What Makena Capital Management does

Makena Capital Management, LLC is a privately held, SEC-registered investment adviser founded in 2005 by senior executives from Stanford Management Company alongside practitioners from elite North American endowments and foundations. Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the firm operates an endowment-style investment platform organized around five asset class building blocks — Private Equity (Buyout, Venture Capital, Private Alternatives), Real Assets (Real Estate, Natural Resources), Public Equity, Hedge Funds, and an Outsourced CIO (OCIO) service — offered through evergreen commingled vehicles to endowments, foundations, family offices, pensions, and sovereign wealth funds globally. Makena manages over $5 billion on behalf of ultra-high-net-worth families and serves 50+ endowment and foundation clients, with a curated portfolio of 180+ underlying investment managers accessed through an industry network seeded by Stanford-affiliated alumni. Revenue is generated through recurring management fees on assets under management, with broad multi-generational employee equity ownership, partner co-investment alongside clients, and a single line of business with no subsidiaries or external capital partners, reflecting an owner-operated institutional model designed for long-duration alignment with client capital.

Name

Makena Capital Management

Legal name

Makena Capital Management, LLC

Website

https://makenacap.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Makena Capital Management is a privately held, SEC-registered investment adviser that delivers endowment-style investment solutions — Private Equity, Real Assets, Public Equity, Hedge Funds, and OCIO services — to endowments, foundations, UHNW family offices, pensions, and sovereign wealth funds globally through evergreen commingled vehicles.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Institutional Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

OCIO Providers (Outsourced CIO) (FSAAAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

OCIO & Multi-Asset Outsourced Portfolio Management (FSAAAJAF), Endowment / OCIO-Style Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAGAG), Institutional Consulting RIAs (OCIO/Endowments/Foundations/Pensions) (FSAAACAG)

Keywords

• Outsourced cio services
• Alternative asset management
• Endowment style investing
• Institutional asset management
• Private equity management

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Investment Management Fees: Makena Capital generates revenue through management fees charged on assets under management across its commingled investment vehicles. The firm structures vehicles as evergreen vehicles offering clients benefits of scale and immediate access to alternative and private asset portfolios. Broad equity ownership among employees ensures long-term alignment with client capital.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Makena Capital Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser that constructs and manages endowment-style portfolios across alternative asset classes including private equity, real assets, public equity, and hedge funds. The firm delivers these through discretionary evergreen commingled vehicles and three partnership models — Outsourced CIO (OCIO), Private Asset Partner, and Complementary Allocation — serving institutional and ultra-high-net-worth clients. Makena concentrates capital with 180+ high-performing investment managers selected through rigorous, multi-disciplinary due diligence.

Product overview

Makena Capital Management offers an endowment-style investment platform with five core product lines organized as asset class building blocks. The Private Equity Portfolio provides three strategies (Buyout, Venture Capital, and Private Alternatives); the Real Assets Portfolio covers Real Estate and Natural Resources; the Public Equity Portfolio offers global long-only and long-biased exposure; and the Hedge Funds Portfolio provides long/short equity and opportunistic strategies. These asset class portfolios can be accessed individually on a stand-alone basis, combined into a holistic endowment-style portfolio, or engaged through the firm's Outsourced CIO (OCIO) service for comprehensive investment management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Private Equity Portfolio
• Real Assets Portfolio
• Public Equity Portfolio
• Hedge Funds Portfolio
• Outsourced CIO (OCIO) Service

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50 endowment and foundation clients served globally
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMakena is a signatory of UN PRI, providing a forum to network, discuss and develop thinking around Sustainable Investing with other leading capital owners controlling over $120 trillion of assets globally.
• CerescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMakena is a member of Ceres, a nonprofit organization committed to Sustainable Investing. Partnership provides regular forum for networking and developing thinking around Sustainable Investing.
• Rock the Street Wall StreetminorOthersMakena Foundation partner organization focused on supporting and empowering underserved and marginalized communities through education and mentorship.
• KIPP NorCalminorOthersMakena Foundation partner organization focused on supporting and empowering underserved and marginalized communities through education.
• 10,000 DegreesminorOthersMakena Foundation partner organization supporting scholarships and education access for low-income students.
• Open Space TrustminorOthersMakena Foundation partner organization focused on environmental sustainability and community support.
• Samaritan House San MateominorOthersMakena Foundation partner organization supporting vulnerable populations in the community.
• San Francisco Food BankminorOthersMakena Foundation partner organization (SHFB) supporting food security and community health.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cambridge Associates: Cambridge Associates is the largest direct competitor in the OCIO/endowment-style investment advisory space, serving endowments, foundations, and family offices with discretionary portfolio management and manager research. Highly comparable to Makena in client base, investment philosophy, and multi-asset endowment model.
• Willis Towers Watson (WTW): WTW's Investment business includes OCIO and delegated investment management services for pension plans and institutional investors globally. Comparable to Makena in OCIO delivery model and pension/endowment client base, with broader advisory capabilities and significantly larger scale.
• NEPC: NEPC is an independent investment consulting firm providing OCIO, asset allocation, and manager research services to public pensions, endowments, and foundations. Comparable to Makena in target segments and endowment-style investment approach, though historically more consultant-led than discretionary.
• Aon (Investment Solutions): Aon's investment consulting and OCIO segment serves institutional clients including pensions, endowments, and foundations with discretionary portfolio management. Comparable to Makena in OCIO delivery, manager research capabilities, and institutional client focus, though operating at significantly greater scale.
• Commonfund: Commonfund provides OCIO and multi-asset investment management to endowments, foundations, and other institutional investors with a focus on alternative and private market strategies. Comparable to Makena in endowment/foundation client focus and alternatives-heavy portfolio construction.
• Russell Investments: Russell Investments is a leading OCIO provider serving institutional clients with multi-asset portfolios, manager research, and implementation services. Highly comparable to Makena in OCIO business model, multi-asset endowment-style portfolios, and institutional client focus, with much larger AUM scale.
• Mercer Investments: Mercer's Outsourced Investment Management business is a leading global OCIO provider serving pensions, endowments, foundations, and insurance clients. Comparable to Makena in multi-asset discretionary portfolio management, with materially larger scale and broader geographic reach.

Broad incumbents

• J.P. Morgan Asset Management (OCIO): J.P. Morgan Asset Management provides OCIO and customized multi-asset portfolios to institutional clients including pensions and endowments. Comparable to Makena in OCIO delivery and institutional client focus, but embedded within one of the world's largest asset managers with materially greater scale and resource base.
• Goldman Sachs Asset Management (OCIO): Goldman Sachs Asset Management offers OCIO and customized multi-asset solutions within its much broader Alternatives and Asset & Wealth Management franchises. Overlaps with Makena in serving institutional OCIO clients but at materially greater scale and as part of a much larger investment platform.
• BlackRock (OCIO): BlackRock's OCIO and outsourced investment services compete in the same institutional RFP pool as Makena, serving pensions, endowments, and foundations. Comparable in OCIO delivery but operates as a global mega-platform with vastly greater scale, technology investment, and product breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/makena-capital

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Makena Capital Management