Hirtle Callaghan & Co

Hirtle Callahan, founded in 1988 by Jonathan Hirtle, is a prominent investment management firm known for its pioneering role in the outsourced chief investment office (OCIO) model. This model primarily serves college endowments, foundations, and wealthy families by managing their investments with a deeply client-centric approach. The firm's founder emphasized the significance of managing clients' funds effectively to generate meaningful societal impacts through research, scholarship, and security.

In 2019, Stephen Vaccaro joined Hirtle Callahan as the director of private equity (PE), tasked with increasing the firm's PE market value from $1 billion to approximately $3 billion. This strategic shift involved reallocating the firm's assets under management (AUM) towards private equity, raising PE's proportion in the portfolio from 6% to 18% of the total $17 billion AUM.

The dilemma Hirtle Callahan faces stems from this significant reallocation towards PE. Despite the higher PE returns over the past decade, many clients were hesitant to embrace these changes due to concerns about liquidity, fees, market conditions, and monitoring environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. Additionally, the firm's various client segments, particularly smaller endowments, required substantial reorientation and education to understand and accept the new investment targets.