The mind can only absorb what the seat can endure. — Unknown

Our summer 2026 Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) directory update features one-hundred-eight service providers with contact names, numbers, and emails for each.  Our goal is to help families and institutions locate, review, and connect with full-service discretionary outsource investment managers.  No ads, no paywall, no charge.

OCIO AUM reached $5.64 trillion at the end of 2025, an 8.9 percent jump ($463bn) from a year ago.  And, as usual, the big got bigger.  Fifteen firms over one hundred billion manage about seventy-five percent of the assets (mostly pension assets) leaving roughly a trillion four for the pros and pretenders.

(15 largest OCIO providers)

Keeping commitments

The outsourced full-discretion investment business is hyper-competitive, hard to differentiate, and expensive to scale, with hundreds of players including RIAs, banks, brokers, and asset managers all competing for institutional and ultra-high-net-worth discretionary mandates.  It’s hard to cut through the clutter.

Worse still, few OCIOs are able to convincingly explain their competitive edge or why it should matter.  Most firms read the same on paper.  So when it comes down to finals, empathy and likeability usually clinch the deal.

My conclusion after years working with both OCIOs and their clients?  Families and nonprofits really don’t care about a firm’s “passion for investing,” they care about service and security and keeping promises, not swaps and overlays and some proprietary secret sauce.

Investment performance may rule one out, but it’s seldom the reason for a winning selection.

The OCIO story is a compelling proposition for many institutions and high-net-worth families, but it’s an intensely competitive arena.  If you are not taking care of your client, someone else will.

Stepping up, or stepping out

While some OCIOs up their game, others are moving on.  FEG and Hirtle & Co. recently rebranded and reaffirmed their commitments, while Cambridge Associates redoubled its efforts and topped $100 billion full-discretion AUM.  Organic growth, not M&A.

Others like Mill Creek, Verus, RockCreek, and Russell (yet again?) have decamped for better-resourced patrons.  And, just the other day, Fiducient Advisors, part of Wealthspire, now owned by Madison Dearborn Partners, recently announced plans to acquire Sellwood Investment Partners.  M&A every which way.

Without a plan for succession and the resources to compete there’s little choice but to sell, or merge.

Speaking of which, we have a client, a regional financial corporation with significant multi-state banking and investment operations, who is seeking to augment their outsourced, full-discretion, institutional, investment management capabilities through acquisitions, mergers, and creative partnerships.  In short, we’re looking for a few like-minded, ambitious, established OCIOs.  Call us if you would like to discuss.

Hirtle & Co., fresh paint, time-honored values

While we’re on the subject of client-centric care, take a look at Hirtle & Co.’s recent rebrand, a firm I’ve known for years.  In the firm’s letter to clients managing director Susan McEvoy captures the essence of money and mission:

“What matters more to us is what that capital [client AUM] is multiplying in the world: medical research, education, the arts, and the communities we call home; missions that outlast all of us.”

In founder Jon Hirtle’s words, “I joined Goldman right out of the service (The Marine Corps), with a strong sense of idealism and mission.  On my first day in training, I asked my mentor to describe ‘the noble cause.’  He immediately replied, ‘The client.’” That said it all.

Who’s who

If a firm says they provide OCIO services, and their website suggests they do, we’ll usually list them upon request.

However, each OCIO has its own culture, client mix, investment style, and biases.  Some firms focus on indexing and liquid markets, others on alternatives, still others on ESG.  Some customize portfolios for clients, others don’t.  Big, small, specialists, generalists, there’s no lack of choice.

Our advice?  When shopping for an OCIO, it pays to be thorough.  I recently reviewed investment office performance, operations, and talent with the board of a major university.  After numerous interviews with trustees and chief investment officers my final report included one particular caveat from the front: once a family or foundation commits to a partner, an OCIO relationship is not easily undone.

—Charles Skorina

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