Gaard Capital LLC

Gaard Capital is an independent, single-advisor registered investment adviser that provides outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) style separately managed accounts to mission-focused institutions (private foundations, endowments, and nonprofit organizations), employer-sponsored retirement plans, and high-net-worth individuals and families. Services include portfolio management, investment policy and spending policy development, strategic asset allocation, and ERISA advisory roles (3(21) co-fiduciary, 3(38) investment manager, and servicing advisor).

The firm constructs customized portfolios from proprietary model portfolios and a mix of liquid securities — equities, fixed income, ETFs, mutual funds, and liquid alternatives — with asset allocation and sector-rotation elements informed by fundamental, quantitative, technical, and qualitative analysis. Gaard manages primarily on a discretionary basis, emphasizes prudent risk management, and discloses the use of derivatives (options, futures, volatility instruments) for hedging and strategy implementation while limiting exposure to illiquid alternative investments.

Noteworthy distinctions include the firm’s small scale (approximately $9.3 million in assets under management across a handful of clients) and its explicit institutional/OCIO focus rather than broad retail services, with no emphasis on non-high-net-worth individual clients. The brochure also discloses proprietary model performance reporting — including hypothetical or advertised performance materials — and documents a prior affiliation with a private systematic investment fund (Stepwise Investments LLC), which was formally dissolved in 2025.