Scott Wise, CIO, CovarianceCovariance—TIAA-CREF’s outsourced-CIO (OCIO) subsidiary—has won the contract for managing a $770 million church portfolio, the parent company announced Wednesday.
The Boston-based world headquarters of the Christian Science Church selected Covariance after a nearly year-long search for an OCIO. The mandate will add roughly 33% to Covariance’s total assets under management, which sat at $2.3 billion as of June 30, 2015.
The TIAA-CREF division is based in Houston, Texas, and works solely with endowment-style portfolios of nonprofit institutions.
Its latest client plans to remain fairly hands-on in the management and oversight of its endowment, the announcement noted.
Covariance’s team—led by former Rice University CIO Scott Wise—will work closely with the church’s internal investment committee and investment staff “to determine a strategic asset allocation, manage the portfolio across multiple asset classes, maintain appropriate risk controls and liquidity, and rebalance the portfolio as needed.”
Kevin Nee, Covariance’s CEO, said he and his group “are honored” that the institution selected them for the mandate, and “look forward to a long-term partnership.”
The mandate win caps off a provider search Covariance described as “competitive,” which included a request for proposals issued late last year.
New England Retirement Consultants’ Nanci Morris led the church endowment in its hunt for an OCIO.
Related: 2015 Outsourced-CIO Buyer’s Guide