In Defense of the Endowment Model, Rightly Understood

September 27, 2024


We are excited to introduce The Long View
: a new series from GEM’s Deputy CIO, Matt Bank, exploring a range of topics relevant to the fiduciaries and allocators of institutional capital.


 

The “Endowment Model,” we’re told, is under pressure. For our country’s endowed civic institutions, it’s allegedly too complex, illiquid, and costly. However, in our experience, reports of the “death” of the Endowment Model have always been greatly exaggerated. When properly understood, assessed, and executed, endowment-style investing looks a lot like any other form of active management, with the same attendant virtues and tradeoffs.

In the first of his three-part series on the Endowment Model, Bank dissects:

  1. What the Endowment Model is,
  2. What the Endowment Model is not, and
  3. How endowment-style investing is best implemented for long-term, multi-asset portfolios

 

Read More

Recent Insights

In Defense of the Endowment Model, Effectively Executed

Deputy CIO Matt Bank concludes his three-part series on the Endowment Model with an exploration of the attributes that will be required to effectively invest an endowment-style portfolio over the next decade.

GEM Recognized In Pensions & Investments’ Best Places To Work In Money Management

For the second consecutive year, GEM has been named a “Best Place to Work in Money Management” by Pensions & Investments. Learn more about what sets GEM apart.

Capital Allocators: Matt Bank - "GEMs" of Risk, Asset Allocation, and Manager Selection (EP.419)

Deputy CIO Matt Bank joined Ted Seides on the Capital Allocators podcast for a wide-ranging discussion that covered Matt’s path to investing, GEM’s approach to risk, asset allocation, and manager selection, and more.

Connect with us

Let’s start a conversation about how we can help.