Commonfund beefs up team with two hires

Investment firm Commonfund has appointed Brian Rondeau as director of risk management and Alex Gurvich as director of Commonfund Asset Management Group. Previously, Rondeau worked at Harvard Management Company where he served as vice president of risk while Gurvich was at The Rockledge Group where he served as a managing partner and quantitative equity portfolio manager.

PRESS RELEASE

WILTON, CT, January 12, 2015 – Commonfund, a prominent investment manager for institutional investors, today announced two new hires to its risk management and investment teams with the addition of Brian Rondeau, CFA, as Director Risk Management and Alex Gurvich, Director Commonfund Asset Management Group.

Mr. Rondeau is responsible for the due diligence of external managers and counterparty credit risk. Mr. Gurvich is focused on equities and is responsible for performing quantitative research on asset allocation, risk management and portfolio construction. He will also support Commonfund’s outsourced solutions.

Brian Rondeau
“Finding an experienced risk manager with Ivy League endowment and notable investment banking experience is rare and something that will greatly benefit our clients and prepare us for controlled growth” said David P. Belmont, CFA, Chief Risk Officer, Commonfund.

Prior to joining Commonfund, Mr. Rondeau was Vice President – Risk at Harvard Management Company where he led a team responsible for counterparty credit risk as well as investment risk on Harvard’s illiquid asset class portfolios. In addition, he was involved in liquidity risk management; managing HMC’s banking relationships and analysis related to sustainable investing at Harvard. Prior to Harvard, he spent 4 years with RBS Greenwich Capital in risk roles analyzing financial institutions and the asset-backed finance business. Mr. Rondeau is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the Boston Security Analysts Society. He earned a B.A. from Columbia University.

Alex Gurvich
“From his time as a professor at Pace University, to his time advising buyout firms in the former Soviet Union, engaging in venture capital for GE and his experience with sector rotation strategies in public equity markets, we are thrilled to have someone of Alex’s unique experience join our team,” said Jess Gaspar, Head of Quantitative Research, Commonfund.

Before Commonfund, Mr. Gurvich was a managing partner and quantitative equity portfolio manager at The Rockledge Group, a company he cofounded in 2004. Rockledge employed quantitative sector rotation strategies to trade equities. Mr. Gurvich is an adjunct professor of finance at Pace University where he teaches course on valuation and alternative investments. Previously, he worked in venture capital for GE Capital where he invested in infrastructure and software firms and where he earned a Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification. He also started a buyout advisory firm in the former Soviet Union and worked as a management consultant with Bain and Company. Mr. Gurvich holds a BA in Physics from the University of Chicago, an MBA from INSEAD, an MS in Financial Engineering from NYU Polytechnic Institute and he is a PhD candidate in the Financial Engineering program at Stevens Institute of Technology.

About Commonfund
Founded in 1971, Commonfund is one of North America’s leading investment management firms, managing assets totaling $25 billion for some 1,400 institutional clients, including educational endowments, foundations and philanthropic organizations, hospitals and healthcare organizations, pension plans and plan sponsors, and family offices and trusts. Our only business is investment management, and we are active in all sectors of the global capital markets, both public and private. All securities are distributed through Commonfund Securities, Inc. For additional information about Commonfund, please visit <http://www.commonfund.org/>www.commonfund.org.