UC Davis - Message Points

1. You favor concentrated, high-conviction portfolios run by lean, collaborative teams.

Our owner-managed, concentrated best-ideas portfolio and entrepreneurial team align with your stated preference for focused, high-conviction investing.

Evidence

“Experience has shown us the value of lean, high-performance teams working collaboratively to manage a concentrated, high-conviction portfolio.” “Concentrate Know what you own, well.” “We construct our portfolios from a concentrated set of assets that we understand deeply, as opposed to many assets that we would be hard pressed to describe to our mothers.”

2. You’ve been reallocating toward liquid, transparent public markets and away from hedge funds/Absolute Return.

We run a liquid, transparent, benchmark-aware global strategy designed to add alpha in public markets with disciplined risk, fitting your tilt toward liquid public exposures.

Evidence

“eliminating hedge funds and moving more capital into public equities.” “we’ve increased our public equities by 13% (from 50% to 63%), reduced bonds by 16% (from 31% to 15%),” “GEP’s allocation to Absolute Return remained below its target policy range in Fiscal Year 2025 as investment in the asset class winds down and is reallocated amongst other asset classes.” “The pool intends to invest in the most liquid and transparent investments available that provide appropriate market exposure, at the lowest possible expense,” “Why public equities? Because we believe public markets remain among the most reliable paths to long-term growth.”

3. You maintain meaningful global and emerging markets allocations, with explicit ACWI/EM fossil- and tobacco-free benchmarks.

Our global mandate and EM capability can align to MSCI ACWI/EM benchmarks and implement fossil/tobacco exclusions you require.

Evidence

“Emerging Markets Equity $417.0 12.3% 15.0% -2.7% 5.0% 20.0% Yes” “MSCI ACWI IMI Tobacco and Fossil Fuel Free (net dividends)” “UC Emerging Markets Fund MSCI Emerging Markets IMI ex Fossil Fuels ex Tobacco”

4. You evaluate managers on long-term, net-of-fee value added versus policy benchmarks and peers.

We have a long track record and manage to deliver net-of-fee outperformance versus relevant global benchmarks over full cycles, consistent with your evaluation framework.

Evidence

“The General Endowment Pool ("GEP") also seeks to generate results after all relevant expenses that match or exceed the returns of a representative mix of investable assets... over rolling periods in excess of 10 years.” “to meet or exceed a custom total fund benchmark reflective of the asset allocation policy, net of fees, over a full market cycle of five to ten years.” “The percentile ranks reflect performance relative to the E&F peer group (1st percentile is the best, 100th percentile is the worst).”

5. You demand full transparency, alignment, and tight fee control from external partners.

As an owner-managed boutique, we provide full position-level transparency, meaningful GP co-investment, and fee alignment—matching your partnership standards.

Evidence

“From our partners, we demand transparency into the assets we hold, which allows us to assess the risks we’re taking across all our portfolios.” “If external managers won’t provide us with a detailed accounting of how they make their money from our money, we pull our capital and walk.” “Costs matter, of course.”

6. Several UC foundations still use low-correlation sleeves (Independent/Absolute Return) and HF fund-of-funds benchmarks.

Our low-correlation return profile and risk-managed approach can complement those allocations where you retain diversifiers.

Evidence

“Independent Return $966.4 20.3% 20.0% 0.3% 10.0% 30.0% Yes” “HFRI Fund of Funds Composite” “Santa Barbara's total performance includes the GEP Unit Value, Private Equity, Hedge Fund, and General Cash Accounts.”

7. You avoid crowded trades and prioritize proactive risk management.

Our high-conviction process seeks under-owned opportunities globally and emphasizes downside risk control—aligning with your stance on avoiding trends and managing risk first.

Evidence

“we don’t jump on trends or chase what’s popular. In fact, when an asset class gets too hot—when everyone piles in and prices soar—it’s probably time to take money off the table. Crowded trades often lead to disappointing returns.” “we think of ourselves as risk managers, not asset managers.”