Commonfund has launched a new manager portal for due diligence materials from women- and minority-owned money managers, a news release said Tuesday.
The portal was created by Commonfund's diversity and inclusion office, which opened in 2018. The portal facilitates the receipt and review of investment information from women and minority managers investing in credit, equities, fixed income, hedge funds and real estate.
Commonfund defines the universe of managers as those that feature at least 33% ownership by women, people of black or African American, Asian, Latino/Hispanic, Native American or Pacific Islander descent, veterans and/or people with disabilities.
"While our existing database shows that we've made substantial progress in expanding our coverage and investment with diverse managers, we see a clear opportunity to build upon our progress by considering submissions from the wider manager community," said Caroline Greer, managing director and chairwoman of Commonfund's diversity office, in the news release. "Independent research indicates that diverse manager performance distributions tend to fall in line with the broader investment universe by asset class. As such, we are excited about the opportunity the portal will provide for us to expand our clients' access to a larger pool of investment talent."
Managers who submit materials through the portal by Nov. 1 will have their submissions reviewed before the end of 2019. They will be asked to submit strategy overviews, monthly performance and a standard due diligence questionnaire.
More information is available at the diversity office's website.
Commonfund has about $25.3 billion in assets under management.
