Foundations & Endowments

Veris offers customized, mission-aligned OCIO and advisory services for foundations, endowments, and nonprofits

Whether your organization is starting to explore impact alignment of your endowment, or your portfolio is already mission-aligned, we believe Veris has the expertise and experience to support you on your journey.

Veris provides investment management and advisory services to organizations seeking an adviser that understands both their investment needs and their mission. We believe our firm’s collaborative and educational process contributes to board and staff cohesion and helps unlock the talents of everyone in the room. We serve as fiduciaries aiming to help you meet your financial and impact goals.

What Sets Veris Apart

Deep investment capabilities across private & public markets

History of providing investment advice since 2007

Clients can invest up to 100% of a portfolio to aim for positive impact

Solutions for Foundations, Endowments, and Nonprofits

Veris can serve as your Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) to simplify internal operations, access specialized expertise, and align your organization’s financial resources with your mission to amplify the impact you are already creating through grantmaking. We can customize the range of services we provide based on your specific needs.

A list of Veris’ services for foundation and endowment clients includes:

Outsourced Chief Investment Office (OCIO)

Veris can serve as an objective, strategic investment advisor with expertise in financial markets and mission-aligned investing. We offer a range of investment advisory services – from investment policy statement (IPS) development to strategic and tactical asset allocation to manager due diligence and strategy selection to implementation and monitoring. We also support our clients from a procedural perspective to ensure governance systems are in place for the long-term implementation of the mission-aligned IPS.

Strategic Asset Allocation and Portfolio Construction

Based on your return targets, grantmaking and operating cash flow needs, we can customize a strategic asset allocation to meet your financial goals and will make recommendations for ongoing strategic and tactical changes as appropriate and implement the final approved plan.

Mission Related Investing (MRI)

Veris can help transition your organization’s portfolio to up to 100% impact orientation. We can help integrate your mission across asset classes and in all aspects of advisory services, including in developing an active ownership strategy and approach, and identifying impact-first / catalytic investments that further your mission. We can help review and/or develop mission related investing (MRI) guidelines, mission-related Investment Policy Statement (IPS), and provide other MRI services. 

Manager Selection and Monitoring

Veris can lead sourcing, due diligence, and manager selection of institutional-quality funds with the aim of identifying risk-adjusted financial returns and impact that are aligned with your organization’s mission. Managers are assessed using Veris’ proprietary EDI Manager Due Diligence Framework and we can provide diversity reporting.

Discretionary and Non-Discretionary Investment Advice

We seek to meet your needs by offering both discretionary (the advisor does not require client approvals for investment allocations) and non-discretionary (the advisor requires client approvals for investment allocations) investment advice. We often work with foundations and endowments in a hybrid format, which is partially discretionary and partially non-discretionary.  

Board and Staff Education

We work with your organization’s staff and leadership team, Investment and Finance Committees, and Board to provide support and education on mission investing. As a first mover in the sector, our personnel collectively have decades of experience and an extensive network. We help connect your team with peers in the industry.

Investment Strategy

If your organization already has an IPS, we can review and recommend necessary updates as appropriate in light of market conditions or changes to your goals. We can share our experience working with organizations to create a spending policy, mission investing guidelines and specific screens to create alignment without performance sacrifice.

Program-Related Investing (PRI)

We can support your PRI program as an alternative to grant making. We also support planning for capital calls for example and can include PRI impact reporting in the organization’s broader portfolio impact report.

Grant Making

Veris can help support your wiring and check writing to your grantees.

Organizational Support

We can support your organization in multiple ways, which we tailor to each of our clients. This includes but is not limited to: Investment Policy Statement development, governance development to help support the long-term implementation of your IPS, planning your grant-making needs and working cross-functionally with programmatic staff to help ensure there is coherence between the investment practices and programmatic work of your organization.

Monitoring, Reporting, and Audit Support

We can provide ongoing portfolio management and performance monitoring. Monthly custodian statements and quarterly performance reports are available online to offer easy access to information for financial statements. We also provide custom reports as needed for audits. We provide financial and impact performance reports and market commentary in regular review meetings that are scheduled based on your timeline and board and committee availability.

Field Building and Thought Leadership

Veris can share thought leadership and contribute to your organization’s documentation of lessons learned and/or ongoing portfolio transparency to build the field and inspire others to join alongside you.

How we work with foundations and endowments

Veris has developed a collaborative process to help foundations and endowments that seek to transition to mission-aligned portfolios with up to 100% focus on creating positive impact. Our team will work with your staff and other consultants to minimize costs and time requirements and transition seamlessly to the new target portfolio.

How we work with foundations infrographic

The Veris process — read more about each step below.

Discovery

Discovery

Through conversations, documentation, and deep-dive research, the Veris team seeks to learn about your foundation’s mission, financial goals, impact goals, governance structure, history, and anything else we should know about your organization.

Collaboration

Collaboration

Next, we seek to collaborate and build consensus with the Investment Committee on recommended adjustments to the financial and impact goals and solidify a protocol for communication. The Veris team can provide educational support and facilitation with the aim of building consensus.

Investment Policy Statement (IPS) Development

Investment Policy Statement (IPS) Development

Based on our agreed understanding, we can develop or make necessary updates to the Investment Policy Statement (IPS) in alignment with your organization’s impact themes and Mission Related Investing (MRI) approaches.

Portfolio Proposal & Plan

Portfolio Proposal & Plan

Once we have approval of the updated IPS, Veris can create a portfolio proposal and plans for implementation and transition.

Implementation
Implementation icon

Implementation

We put the plan in action and begin to activate your portfolio with an aim to better support your goals and your mission. It is not unusual for implementation to be a multi-year and multi-phase process.

Reporting
Reporting icon

Reporting

We monitor and report on your performance and impact outcomes.

Refinement

In response to performance and impact outcomes, we can make refinements to your portfolio tracking towards your goals.

Communication

Your Veris team can keep all stakeholders informed, maintain open lines of communication, and answer your questions as they arise.

Organizations We Serve

Veris serves organizations with portfolios of $10 million – $150 million and above including:

Private Foundations

Community Foundations

Nonprofits

Endowments

Public and Operating Charities

Religious Organizations

Send a message to info@veriswp.com to request more information about our services for foundations, endowments, and nonprofit organizations.