GEM was founded in 2007 by the investment leadership of the Duke University Management Company and The Duke Endowment. Our mission was to replicate the investment management style and governance model of the leading endowments.
As a leading Outsourced Chief Investment Office (OCIO), we deliver a sophisticated, endowment-style investment program to institutions with a multigenerational horizon. We combine disciplined portfolio management with sound governance and a boutique mindset — integrating with our clients’ organizations as if we’re their in-house team.
As client needs have evolved and broadened, we’ve leveraged our multi-asset investing capabilities into tailored solutions for other types of long-term investors. GEM clients access our underwriting process, manager relationships, and integrated partnership via comprehensive OCIO engagements, targeted alternative investments programs, and impact-focused strategies.
We are employee-owned and independent, structurally aligned with our clients’ long-term objectives. No matter the mandate, we look to generate superior risk-adjusted returns over the long term by accessing high-quality investment opportunities, combined with an ethos of partnership built to endure.1
Pioneered by David Swensen and the Yale Investments Office in the mid-‘80s, endowment-style investing is rooted in the belief that perpetual investors have distinct opportunities and advantages relative to traditional investors. Instead of relying solely on conventional asset types in a standard portfolio structure, the leading endowments focus on broad diversification across asset classes, with allocations to alternatives such as private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, and real estate, where skill in differentiated manager selection can generate alpha in less efficient markets.
Our team has extensive experience at leading endowments, private equity firms, hedge funds, and asset managers across the country. GEM’s senior leaders, many of whom were trained as direct investors, operate with a principal mindset. We bring to bear the full weight of our team’s expertise on behalf of each client to ensure exceptional results and partnership.
In our 2024 Outlook, we outline four current issues that are impacting portfolios and offer our views on how these questions might influence our allocation strategy and the broader economic landscape.
The 16th oldest community foundation in the United States, the Winston-Salem Foundation partners with individuals and organizations to improve the quality of life in Forsyth County and beyond.
We are proud to announce that the firm has been recognized as a 2023 Best Place to Work in Money Management by Pensions & Investments.
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1 Returns are not guaranteed.
