What Avivar Capital does

Avivar Capital is a U.S.-based, privately held investment advisory firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with an additional office in North Hollywood. Founded in 2015 through the merger of GPS Capital Partners and Tina Castro's nascent firm, Avivar operates as an SEC Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) exclusively focused on impact investing advisory services for institutional, public, and private clients. The firm is woman- and minority-owned and co-led by Managing Partners Tina Castro and Lisa Richter. As of December 31, 2020, Avivar reported $451 million in non-discretionary assets under management and stated it has designed, launched, and managed more than $500 million in impact investment portfolios and funds across approximately 150 transactions.

The firm's core offering is delivered as four interconnected service modules covering the full impact investing lifecycle: Planning, Policies and Procedures (strategy design, policy creation, market landscaping); Portfolio Management and Evaluation (sourcing, diligence, structuring, monitoring and reporting across asset classes); Fund Development and Syndication (thematic and geographic fund design, capitalization, launch and management); and Training and Education (customized coaching for trustees, staff, and private investors). Avivar supplements these advisory services with proprietary reporting tools including the Avivar Impact Investing Monitoring System (AIIMS) and ESG monitoring frameworks, and runs a structured internship program to cultivate diverse impact investing talent.

Avivar generates revenue through professional services fees on advisory engagements and AUM-linked advisory fees typical of an RIA, with pricing negotiated individually rather than published. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, targeting foundations, banks and financial institutions, health systems, and family offices - supplemented by a content-marketing engine of published research (for Hilton, Kresge, Grantmakers in Health, Aspen Institute) and active involvement in the Mission Investors Exchange network. Named clients include Sierra Health Foundation, Dignity Health, The California Endowment, California Community Foundation, and California Wellness Foundation, with the firm currently serving as a lead partner on the Los Angeles Wildfires Recovery & Rebuilding Investor Collaborative.

Name

Avivar Capital

Legal name

Avivar Capital, LLC

Website

https://avivarcapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Avivar Capital is an SEC-registered investment advisor exclusively focused on impact investing advisory for institutional clients including foundations, banks, health systems, and family offices, providing strategy design, portfolio management, fund development, and training services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Advisory Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Portfolio Construction & Asset Allocation Advisory (FSAEAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory (BPAHADAB), Capital Raising Advisory (Debt/Equity/Private Capital) (BPAHADAG)

Keywords

• Impact investment advisory
• Portfolio management services
• Fund development
• ESG monitoring
• Investment strategy design

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Advisory Services: Avivar Capital generates revenue by providing impact investment advisory services to institutional, public and private clients. As an SEC registered investment advisor, the firm likely charges advisory fees for strategy design, portfolio management, fund development, and related services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Avivar Capital is a U.S.-based SEC Registered Investment Advisor providing impact investment advisory services to institutional, public, and private clients. The firm assists clients in designing impact investing strategies, developing investment policies, managing portfolios across asset classes and impact themes, structuring and launching impact investment funds, and building internal capacity through training and education. Services span the full investment lifecycle from planning and policy development through sourcing, diligence, structuring, monitoring, and reporting.

Product overview

Avivar Capital is a single integrated offering focused on impact investment advisory services rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The firm provides advisory services across the impact investing lifecycle, including Planning, Portfolio Management and Evaluation, Fund Development and Syndication, and Training and Education as interconnected service modules. They supplement their advisory work with proprietary reporting tools including the Avivar Impact Investing Monitoring System (AIIMS) and ESG Monitoring Report samples. Additionally, they operate an Internship Program to develop future impact investing professionals. All services are delivered by a team of investment strategists, deal and fund structurers, asset managers, due diligence providers, coaches, trainers, market researchers, facilitators, and evaluators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Impact Investment Advisory Services SEC-registered investment advisory services assisting institutional, public, and private clients in the design, development, and execution of impact investing strategies, portfolios, and funds. The integrated offering serves foundations, banks, health systems, family offices, corporations, and government agencies.
• Planning, Policies and Procedures Advisory service assisting clients in designing impact investment strategy, creating investment policies, and developing processes and procedures that align their investments with their financial and impact goals. Includes landscape scans to assess markets and identify potential investment opportunities.
• Portfolio Management and Evaluation

Quantifiable outcome

• $451 million in assets under management from institutional clients
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mission Investors ExchangecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-designer of the Mission Investors Exchange Institute in 2006, Avivar continues as a lead trainer nationally. Lisa Richter, co-founder, serves as a senior trainer for the organization.
• GPS Capital PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLisa Richter led GPS Capital Partners before its 2015 merger with Avivar under the combined name. GPS was a national consultancy assisting foundations with impact investing strategies.
• Federal Reserve Bank of San FranciscominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLisa Richter serves on the Center for Community Development Investments advisory board at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
• Bank of AmericaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLisa Richter serves on Bank of America's National Community Advisory Council.
• Howard UniversityminorOthersPartnership through internship program; multiple Howard University students and graduates have joined as interns and full-time employees including Trinity Morgan, Kevin Wiley, and Justin Freeman.
• USCminorOthersAcademic partnership through internship program; Tina Castro served as Adjunct Instructor for a graduate course on impact investing at USC.
• UCLA Anderson School of ManagementminorOthersAcademic partnership through internship program; Tina Castro served as Faculty Advisor at UCLA Anderson School of Management.
• Conrad N. Hilton FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAvivar conducted research and authored the 'RETHINK Housing: Innovating a New Approach to Affordable Housing' report for the foundation.
• Kresge FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAvivar authored 'Driving Postsecondary Success with Impact Investing' report for Kresge Foundation.
• Grantmakers in HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAvivar co-authored the Guide to Impact Investing for Grantmakers in Health.
• Aspen InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAvivar contributed to Aspen Institute's Innovation in Regional Rural Capital publication.
• The Philanthropic InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLisa Richter is a Senior Fellow with The Philanthropic Initiative, a Boston-based organization dedicated to strategic philanthropy.
• Center for Good Food PurchasingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTina Castro serves on the Governance Board for the Center for Good Food Purchasing.
• Building Healthy Places NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTina Castro serves on the National Advisory Council for the Building Healthy Places Network.
• National Healthy Food Financing Fund ManagerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTina Castro serves as Advisory Committee Member for the National Healthy Food Financing Fund Manager.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sonen Capital: San Francisco-based RIA focused exclusively on impact investing for foundations, families, and institutions. Closely comparable to Avivar in client type, mission, and service mix (strategy, portfolio management, fund development).
• Tideline Advisors: Boutique impact-investing consultancy advising institutional clients on impact strategy, diligence, and measurement. Directly comparable to Avivar's Strategic Advisory Services Group offering and foundation client base.
• Big Path Capital: Impact-investing advisor and capital-raise intermediary connecting impact fund managers with institutional and family-office investors. Comparable to Avivar's fund development and syndication capabilities.
• Encourage Capital: Impact-investing advisory firm designing and managing impact investment strategies and funds for foundations and institutional investors. Direct peer in thematic fund development and portfolio management.

Broad incumbents

• Caprock: Multi-family office and RIA serving ultra-high-net-worth families with integrated impact and traditional investment advisory. Broader incumbent that overlaps Avivar's family-office segment with deeper scale.
• Cambridge Associates: Global investment advisor serving endowments, foundations, and pensions with OCIO and consulting services. Established incumbent that increasingly competes for impact mandates alongside Avivar's institutional work.
• Bain Capital Double Impact: Impact-investing arm of Bain Capital providing advisory and investment capital to mission-driven companies and funds. Overlaps with Avivar in institutional impact advisory and fund structuring, but at materially larger scale.
• Wellington Management (Impact Investing): Large global asset manager with dedicated impact-investing capabilities serving institutional and foundation clients. Broader incumbent competing for impact advisory and portfolio management mandates.

Emerging players

• RSF Social Finance: Nonprofit financial organization providing loans, investments, and donor-advised funds with social-impact focus. Comparable as an emerging player in place-based and mission-aligned investing, though structured as a nonprofit rather than an RIA.

Others

• Mission Investors Exchange: National network of foundation impact-investing practitioners. Ecosystem peer (and active partner of Avivar) that channels deal flow and thought leadership to foundation members; comparable as a community/industry body more than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/avivarcapital
• Facebookfacebook.com/avivar-capital-876995408989924
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/avivarcapital

Compliance1 record

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

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Avivar Capital