Gender and Racial Equity Lens (GREL) Investments

In 2020, the RBF set out to increase the gender, racial, and ethnic diversity of the managers in our investment portfolio. Advancing diversity in our asset management advances our fiduciary duty to preserve our endowment in perpetuity. Investment return performance, in general, is statistically indistinguishable between funds owned by women and people of color and funds owned by white men, but research suggests that investors underestimate the value of funds managed by people of color and women.

We seek to invest 25 percent of our endowment with firms in which women and/or people of color hold majority equity ownership. In addition, the RBF will seek firms that reflect several criteria:

  • Leadership: Women and/or people of color hold leadership roles, defined as those who establish policies, set strategy, and provide overall direction, at the firm
  • Pipeline: Women and/or people of color are represented in the staff of the firm, contributing to its diversity. Special emphasis is placed on firms that make intentional efforts to transition women and/or people of color to more senior roles.
  • Portfolio Companies: Venture Capital and Private Equity funds commit to a minimum of 30 percent portfolio companies led by women and/or people of color.

In all of our efforts to align our endowment investments with our mission, we continue to adhere to the longstanding mandate of our board of trustees that our assets be invested with the goal of achieving financial returns that will enable the foundation to meet its annual philanthropic obligations while maintaining the purchasing power of the endowment so that future generations will also benefit from the foundation’s charitable giving. Therefore, mission-aligned investment efforts, including diversity of asset management, will be accomplished through a financially prudent process. RBF will seek the best investment firms to manage its endowment. No investment manager will be unlawfully afforded or denied an opportunity on the basis of a protected characteristic.

We hope this work will interest other asset owners and investment managers and encourage others to strive toward more inclusive investment practices. We also expect to learn from the experience of others.

GREL Investments

as of January 2024

ManagerInitial Commitment DateAmount Committed*Asset ClassGREL Metric**
137 VenturesDecember 2020$12,000,000Private Capital3–Pipeline
AccelMay 2022$6,000,000Private Capital3–Pipeline
AmbientaNovember 2018$14,000,000Private Capital2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline
Aqua CapitalMay 2022$15,000,000Real Assets1–Ownership, 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline, 4–Portfolio Companies
ARCH VenturesNovember 2017,
December 2018, January 2021
$32,000,000Private Capital 3–Pipeline
ArrowMark May 2015, April 2014$29,876,386Private Capital, Global Equities3–Pipeline
Blue Bear CapitalApril and September 2021$20,500,000Real Assets2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline
Brandywine Global Investment ManagementApril 2014$15,829,905Fixed Income3–Pipeline
CenterOak March 2016,
November 2019 
$30,000,000Private Capital 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline, 4–Portfolio Companies
ClearVueSeptember 2016 $10,000,000Private Capital 1–Ownership, 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline, 4–Portfolio Companies
Colchester March 2018 $14,766,377Global Fixed Income 3–Pipeline 
DeepCurrents May 2020 $25,222,963Absolute Return 3–Pipeline 
Elephant Asset Management September 2022$11,180,565Global Equities1–Ownership, 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline
Elevar EquityJuly 2015$12,500,000Private Capital 1–Ownership, 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline, 4–Portfolio Companies
Grain ManagementDecember 2020$13,000,000Real Assets1–Ownership, 2–Leadership, 4–Portfolio Companies
Harrison StreetMarch 2014$15,000,000Real Assets2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline
Hazelview Investments (fka Timbercreek) October 2018 $12,998,006Real Assets 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline
HG Vora Capital ManagementMarch and April 2022$29,807,652Absolute Return 1–Ownership, 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline
KKR May 2020 $12,000,000 Private Capital 3–Pipeline
LSV Asset ManagementApril 2022$30,615,909Global Equities2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline
Mainstream/LekelaJuly 2016$12,500,000Real Assets3–Pipeline
New Century October 2020 $20,000,000 Real Assets 1–Ownership, 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline
New Energy CapitalFebruary 2019$20,000,000Real Assets3–Pipeline
OceanSound PartnersMay 2021$10,000,000Private Capital 1–Ownership, 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline
Patria (P2 Brasil) February 2015 $15,000,000Real Assets 3–Pipeline
PeakSpan CapitalNovember 2021$11,000,000Private Capital2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline
Prime FinanceAugust 2016$8,173,328Real Assets3–Pipeline
Rally Ventures PartnersOctober 2018 $12,215,517Private Capital 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline
Reams Asset ManagementDecember 2018$24,913,272Fixed Income3–Pipeline
Redwood Grove April 2020 $15,283,635Global Equities 3–Pipeline
ReThink ImpactApril 2020 $12,000,000 Private Capital 3–Pipeline, 4–Portfolio Companies 
RhumbLine (Passive) December 2018 $18,936,568Global Equities 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline
Rockefeller and Co Inc. January 2016$7,596,600Global Equities2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline 
RRG November 2019 $12,500,000 Real Assets 3–Pipeline 
Sanders Capital, LLC April 2014 $78,700,882Global Equities 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline 
Sculptor Real EstateMay 2020 $18,000,000 Absolute Return 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline 
Select Equity GroupJuly 2020 $20,696,038Global Equities 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline 
Stellex Capital ManagementJuly 2020 $10,000,000 Private Capital 1–Ownership, 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline 
Tensile Capital Management May 2016 $31,428,363Global Equities 1–Ownership, 2–Leadership, 3–Pipeline 
Two Creeks October 2020 $18,337,847Absolute Return 3–Pipeline 
Vision Ridge PartnersMay 2015, February 2018, April 2021$48,500,000Real Assets3–Pipeline 

GREL Investment Total: $801,619,812

The above is provided for information purposes only and is not an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any shares in any underlying pooled vehicles or managers named therein.

*Amount committed refers to private capital and private real asset investments. For all other asset classes, value shown denotes market value.

**GREL metrics were created and defined by the RBF; fund managers do not necessarily market their services in these categories. Certain managers declined to be publicly disclosed and are excluded from the list. Managers with whom RBF is in the process of redeeming from were also excluded from this list.