as “Commonfund”) or any other person as to the accuracy or completeness of the information in any third-party materials. Accordingly, Commonfund shall not be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of relying on any statement in, or omission from, such third-party materials, and any such liability is expressly disclaimed.

All rights to the trademarks, copyrights, logos and other intellectual property listed herein belong to their respective owners and the use of such logos hereof does not imply an affiliation with, or endorsement by, the owners of such trademarks, copyrights, logos and other intellectual property.

To the extent views presented forecast market activity, they may be based on many factors in addition to those explicitly stated herein. Forecasts of experts inevitably differ. Views attributed to third-parties are presented to demonstrate the existence of points of view, not as a basis for recommendations or as investment advice. Market and investment views of third-parties presented herein do not necessarily reflect the views of Commonfund, any manager retained by Commonfund to manage any investments for Commonfund (each, a “Manager”) or any fund managed by any Commonfund entity (each, a “Fund”). Accordingly, the views presented herein may not be relied upon as an indication of trading intent on behalf of Commonfund, any Manager or any Fund.

Statements concerning Commonfund’s views of possible future outcomes in any investment asset class or market, or of possible future economic developments, are not intended, and should not be construed, as forecasts or predictions of the future investment performance of any Fund. Such statements are also not intended as recommendations by any Commonfund entity or any Commonfund employee to the recipient of the presentation. It is Commonfund’s policy that investment recommendations to its clients must be based on the investment objectives and risk tolerances of each individual client. All market outlook and similar statements are based upon information reasonably available as of the date of this presentation (unless an earlier date is stated with regard to particular information), and reasonably believed to be accurate by Commonfund. Commonfund disclaims any responsibility to provide the recipient of this presentation with updated or corrected information or statements. Past performance is not indicative of future results. For more information please refer to Important Disclosures.

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Disclaimer

Certain information contained herein has been obtained from or is based on third-party sources and, although believed to be reliable, has not been independently verified. Such information is as of the date indicated, if indicated, may not be complete, is subject to change and has not necessarily been updated. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be given by The Common Fund for Nonprofit Organizations, any of its affiliates or any of its or their affiliates, trustees, directors, officers, employees or advisers (collectively referred to herein as “Commonfund”) or any other person as to the accuracy or completeness of the information in any third-party materials. Accordingly, Commonfund shall not be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of relying on any statement in, or omission from, such third-party materials, and any such liability is expressly disclaimed.

All rights to the trademarks, copyrights, logos and other intellectual property listed herein belong to their respective owners and the use of such logos hereof does not imply an affiliation with, or endorsement by, the owners of such trademarks, copyrights, logos and other intellectual property.

To the extent views presented forecast market activity, they may be based on many factors in addition to those explicitly stated herein. Forecasts of experts inevitably differ. Views attributed to third-parties are presented to demonstrate the existence of points of view, not as a basis for recommendations or as investment advice. Market and investment views of third-parties presented herein do not necessarily reflect the views of Commonfund, any manager retained by Commonfund to manage any investments for Commonfund (each, a “Manager”) or any fund managed by any Commonfund entity (each, a “Fund”). Accordingly, the views presented herein may not be relied upon as an indication of trading intent on behalf of Commonfund, any Manager or any Fund.

Statements concerning Commonfund’s views of possible future outcomes in any investment asset class or market, or of possible future economic developments, are not intended, and should not be construed, as forecasts or predictions of the future investment performance of any Fund. Such statements are also not intended as recommendations by any Commonfund entity or any Commonfund employee to the recipient of the presentation. It is Commonfund’s policy that investment recommendations to its clients must be based on the investment objectives and risk tolerances of each individual client. All market outlook and similar statements are based upon information reasonably available as of the date of this presentation (unless an earlier date is stated with regard to particular information), and reasonably believed to be accurate by Commonfund. Commonfund disclaims any responsibility to provide the recipient of this presentation with updated or corrected information or statements. Past performance is not indicative of future results. For more information please refer to Important Disclosures.