Fund Evaluation Group (FEG) was founded in 1988 in response to institutions seeking better solutions for their investment portfolios. During the 1980s, the investments of organizations, especially portfolios of small to mid-sized institutions, were characterized by a lack of diversification among asset classes and investment managers. A typical portfolio was invested by one manager in a balanced account of U.S. large cap stocks and high quality bonds. The fixed income allocation often comprised nearly half of the portfolio. FEG provided a solution for these organizations that lacked the resources and education to develop a well-diversified investment program. FEG established the firm in Cincinnati, Ohio with 30 clients and five team members.
Initially, FEG’s clients were defined benefit plans, however the client base quickly became diversified among retirement plans, not-for-profits, insurance companies, and high net worth individuals. Growing primarily through referrals, by 1995, FEG had become a national investment consulting firm with approximately $10 billion in assets and 28 team members.
In 2002, the two majority partners sold FEG to a regional financial institution. The minority partners, that provided the consulting relationships to the firm’s clients, remained at FEG. In 2005, the same minority partners plus 5 additional key employees acquired FEG from the regional financial institution. The firm is once again independently owned, but with expanded ownership, which is paramount to the continuity and future of FEG.
Today, not-for-profit organizations comprise the majority of our client base, although it continues to be diversified among retirement plans, insurance companies and high net worth individuals. Additionally, our services have expanded to include financial intermediaries. Our continued growth has resulted in FEG becoming an international investment advisory firm, with over 70 employees, approximately $25 billion in assets under advisement, and additional offices in Indianapolis, Indiana, Detroit, Michigan, and Rexburg, Idaho.
Evolution of FEG’s Team:
FEG’s focus has always been to assist organizations in developing prudent investment solutions that assist the organization in fulfilling their missions. As an advisor, we educate, facilitate and communicate prudent recommendations. In the beginning of the firm’s history, FEG’s senior consultants were responsible for delivering and developing all of the firm’s services, including investment manager research, asset allocation studies, investment policy development, portfolio evaluation, and performance reporting. By the mid 1990s, we revisited our business model and decided to concentrate our efforts. We created dedicated research and client service/reporting teams. This change allowed FEG’s senior consultants to focus on serving our individual client’s needs, utilizing the deep talent and resources of our teams.
When you hire FEG, you hire the team, not the individual. FEG strives to provide superior client service and exhaustive research. We are determined to provide twenty-first century advisory services.