The Berkeley Endowment Management Company (BEMCO) serves as the investment manager with day-to-day oversight of investment activity and implementation for UC Berkeley Foundation (UCBF) endowment assets. Management is through its Board of Directors, Chief Investment Officer, and staff.
Our primary objective is to generate returns sufficient to meet UCBF’s desired financial support to UC Berkeley over the long term, while maintaining real purchasing power, sufficient liquidity, and acceptable volatility. We seek to maximize long-term returns with an acceptable level of risk. BEMCO balances diversification and concentration to optimize investments’ long-term impact on the portfolio. Diversification is across asset classes, strategies, geographies, and managers, including illiquid investments. Investments include developed and emerging market public equity, private equity, real assets, fixed income, and other diversifying strategies.
BEMCO invests the portfolio in funds or accounts managed by third-party investment firms and may also make direct investments in individual securities or assets.
A comprehensive summary of investment approach, strategy, governance, and operational structure can be found in our Investment Policy Statement, accessed through the link below:
University of California, Berkeley Foundation: Investment Policy Statement
LETTERS FROM THE CIO
Annual Report for 2022-23
Annual Report for 2021-22
Annual Report for 2020-21
Annual Report for 2019-20
Annual Report for 2018-19
Annual Report for 2017-18
SUSTAINABILITY
BEMCO respects the wide range of perspectives related to ESG and broader sustainability issues. BEMCO values constructive engagement, and incorporates environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and governance (ESG) factors into the investment evaluation, decision-making, and monitoring process. ESG factors are relevant to assessing investment merits, business quality, and risks and as such their consideration is consistent with our primary objective to maximize long-term, risk-adjusted returns.
A more detailed summary of our approach to ESG can be found in a dedicated segment of the BEMCO Investment Policy Statement, accessed through the link below:
At any given time, there are multiple examples of ESG principals in action within the investment portfolio. Below is a link to some examples of this activity:
The UC Berkeley Foundation, in concert with the UC Berkeley Foundation ESG sub-committee, have adopted multiple position, policy and procedural documents which further elaborate the Berkeley Foundation approach to these important issues. Please find the link to these documents below: