Keep pulling the thread on Rob McGrail.
When DUMAC hired its first in-house counsel approximately 15 years ago, most of its peer university endowments did not have in-house legal staff.
Currently, all of DUMAC's peer group of university endowments have multiple in-house lawyers and legal staff.
DUMAC manages approximately $27 billion in assets for Duke University and The Duke Endowment.
Despite market expectations, there has not been a significant swing in fund terms favoring LPs over the past year.
Fundraising time periods for private funds are being extended, which can give LPs more leverage on marginal terms if they are the final check needed for a close.
LPs are not yet seeing major concessions on economic terms from fund managers unless they are committing a very large check.
DUMAC believes investing in emerging managers can generate alpha due to better fees, stronger alignment of interests, and their ability to operate in niche markets.
DUMAC has been actively investing in the emerging manager space for over 15 years, and it is a significant component of its investment program.
DUMAC determined it was impossible for its legal team to manually manage global reporting obligations for its direct asset ownership and implemented a technology solution.
The onboarding process for DUMAC's regulatory reporting software took over a year to complete.
Co-investment opportunities typically require a "yes" or "no" decision from LPs within 24 to 48 hours.
Rob McGrail uses an AI assistant almost daily to help review legal agreements, viewing it as a tool that helps rather than replaces a lawyer.