Boutique Investment Firm Celebrates 10 Years With A New Office Space

Blue Edge Capital (BEC) provides investment management services to foundations and endowments, family and charitable trusts, retirement plans, and individuals. They act as a fiduciary for all of their clients and maintain full discretion over both, asset allocation decisions and security/manager selection - often described as an outsourced chief investment officer or OCIO. While they actively manage their portfolios’ asset allocations, they implement their strategy by investing in index-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs). They offer global, multi-asset class diversification to their clients in a manner that substantially reduces investment costs and provides daily liquidity, full transparency, and institutional-quality performance reporting. BEC is a Limited Liability Company and a federally (SEC) registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

Their firm was founded in late 2010 to provide investment management services to foundations & endowments, family & charitable trusts, family offices, and high net worth investors. At the time of launch, they considered several different investment models and ultimately concluded that, given the size and nature of their target client base, a simple, fully indexed approach made the most sense. Their indexed approach provides a lower all-in cost of management, better portfolio transparency, and full daily liquidity while also allowing more timely performance reporting. Their investment approach was relatively novel when they launched, but many now appreciate the benefits of passive investing, and the ETF market that is core to their strategy has enjoyed tremendous growth as a result.

Blue Edge Capital is very fortunate in that its business isn't adversely impacted by COVID-19, as many have been. They were able to transition rather seamlessly to remote work and then hybrid work arrangements. Having a small and nimble team with leading-edge technology helped them adjust to the new COVID-19-related demands and restrictions.

Much of their growth over the past five years has come from the non-profit channel. They are proud to partner with many of the non-profit organizations providing critical resources and impactful services to central Virginia (and beyond).

Their approach lies at the intersection of two important investment trends that have grown increasingly popular with non-profit organizations:

i) an Outsourced CIO solution that meets the fiduciary requirements of trusts and organizations and,

ii) a passive fully indexed approach to achieve their desired asset allocation that typically results in lower costs.

Their investment strategies are accessible to smaller endowments (including those in the $1-20 million range) that do not have ample institutional-quality options.

Blue Edge Capital is celebrating their 10th anniversary and an official 10-year performance track record as of 1/1/21. They remain 100% privately owned and locally-operated. At the end of 2020, equity participation was expanded across their entire team of five. They also just relocated to the Westhampton on Grove complex at the corner of Grove and Granite Avenues. Even though they remain a small team, this space supports additional growth in the future and allows them to serve their clients better with larger meeting areas.

Two and a half years ago, they expanded their product offerings with the addition of two portfolios that incorporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into the underlying ETF construction. These ESG portfolios deliver an outlet to invest in a more socially conscious and sustainable fashion and serve individuals and groups that seek mission alignment in their investment program.

All of their client relationships are direct, as they do not utilize brokers, investment consultants, or other third parties to help them attract new assets. They also maintain a high-touch, client-focused service model. The community can help support this business primarily through word of mouth and referrals. Any exposure within the community is helpful and allows them to engage in targeted conversations with interested parties. For more information about Blue Edge Capital, visit their website at www.blueedgecap.com.