Putting innovation into practice
Historically, endowments and foundations have been viewed as ‘ahead of the curve’ on a number of themes—such as the use of private equity and other alternative investment strategies. The combination of a long-term investment horizon, relative regulatory freedom and innovation-friendly governance structures continues to be a powerful one.
Today, we continue to see foundation and endowment investors seeking to advance and enhance portfolios with new developments—such as exploring esoteric investment strategies that have not yet reached the institutional mainstream, driving ‘impact investment’ product development and uncovering unfamiliar/emerging managers.
Supporting the needs of foundations and endowments
Endowments and foundations represent a very significant proportion of bfinance’s client base (>10%). Acting as an extension of their teams, we offer flexible support in a range of areas. The most popular service for these investors during recent years has been manager research and selection: the bfinance process has helped these clients to research strategies, acquire market knowledge and uncover a broad range of solutions.
Other key services for our endowment and foundation clients include strategic portfolio design / strategic asset allocation, fee reviews, risk analytics, ESG advisory and operational due diligence. The majority of endowment/foundation clients have appointed bfinance to provide targeted support on a project basis (e.g. 8-12 weeks); long-term support is also available.
Latest case studies
CMA and SAA Support
A Middle Eastern endowment engaged bfinance to assist in refining its Shariah-compliant Strategic...
Strategic Investment Review
A UK-based Charity was seeking support for evaluating their current investment approach and...
Strategic review of FX hedging policy
A Northern-European endowment organisation engaged with bfinance to review its strategic approach...
US/Canada Equity, Dividend Focus
This investor sought to switch from passive strategies towards active management, with the primary...
What our clients say
One of the key reasons we use bfinance is their analysis; the amount of analysis that was done on the submissions was really top notch.
bfinance will provide the solutions. They will hear the problem and they’ll set up the solution. They’ve done that repeatedly on different topics.
The good thing about bfinance is that they do not have a preference. They are not pushing one manager over the other. They will find the best manager for you. It is an unbiased recommendation.
Our latest articles and white papers
Latest Insights Carousel

Manager Intelligence and Market Trends - February 2025
bfinance’s quarterly report in February 2025: read the team’s latest insights on institutional...

Impact Private Debt: DNA of a Manager Search
The ‘Impact Private Debt’ sector has undergone a significant phase of expansion during the past...

Four Family Office Trends to Watch in 2025
‘Energy transition’ tailwinds should, it is often argued, boost the prices of particular...

Properties of Performance: What Has Set Real Estate Fund 'Winners' Apart?
With an eye on recent difficulties in real estate portfolios, we ask: what has separated...

‘Enhanced Indexation’ Gains Momentum as Investors Shift Gears
Asset owners are now grappling with fundamental tensions within equity portfolio design. The...

Time to Press for Better Fees in Private Markets?
A new survey of more than 300 investors (Global Asset Owner Survey, November 2024) indicates that...

Global Asset Owner Survey: Risk and Resilience
A secular macroeconomic transition has created an unenviable series of choices—and potential...

Diagnosis: Opportunity? Direct Lending in Healthcare
Private debt investors are eyeing apparently superior returns in healthcare lending, with funds’...

Manager Intelligence and Market Trends - November 2024
bfinance’s quarterly report in November 2024: read the team’s latest insights on institutional...

Forget Hedge Fund Strategy Labels – Here Are Three Groups that Matter
Conventional hedge fund classifications, as taught by bodies such as the CFA Institute and CAIA,...