Firm Overview:

Makena Capital is a $25 billion global endowment‐style investment firm that is based in Menlo Park, California (30 minutes south of San Francisco). Founded in 2005, Makena invests across multiple asset classes such as private equity, real estate, absolute return and other alternative assets and has a diverse global client base that includes the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, high profile family offices, and academic affiliated endowments. The Makena team has prior experience working at the Stanford Management Company, along with a number of other elite endowments, investment firms, and investment banks. With only 70 employees, Makena has a unique, hands-on culture where entrepreneurship is encouraged amongst all employees in its flat organizational structure.

Internship Program:

The intern program offers financial skills training, interaction with senior investment professionals and an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the organization. Interns will work with teams across all asset classes including private equity, real estate, public equities, absolute return, fixed income and natural resources and will be involved in the asset allocation, portfolio analysis and manager selection processes.

Traditionally, the intern program has included a combination of training sessions led by Makena’s investment professionals and project‐based assignments across different asset classes. The early stages of the internship emphasize skills development as well as gaining exposure to portfolio construction, asset allocation and the basic investment concepts within each asset class. The balance of the internship is devoted to projects designed for candidates to utilize these skills while contributing to the day-to-day efforts of Makena’s investment team. The summer analyst training program includes:

• Introduction to endowment-style investing and asset allocation
• Asset class overviews led by portfolio managers
• Three-day classroom sessions with Finance professors at the Stanford Graduate School of Business
• Weekly group and individual case study projects Excel, PowerPoint and Bloomberg instruction

Examples of the types of projects interns may be involved in are:

• Performing macroeconomic and market research
• Maintaining and enhancing global market tracking spreadsheets and various internal reports
• Assisting in manager selection research (observing manager meetings, assisting with performance analysis and due diligence initiatives)
• Updating and enhancing proprietary portfolio tracking models across asset classes
• Asset allocation modeling exercises

Intern Requirements:

• Undergraduate with Junior standing, graduating in 2026
• Interests in macroeconomics, finance, and investing are preferred, but students of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply (finance experience not required)
• Strong work ethic, attention to detail, and superior communication skills