The market meltdown of 2008 changed the landscape for outsourced investment. When I first began managing a university endowment in 2004, institutions considered outsourcing only if they weren’t big enough to justify having a full-time investment professional on staff. The breakpoint was around $500 million to $750 million in assets. Post 2008, many institutions seriously considered outsourcing investment management if endowment assets were not large enough to justify staffing an entire investment office. Outsourced mandates over $1 billion were no longer uncommon.

In 2012 I formed a new firm, Vigilant Investment Solutions, specializing in helping institutions find the best outsourced CIO firms and products for their needs.

Some of the topics I’ll be addressing include why institutions outsource the investment function, the range of outsourced CIO options available, key issues in due diligence, issues with structuring and implementing outsourced solutions, and trends in the outsourced CIO industry.

In addition to providing practical, relevant, and credible information, my other goal for this blog is to create a robust forum for discussion. Please visit often and comment freely — suggest topics, ask questions, put a different spin on something, agree or disagree.