Grand View University Endowment

An investment sub-committee of the Board of Trustees oversees portfolio decisions. Scott Michael Sams, a managing director at Principal Asset Management, serves on that sub-committee and likely drives the fund's strategic allocation (Altss research). University president Rachelle Keck and board chair Chris Murray share ultimate fiduciary authority.

The endowment's investment sub-committee includes Scott Michael Sams, a managing director at Principal in Des Moines. The relationship gives a small university fund direct access to institutional portfolio management expertise and Principal's broader network, making Principal an implied but significant influence on asset allocation and manager selection.

Known properties include the Humphrey Center at 1200 Grandview Avenue, the Viking Events Center (a former bowling alley at 3839 E. 14th St.), and a 17-acre development site at Northeast 14th and East Euclid Avenue in Des Moines (per Altss research, 2025). These are held alongside an alternative investment portfolio that includes fund interests in the US and Canada.

Grand View University is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA also serves as a retirement plan partner. While the university has not published a formal socially responsible investment policy, the religious affiliation and the trustee mix — which includes a former food-bank CEO and a Corteva director — imply some sensitivity to faith-consistent and ESG-aligned investing.

The endowment does not publish a detailed asset allocation, but its known positions split between direct real estate in the Des Moines market and an Alternative Investment Portfolio that draws on relationships from the NACUBO network and Principal. This likely combines small- to mid-market private equity fund commitments, venture fund-of-funds allocations, and direct co-investments sourced through the investment sub-committee.