What DeMarche does

DeMarche Associates, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned institutional investment consulting firm founded in 1974 by the Marchesi family and headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. The firm advises U.S. institutional investors including corporations, public pension funds, endowments and foundations, healthcare organizations, faith-based institutions, family offices, and non-profits/associations across two service lines: Advisory Consulting (asset allocation, manager search and selection, investment policy development, performance measurement, ESG integration, fee analysis, and defined benefit/contribution plan advisory) and Discretionary Consulting, which includes Outsourced Investment Office (OCIO) and custom tactical strategies. Timothy J. Marchesi, CFA, serves as Chairman, President and CEO and chairs the Manager Review Committee (MARC).

DeMarche's competitive position rests on a proprietary research stack comprising the DeMarche Factor Model, a Leading Indicators Framework for manager stability evaluation, and a Manager Research Database of more than 3,300 investment managers, supplemented by eVestment Alliance and Morningstar data. The firm employs 11-50 staff, including senior consultants with prior experience at KPERS, American Century Investments, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, and Smith Breeden, contributing what the firm describes as 300+ years of collective investment experience. Thought leadership is delivered through monthly DeMarche Dashboard whitepapers, applied research, webinars, workshops, a Speaker's Bureau, and an annual client conference (43rd edition).

The firm's revenue model is professional services fees on advisory mandates plus managed-services fees on the discretionary/OCIO book; pricing is not publicly disclosed. New client acquisition follows a direct institutional RFP process managed by senior consultants. No acquisitions, funding events, or external institutional ownership have been disclosed, and the firm remains under continuous Marchesi family control. The firm has no publicly disclosed revenue, no patents, and no disclosed AI/ML capabilities beyond quantitative research methods and analytics tooling.

Name

DeMarche

Legal name

DeMarche Associates, Inc.

Website

https://demarche.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DeMarche Associates is a family-owned, Kansas City-based institutional investment consulting firm founded in 1974, providing advisory and discretionary OCIO services to U.S. corporations, public funds, endowments, foundations, healthcare, faith-based, family office, and non-profit clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Institutional Investment Consulting

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional Consultants & Fiduciary Management (Investment Consulting) (FSAAAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

OCIO & Multi-Asset Outsourced Portfolio Management (FSAAAJAF)

Keywords

• Institutional investment consulting
• Manager research selection
• Asset allocation advisory
• Outsourced chief investment office
• Investment performance measurement

Headquarters

HQ city

Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Institutional Investment Consulting Fees: DeMarche generates revenue through consulting fees for institutional investment advisory services, including investment policy development, manager search and selection, asset allocation, and performance measurement. Services are provided to corporations, public entities, endowment funds, foundations, and investment managers.
2. OCIO/Discretionary Consulting: Outsourced Investment Office (OCIO) services where DeMarche manages investment portfolios on a discretionary basis for institutional clients, including custom solutions and tactical strategies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

DeMarche is a research-driven institutional investment consulting firm that provides advisory and discretionary (OCIO) investment services to organizations. It delivers manager search and selection, asset allocation, investment policy development, performance measurement, and proprietary market research to institutional investors.

Product overview

DeMarche is an institutional investment consulting firm founded in 1974, offering a comprehensive suite of investment consulting services through two primary service lines: Advisory Consulting (including asset allocation, manager search and selection, investment policy development, performance measurement, and ESG integration) and Discretionary Consulting/OCIO (Outsourced Investment Office). The firm complements its consulting services with proprietary research products including the monthly DeMarche Dashboard, The DeMarche Factor Model, and an extensive library of whitepapers covering investment topics. Additional offerings include educational services through the Speaker's Bureau and Events & Workshops program, along with Manager Research and Due Diligence services for evaluating institutional asset managers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advisory Consulting Comprehensive non-discretionary advisory consulting including asset allocation, investment fund analysis, investment policy development, performance measurement, manager search and selection, fee analysis, ESG integration, and defined benefit/defined contribution plan advisory for institutional investors.
• Discretionary Consulting (OCIO) Outsourced Investment Office (OCIO) and discretionary consulting services providing clients with full investment management oversight, custom solutions, tactical strategies, and investment process management on a discretionary basis.
• DeMarche Dashboard Monthly flash report providing analysis on securities, markets, and the economy for institutional investors.
• The DeMarche Factor Model Proprietary research framework developed by DeMarche for analyzing capital markets and investment performance factors across different economic environments.
• Manager Research & Due Diligence Proprietary manager research capabilities including due diligence analytics on institutional asset managers, manager review committees (MARC), and evaluation of investment strategies.
• Whitepapers & Applied Research Extensive library of research publications covering fixed income analysis, diversity in investment, fee studies, manager selection, behavioral finance, market cycles, and asset allocation strategies.
• Speaker's Bureau Educational program providing industry experts to speak on cutting-edge topics relevant to institutional investors and financial executives, bridging academia and practical application.
• Events & Workshops Hosting of workshops, webinars, and an annual conference featuring consultants and top investment experts for discussions on critical investment topics, market forces, and industry trends.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 years of collective investment experience across consulting team
• +1 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mercer Investments: Mercer (part of Marsh McLennan) is a global investment consulting and OCIO powerhouse serving the same institutional plan sponsor segments as DeMarche, but at vastly greater scale, geographic reach, and product breadth.
• Russell Investments: Russell Investments is a global asset manager and OCIO provider serving institutional plan sponsors with consulting, manager research, and outsourced investment office solutions that overlap with DeMarche's full-service offering.
• Willis Towers Watson (WTW) Investments: WTW's investment business is a global institutional investment consultant and OCIO provider for defined benefit, defined contribution, and endowment clients, offering broader insurance and actuarial integration than DeMarche.
• Aon Investments: Aon's Investment Practice provides institutional investment consulting and OCIO to corporate, public, and endowment clients globally, competing for the same RFPs as DeMarche but with global scale and a broader risk/HR advisory platform.

Direct peers

• Marquette Associates: Marquette Associates is a mid-sized US institutional investment consulting firm offering manager research, asset allocation, performance measurement, and OCIO to pensions, endowments, foundations, and corporate clients - highly comparable in scope, size, and client mix to DeMarche.
• NEPC: NEPC is an independent US institutional investment consulting firm serving pensions, endowments, foundations, healthcare systems, and corporate plan sponsors with both advisory and discretionary/OCIO mandates, making it a close scale and service-line peer to DeMarche.
• Meketa Investment Group: Meketa is an independent, US-focused institutional investment consulting firm serving pensions, endowments, foundations, and corporate plan sponsors with advisory and OCIO services - virtually the same business model, client verticals, and scale profile as DeMarche.
• Verus Investments: Verus is an independent US institutional investment consulting firm providing advisor research, OCIO, and asset allocation to pensions, endowments, foundations, and healthcare organizations - a direct mid-size competitor to DeMarche.
• Cambridge Associates: Cambridge Associates is a leading investment consultant and OCIO provider for endowments, foundations, and family offices, sharing DeMarche's research-driven, manager-due-diligence approach and discretionary offerings at a larger scale.
• Pavilion Investment Advisors: Pavilion is a US institutional investment consulting firm focused on alternatives diligence and OCIO services for endowments, foundations, and family offices - closely comparable to DeMarche's alternatives research capability and OCIO offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 DeMarche