Syracuse University Selects Partners Capital as New Outsourced Chief Investment Officer

On Jan. 1, 2020, Partners Capital became the new outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) for Syracuse University. The Investment and Endowment Committee (IEC) of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees selected Partners to manage the University’s endowment fund after a months-long search, performed as a component of a routine review. The process included an appraisal of the University’s previous OCIO, Pavilion, and the search included several other high-performing investment firms.

“The objective was to identify the top-performing firms in the current OCIO marketplace and determine which investment firm would be the most synergistic with the needs of the University’s endowment,” said Amir Rahnamay-Azar, senior vice president for business, finance and administrative services and chief financial officer. “While we evaluated many excellent candidates, the University was particularly impressed with the portfolio construction methods and investment manager access that Partners Capital demonstrated.”

The charge of the IEC is to oversee the investment and management of Syracuse University’s Managed Endowment Fund, which comprises approximately 2,400 individual endowments and was valued at $1.35 billion as of Sept. 30, 2019. The funds will be operationally managed by Partners Capital with daily governance and oversight by Scott Kemp, interim University treasurer, and Rahnamay-Azar.

Partners Capital was founded in London 2001 by Stan Miranda and Paul Dimitruk. In 2019, the firm oversaw $27 billion in funds from offices in London, Paris, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Singapore and Hong Kong.

“With the launch of the Forever Orange campaign, confident, responsible stewardship of the managed endowment fund is a priority of the University,” said Rahnamay-Azar. “We are excited to begin our work with Partners Capital and to develop an investment portfolio that benefits Syracuse University students now and long into the future.”