RAND Corporation

RAND's endowment is capitalized through the retained surplus from its research operations, which generate over $350 million annually from U.S. government agencies, international governments, and private foundations. The Ford Foundation provided the initial separation grant when RAND spun out of Douglas Aircraft in 1948, and the institution has operated as an independent non-profit ever since.

RAND's investment strategy is directed by its internal finance and investment committee under the purview of the Board of Trustees. The board Chair, Michael Leiter, brings operational and legal experience from Skadden Arps and the National Counterterrorism Center; President Jason Matheny's background at IARPA and the National Security Council informs the portfolio's emphasis on defense-adjacent and dual-use technology sectors.

RAND's endowment invests primarily through external fund managers, with a defined focus on buyout strategies. The firm does not operate as a direct-investment vehicle. Public record allocations include commitments to private equity partnerships that specialize in aerospace, defense, healthcare services, and other regulated industries where RAND's policy research provides specialized sector insight.

No. The RAND Corporation endowment is not a pooled investment vehicle and does not accept external limited partners. It exclusively funds RAND's long-term operational stability, philanthropic initiatives like the 'Tomorrow Demands Today' campaign, and seed capital for new research divisions.

The two are operationally separate but thematically aligned. RAND's health policy studies, for example, map onto healthcare-services buyout commitments, and its defense-research contracts mirror a portfolio tilt toward dual-use technology and industrial security. This alignment reduces the knowledge gap for sourcing and diligencing managers operating in the same sectors RAND has studied under federal contract for over seven decades.

A self-perpetuating Board of Trustees holds fiduciary authority over both RAND's research mission and its endowment. Board members drawn from national security, corporate law, and major industry — such as Home Depot General Counsel Teresa Wynn Roseborough — set the long-term asset allocation policy. Investment management is delegated to internal staff, but board-level connections to the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission provide a high-level network for manager sourcing and co-investment relationships.

Open Philanthropy is not an investor in the endowment but a significant research funder, having committed over $15 million for AI and emerging technology policy analysis at RAND. This concentration of outside funding in AI safety research creates a reputational link between the investment portfolio's tech allocation and the think tank's public policy output, though the two are institutionally walled off.