Stance Capital for Foundations and Endowments

Foundations and endowments face an investment challenge: the objective to generate returns that sustain distributions and preserve purchasing power over a perpetual time horizon, while simultaneously honoring an explicit mission that shapes what the portfolio should and should not hold. Those two objectives can coexist. Stance was built specifically to serve institutions where both imperatives matter equally.

Stance Capital works with foundations, endowments, and other mission-aligned institutions as a separately managed account partner and investment research resource. The sustainable equity strategies Stance manages are built on proprietary quantitative research, which means the mission alignment in your portfolio reflects a genuine analytical process.

What Stance Offers Foundations and Endowments

Mission-Aligned Equity Strategies. Stance's sustainable equity strategies, including Stance Sustainable Beta, Stance ESG U.S. Large Cap Core, and the Stance KB strategies, are available as separately managed accounts with full transparency into every holding, every transaction, and every cost basis. For institutions with investment policy statements that specify sector exclusions, mission-based screens, or other restrictions, the strategies can be customized to reflect your specific requirements. Exclusions and restrictions are a core feature of the managed account relationship, not an exception to it. Learn about managed accounts.

Stance KB Biodiversity Strategies. For foundations and endowments with an explicit conservation or biodiversity mandate, the Stance KB US Conservation and Stance KB Global Biodiversity strategies were built specifically for institutions whose programmatic mission includes the preservation of natural habitats and ecosystems. These strategies apply conservation-specific criteria across domestic and global equity universes, aligning the investment portfolio directly with the institution's programmatic objectives in a way that a general sustainable equity fund does not.

Investment Research Built on Independent Criteria. Stance builds its sustainable investment process on independently verified company-level data, not ratings purchased from a commercial provider. The research methodology varies by strategy. Stance Sustainable Beta is built using Corporate Knights' 125-factor framework, evaluating companies on sustainable revenue, capital allocation, and governance practices. Stance ESG US Large Cap Core applies 25 material risk factors, with the portfolio actively managed to reduce exposure to companies with meaningful risk across those dimensions. For investment committees that want genuine depth behind the sustainability integration in their portfolio, the distinction matters. Learn about our research capabilities.

Model Delivery for Multi-Manager Structures. For institutions managing assets across multiple accounts, sub-advisors, or OCIO arrangements, Stance's sustainable equity strategies are available as model portfolios through the major custodial and TAMP platforms. Stance strategies can be integrated as a sleeve within a broader multi-manager structure without disrupting the institution's existing investment infrastructure. Learn about model delivery.

What Makes Stance Different for Foundations and Endowments

Mission alignment built on research, not labels. Stance's strategies are built using proprietary quantitative models and independently verified company criteria. The research methodology varies by strategy: Stance Sustainable Beta uses Corporate Knights' 125-factor sustainability assessment; Stance ESG US Large Cap Core applies 25 material risk factors. The sustainability integration reflects how each portfolio is constructed, not how it is marketed.

Conservation strategies built for conservation mandates. Stance has developed equity strategies specifically designed around biodiversity and habitat preservation criteria. The Stance KB strategies were built for institutions whose mission makes this specificity meaningful. They are not a general sustainable equity fund with a conservation label. They are strategies built around criteria that matter to conservation-focused institutions.

Full transparency in a direct ownership structure. Foundation and endowment boards have governance obligations that require visibility into what the institution owns. Separately managed accounts provide transparency at the individual security level, every holding, every trade, every cost basis, that pooled vehicles cannot match. For investment committees with reporting obligations to boards and stakeholders, this visibility is worth asking about when evaluating managers.

Starting the Conversation

We work with foundations and endowments directly and through their investment consultants and OCIO providers. A first conversation typically covers the institution's investment policy statement, mission alignment requirements, and current portfolio structure. We are direct about whether Stance's strategies are the right fit for a specific mandate, and we are comfortable referring you elsewhere if they are not.

Schedule a conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Stance work directly with foundations and endowments or only through consultants?

Both. Stance works directly with foundations, endowments, and other institutional investors, and also through investment consultants and OCIO providers. The right entry point depends on how your institution manages its investment relationships.

Can Stance customize a strategy to fit our investment policy statement?

Yes. Separately managed accounts allow for security-level exclusions, sector restrictions, and mission-based screens to be incorporated from the start. If your investment policy statement specifies criteria that go beyond Stance's standard strategy construction, we can work with you to reflect those requirements in the portfolio.

What is the difference between the Stance KB strategies and Stance's other sustainable strategies?

The Stance KB strategies apply biodiversity and habitat preservation criteria specifically, rather than a broad sustainable revenue or governance framework. They were designed for institutions with an explicit conservation or biodiversity mandate. Stance Sustainable Beta and Stance ESG U.S. Large Cap Core apply a broader sustainability framework and are more appropriate for institutions with general responsible investing mandates rather than conservation-specific ones.

What does full transparency in a separately managed account mean in practice?

In a separately managed account, the institution owns each security directly in its own custodial account. That means daily visibility into every holding, every transaction, and every cost basis. Investment committees can see exactly what the portfolio has owned at any point in time, which is not possible with a pooled vehicle like a mutual fund or ETF.

Does Stance use commercial sustainability ratings in its investment process?

No. Stance builds its sustainable investment process on independently verified company-level data, not ratings purchased from a commercial data provider. The methodology varies by strategy: Stance Sustainable Beta uses Corporate Knights' 125-factor framework, which evaluates companies on sustainable revenue, capital allocation, and governance practices. Stance ESG US Large Cap Core applies 25 material risk factors across the US large-cap universe.

What platforms and custodians does Stance work with for institutional accounts?

Stance manages separately managed accounts across Fidelity, Schwab, LPL, First Affirmative, Adhesion, SMArtX, and other platforms. Model portfolio delivery is available through major custodial and TAMP platforms for institutions managing assets in multi-manager or OCIO structures. Reach out and we can confirm whether your current custodial arrangement is supported.