Key Takeaways
- • Cambridge Associates, which manages $78 billion of assets for nearly 200 institutional and private investors, has named Kristen Tongberg head of its investment strategy office, replacing Noel O'Neill, according to Institutional Investor.
- • Tongberg, a partner and chief investment officer in the endowments and foundations practice who has been at Cambridge for 20 years, will also join the firm's executive leadership team.
- • O'Neill, who spent nearly 30 years at Cambridge, is leaving to join a Cambridge client family office that asked him to join after learning he planned to scale back his responsibilities.
- • Cambridge has nearly doubled its pension OCIO assets over the past five years and reports a 56 percent increase in private clients receiving OCIO services globally over the same period.
Summary
Cambridge Associates, which helps nearly 200 institutional and private investors build portfolios and manages $78 billion of assets on their behalf, has named Kristen Tongberg as head of its investment strategy office. Tongberg, a partner and chief investment officer in the endowments and foundations practice who has been at Cambridge for 20 years, is replacing Noel O'Neill in the role. She will also join the company's executive leadership team, Tongberg said in an interview with Institutional Investor.
O'Neill, another veteran investor who spent nearly 30 years at Cambridge, is leaving the firm to work for a Cambridge client, a family office. O'Neill had planned to begin scaling back his responsibilities at Cambridge this year, and when the family office learned of that, it asked whether he would join it. The consultant declined to name the office. Tongberg said Cambridge supports employees who pursue such opportunities, which commonly arise for portfolio managers at outsourced chief investment offices (OCIOs), and described O'Neill as "one of the most admired and respected individuals at our firm."
At Cambridge, the investment strategy office is a "center point" of the firm, responsible for ensuring that investment teams have what they need to build bespoke portfolios for pensions, endowments, family offices and other clients. Like O'Neill, Tongberg will spend about half her time managing client portfolios and half supporting the other OCIOs and the Cambridge investment platform. She said this hands-on work provides firsthand knowledge of what the firm needs to drive performance, while allowing her to source best practices and integrate data across teams.
The firm's business has shifted substantially. For decades Cambridge operated as an investment consultant, but over the past 20 years, as portfolios grew larger and more complex, a growing number of clients asked it to manage investments directly. Cambridge is now primarily an OCIO business, a trend Institutional Investor notes has occurred across similar firms. Over the past five years, Cambridge has nearly doubled its pension OCIO assets and continues to pursue acquisitions to bolster its capabilities and client base. The number of private clients receiving its OCIO services globally is up 56 percent over the same period, reflecting that family office demand is growing faster than institutional demand.
Tongberg said family offices, like institutions, have increasingly complex portfolios requiring tailored solutions. "Some families are very risk averse and some are really looking to drive returns and growth in their assets over time," she said. Working through Cambridge also gives family offices access to investment opportunities they might otherwise not reach, and the individual manager relationships they build through customized portfolios are transferable. "Once the client has access, they want to own that for as long as possible," Tongberg said, adding that some clients may eventually build in-house investment offices and want to avoid starting from scratch.
O'Neill, another veteran investor who spent nearly 30 years at Cambridge, is leaving the firm to work for a Cambridge client, a family office. O'Neill had planned to begin scaling back his responsibilities at Cambridge this year, and when the family office learned of that, it asked whether he would join it. The consultant declined to name the office. Tongberg said Cambridge supports employees who pursue such opportunities, which commonly arise for portfolio managers at outsourced chief investment offices (OCIOs), and described O'Neill as "one of the most admired and respected individuals at our firm."
At Cambridge, the investment strategy office is a "center point" of the firm, responsible for ensuring that investment teams have what they need to build bespoke portfolios for pensions, endowments, family offices and other clients. Like O'Neill, Tongberg will spend about half her time managing client portfolios and half supporting the other OCIOs and the Cambridge investment platform. She said this hands-on work provides firsthand knowledge of what the firm needs to drive performance, while allowing her to source best practices and integrate data across teams.
The firm's business has shifted substantially. For decades Cambridge operated as an investment consultant, but over the past 20 years, as portfolios grew larger and more complex, a growing number of clients asked it to manage investments directly. Cambridge is now primarily an OCIO business, a trend Institutional Investor notes has occurred across similar firms. Over the past five years, Cambridge has nearly doubled its pension OCIO assets and continues to pursue acquisitions to bolster its capabilities and client base. The number of private clients receiving its OCIO services globally is up 56 percent over the same period, reflecting that family office demand is growing faster than institutional demand.
Tongberg said family offices, like institutions, have increasingly complex portfolios requiring tailored solutions. "Some families are very risk averse and some are really looking to drive returns and growth in their assets over time," she said. Working through Cambridge also gives family offices access to investment opportunities they might otherwise not reach, and the individual manager relationships they build through customized portfolios are transferable. "Once the client has access, they want to own that for as long as possible," Tongberg said, adding that some clients may eventually build in-house investment offices and want to avoid starting from scratch.
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