ELS26: Refining the Endowment Model

Cori Trautvetter is a Partner and serves as Mercer’s U.S. Endowment and Foundation Commercial Leader and is part of the Endowment and Foundation Leadership Team. She is located in the St. Louis office and is also a member of the firm’s Endowment & Foundation and Values-Aligned Strategic Research Teams. Prior to its acquisition by Mercer in 2018, Cori was a Managing Director at Pavilion Advisory Group Inc. where she provided strategic investment advice to endowments, foundations, defined contribution plans, defined benefits plans, healthcare organizations and Taft-Hartley funds along with heading up the firm’s Endowment and Foundation Practice. Cori joined Pavilion Advisory Group Inc. in 2000. Prior to joining Pavilion Advisory Group Inc., Cori served for five years as an Associate Banker at Illini Bank in Springfield, IL. At Illini Bank, her responsibilities included managing consumer loans for numerous clients.

Cori is a member of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA®) Association. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Eastern Illinois University. She currently serves on the Eastern Illinois University’s School of Business Advisory Board. Cori is also a Board Member for Youth In Need, a nonprofit child and family services agency and is an Investment Committee Member for the Daughters of Charity – Province of St. Louise. 

Texas Hemmaplardh is responsible for Mercer’s US Endowment & Foundation Investment Practice, providing a spectrum of research, advice, and solutions to over 900 mission-driven non-profits. Based in New York City, Texas leverages his experience to empower Mercer’s endowment and foundation practice to deliver outcomes-driven and values-aligned investments to Mercer’s US and global client base. Texas joined Mercer in 2018 through its acquisition of Pavilion Advisory Group where he had become a Managing Director working with endowment clients. He joined Jeffrey Slocum & Associates in 1997, holding research and investment consulting roles prior to its combination with Pavilion in 2016. Texas holds a BA in Economics from Yale University and an MBA (with honors) from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. He is a CFA® charterholder, and a member of CFA Society New York. Texas is a founding board member of the Goodwill Easter Seals Minnesota Foundation.

Jeremy Heer is Managing Director, Investment Research and Engagement at the University of Illinois Foundation. In his role he advances learning, research, and engagement activities within the Investment Office, leading and supporting the Foundation’s thesis-driven and outbound sourcing efforts. Jeremy has previously held investment management roles at the University of Chicago, Singer Partners, UBS, and Morgan Stanley, as well as other financial industry roles at Morgan Stanley and Cargill. Jeremy earned an MBA from New York University and a BS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a CFA and CAIA charterholder and an active volunteer for both of these communities.

Rebecca Farnsworth, CFA, is a senior investment consultant in Mercer’s Not-for-Profit Investments Practice. She is responsible for the investment and oversight of institutional, endowment, and foundation clients, advising on topics including investment objectives, strategic asset allocation, spending policy, investment manager selection, risk strategy, and investment performance.  Before joining Mercer, Rebecca was a senior investment consultant within Vanguard Institutional Advisory Services®. Previously, she was an institutional portfolio manager at The Haverford Trust Company, where she served on the Global Strategy Committee and managed institutional and nonprofit client portfolios and advised on asset allocation, portfolio construction, and investment policy development. Prior, she served as client service officer and partner at Mondrian Investment Partners (U.S.), Inc. Rebecca earned a B.S. in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a CFA® charterholder, a member of the CFA Institute, and a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia. Rebecca serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Investment Committee for the Montgomery County Foundation, Inc., an accredited community foundation that manages and distributes charitable funds, primarily to meet needs of residents in Montgomery County, PA.   Rebecca also serves on the Board of Directors for The Pathway School, a nonprofit special education school serving students with Autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, serious emotional disturbances, and other neurological impairments.