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The College of William & Mary
William & Mary was founded in 1693 by royal charter, making it the second-oldest US university.
The College of William & Mary
William & Mary was founded in 1693 by royal charter, making it the second-oldest US university. The endowment's oversight falls under an unusual dual structure: 1693 Management Company, led by CEO and CIO Brian Hiestand, manages the pooled assets, while the William & Mary Foundation under Matthew T. Lambert raises and stewards philanthropic capital. This separates investment decision-making from fundraising in a way that more closely resembles a pension fund than a classic higher-ed treasury. The portfolio spans fund-of-funds commitments, hedge funds, private credit, and private equity. Confirmed alternative exposure includes direct real estate holdings such as Tribe Square in Williamsburg and Discovery II in James City County, as well as the 1693 Partners Fund Pooled Endowment. Sector focuses, where disclosed, include FinTech. The university also reports energy infrastructure and commodities exposure within its broader long-term pool. Deal-level sourcing mixes external GP relationships with co-investment structures, although named specific GPs remain limited in public records. Total professionals are not publicly broken out. The investment office operates from Williamsburg, Virginia, with the university's Washington, D.C., center at 202-836-8610 providing a secondary geographic node for governmental and donor engagement. William & Mary is a member of NACUBO and participates in the NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments, placing it within the standard institutional benchmarking community. Its investment universe also includes foundation-aligned vehicles such as the Marshall-Wythe School of Law Foundation and the Business School Foundation. William & Mary is one of the few public universities with the investment function structurally walled off from the advancement office via a dedicated management company. This creates a tension — and a governance framework — that mimics outsourced CIO dynamics without fully externalizing the mandate. Hiestand's dual title with the management company, rather than the university itself, signals a deliberate attempt to operate with investment governance norms closer to an independent endowment than to a state bureaucracy.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1693
AUM
Undisclosed (Altss estimate: ~$1.72B)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Williamsburg
Corporate office
Williamsburg, VA, United States
Principals
Brian Hiestand
CEO and Chief Investment Officer, 1693 Management Company
Matthew T. Lambert
Vice President for University Advancement and CEO of the William & Mary Foundation
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at William & Mary?
Brian Hiestand serves as CEO and Chief Investment Officer of 1693 Management Company, which oversees the university's pooled endowment assets. Matthew T. Lambert leads the separate William & Mary Foundation as CEO and VP for University Advancement. This structure separates portfolio management from fundraising, a design distinct from most public university endowments.
How large is William & Mary's endowment?
The university does not publicly disclose a precise AUM. Altss estimates the long-term pool at approximately $1.72 billion, compiled from institutional filings, real estate holdings, and peer benchmarking studies including the NACUBO-Commonfund survey in which William & Mary participates.
Does William & Mary invest directly in startups or only through funds?
Confirmed investment types span fund of funds, hedge funds, private credit, and private equity. The endowment holds direct real estate assets, including Tribe Square and Discovery II, alongside pooled vehicles such as the 1693 Partners Fund. Direct venture-stage startup exposure has not been confirmed in public records.
How is the investment office related to the William & Mary Foundation?
The investment office operates through 1693 Management Company under CEO/CIO Brian Hiestand, while the William & Mary Foundation — led by Matthew T. Lambert — handles fundraising and donor relations. The two entities are organizationally separated, giving the investment team independence from advancement priorities.
What is William & Mary's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
The endowment uses co-investment and fund-commitment structures common among institutional allocators, evidenced by its fund-of-funds and private equity activity. Specific co-investment partners or individual deal terms are not publicly named, consistent with the limited disclosure typical of public university investment offices.
Which sectors does the endowment explicitly avoid?
William & Mary's portfolio includes energy infrastructure and commodities exposure alongside private credit and real estate, indicating no blanket exclusions. The most specific confirmed positive focus is FinTech, though negative screens — if any — have not been made public.
How does the William & Mary endowment compare to a typical outsourced CIO model?
1693 Management Company's structure leans toward an outsourced CIO model without fully externalizing the mandate. The management company employs dedicated investment staff and maintains separate governance, yet remains wholly within the university's control — a hybrid that differs from both fully internal public endowment operations and fully external OCIO engagements.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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