Alternatives can provide more exploitable alpha opportunities for skilled managers. History suggests that investing in alternatives can increase overall portfolio returns.2, 3
Alternatives are generally less correlated with traditional stocks and bonds and access a wider opportunity set than is available in public markets.
Investing in private alternatives can provide exposure to unique investment opportunities and more esoteric strategies that are typically not accessible via traditional markets.
3Private Alternatives are comprised of Burgiss Manager Universe pooled net IRR for each of the named asset classes from 1/1/2010 through 6/30/2023. The Burgiss Manager Universe provides coverage of research-quality performance and behavioral data on private capital funds and their holdings. The underlying dataset is sourced exclusively from limited partners and includes complete transactional history of thousands of funds. GEM is unable to access, and therefore cannot independently verify, the underlying data. Public benchmark for Buyout and Venture Capital is the MSCI All Country World Index (MSCI ACWI); the public benchmark for Real Estate is the MSCI REITs Index. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Returns are not guaranteed.
We offer clients access to what we believe to be high-quality opportunities across a range of asset classes.
We look for operational opportunities and specialized strategies
We invest with buyout managers who develop expertise in a specific industry or transaction type — such as buy-and-builds or corporate carve-outs — that positions them to improve institutional operations and drive earnings growth.
We focus on the least efficient parts of the market
Although exceptions exist, in the buyout market GEM focuses primarily on the small buyout space, including direct co-investments alongside independent sponsors.
We believe persistence pays
VC has been a persistent asset class. The top quartile venture capital firms added at least 14% above the S&P 500® from 1990–2018.5 We seek to invest with the most seasoned managers at firms where we see consistent market outperformance.
We share our mission-oriented clients’ impactful work
Successful VC managers are selective about their investors. We’ve found that many top-performing firms prefer to work with mission-oriented groups, giving us an advantage in building relationships.
We believe the neighborhood is just as important as the house
Finding the right market is critical, so we seek to invest in areas where the fundamentals are strong.
We work with owner-operators
GEM looks for capable managers who own and operate their own assets. We tend to avoid situations with multiple layers between GEM and the asset owner.
We seek value-add and development opportunities
We pursue managers who invest in properties with high return potential through new development, redevelopment, rebranding, or other value-creating initiatives.
We put stakeholders at the center
We leverage the GEM Impact Management Project Framework to measure the impact of every portfolio investment on five key stakeholders: customers, planet, supply chain, employees, and community.
We pursue returns
Our core belief is that we can achieve attractive, risk-adjusted returns by investing with strategies that aim to create value and build a sustainable, just, and inclusive future.
We also offer access to investment opportunities other than those listed above. When these unique opportunities arise, we not only include them in our portfolio, but work with clients on potential co-investments and other unique partnerships.
We look for operational opportunities and specialized strategies
We invest with buyout managers who develop expertise in a specific industry or transaction type — such as buy-and-builds or corporate carve-outs — that positions them to improve institutional operations and drive earnings growth.
We focus on the least efficient parts of the market
Although exceptions exist, in the buyout market GEM focuses primarily on the small buyout space, including direct co-investments alongside independent sponsors.
We believe persistence pays
VC has been a persistent asset class. The top quartile venture capital firms added at least 14% above the S&P 500® from 1990–2018.5 We seek to invest with the most seasoned managers at firms where we see consistent market outperformance.
We share our mission-oriented clients’ impactful work
Successful VC managers are selective about their investors. We’ve found that many top-performing firms prefer to work with mission-oriented groups, giving us an advantage in building relationships.
We believe the neighborhood is just as important as the house
Finding the right market is critical, so we seek to invest in areas where the fundamentals are strong.
We work with owner-operators
GEM looks for capable managers who own and operate their own assets. We tend to avoid situations with multiple layers between GEM and the asset owner.
We seek value-add and development opportunities
We pursue managers who invest in properties with high return potential through new development, redevelopment, rebranding, or other value-creating initiatives.
We put stakeholders at the center
We leverage the GEM Impact Management Project Framework to measure the impact of every portfolio investment on five key stakeholders: customers, planet, supply chain, employees, and community.
We pursue returns
Our core belief is that we can achieve attractive, risk-adjusted returns by investing with strategies that aim to create value and build a sustainable, just, and inclusive future.
We also offer access to investment opportunities other than those listed above. When these unique opportunities arise, we not only include them in our portfolio, but work with clients on potential co-investments and other unique partnerships.
Head of Venture Capital, Kate Simpson, joined David Weisburd on the How I Invest podcast to share how GEM evaluates venture managers and builds conviction through disciplined sourcing, rigorous reference work, and thoughtful fund-level underwriting in an increasingly bifurcated market.
In our 2026 Outlook, the GEM team explores the key forces driving today’s evolving market cycle, from AI-led capital spending to shifting dynamics in private markets, biotech, and real estate, and what they mean for positioning in the year ahead.
In this edition of The Long View, Co-CIO Matt Bank explains why managing risk with structure, discipline, and flexibility is essential for long-term investors, and how GEM’s approach helps portfolios endure uncertainty.
Let’s start a conversation about how we can help.
1 Returns are not guaranteed.
2 Past performance is not indicative of future results. Returns are not guaranteed.
3Private Alternatives are comprised of Burgiss Manager Universe pooled net IRR for each of the named asset classes from 1/1/2010 through 6/30/2023. The Burgiss Manager Universe provides coverage of research-quality performance and behavioral data on private capital funds and their holdings. The underlying dataset is sourced exclusively from limited partners and includes complete transactional history of thousands of funds. GEM is unable to access, and therefore cannot independently verify, the underlying data. Public benchmark for Buyout and Venture Capital is the MSCI All Country World Index (MSCI ACWI); the public benchmark for Real Estate is the MSCI REITs Index. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Returns are not guaranteed.
4 Returns are not guaranteed. To select impact investments, GEM utilizes the GEM IMP Framework, a comprehensive model adapted from the Impact Management Project’s Impact Management “norms” and Impact Classes and applied by GEM to assess impact by evaluating investment strategies and managers, including but not limited to the impact of portfolio companies on key stakeholders and investment managers’ contributions to impact. For more information on the Impact Management Project, please see https://impactfrontiers.org/norms/. For the avoidance of doubt, GEM reserves the right to modify the GEM IMP Framework and its application.
5 Burgiss Manager Universe for US Venture Capital Funds, 1990–2018.
