Commonfund
Rebranding a pioneering asset manager to broaden its investment base.
Commonfund was established in 1971 to provide institutional-quality asset management to smaller educational endowments and foundations. To broaden its investor base and attract top-flight investment talent, this pioneering investment firm needed to shift its brand to focus on performance… while retaining the mission-driven purpose that had always been at its core.
Qualitative and quantitative research revealed that prospective endowment trustees were most interested working with an asset manager that truly understood and respected their goals and obligations. Research also showed that current investors deeply appreciated Commonfund’s long-standing commitment to sharing knowledge and insights; in fact, those investors who attended one of the firm’s high-profile events, or regularly read its research content, were far more likely to regard it as a high-performing manager.
The new brand was built around the idea that there is no trade-off between high returns and high principles … value and values. It enabled the firm to go to market with a message that unites purpose and performance to show that Commonfund, like the institutions it serves, does well by doing good.
