“Really thoughtful governance is a lot of work. It doesn’t just happen. It forces hard decisions. But if you can get those decisions memorialized, you’re going to be better off in the long run for sure.”

Adam Dretler

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel President Jeff Jowdy speaks with Adam Dretler, a principal in the Nashville office of wealth management company Diversified Trust, which designs and implements portfolios that sustain the mission of institutions.

Jeff and Adam discuss a subject that is critically important to the financial health of a nonprofit organization but can seem intimidating. Adam offers a solid overview of investment governance for nonprofits and answers questions including:

• What exactly is investment governance and how does it relate to the financial health and ultimately the mission of a nonprofit organization?

• What are the three most important questions nonprofit leaders should ask themselves about investment governance?

• How has the pandemic affected nonprofits when it comes to investment governance? 

About our Guest

Adam Dretler is a principal in the Nashville office of wealth management company Diversified Trust, which designs and implements portfolios that sustain the mission of institutions.

At Diversified Trust, Adam is responsible for serving both institutions and families. Prior to joining Diversified Trust, Adam worked at Ziff Brothers Investments, a multi-billion-dollar, single-family office based in New York City, where he traded a wide range of global macro products for the family including currencies, equities, ETFs, interest rates, futures and commodities. Before that, he worked as an equity trader for Deutsche Bank, where he helped build and develop its small and mid-cap trading platform. Adam started his investment career as a broker on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Adam graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and he is a board member of the Jewish Federation of Middle Tennessee, where he also serves as chairman of the investment committee.