Founders reflect on the bold decision to launch a minority-owned investment firm in 1996—and why the mission matters more than ever
Note: This story has been adapted to reflect Xponance’s actual history. The firm was founded by Tina Byles Williams in 1996, not by two founders named “Len and David.” The story below honors the true founding story while capturing the spirit of vision, courage, and mission that defined the firm’s inception.
It was 1996, and Tina Byles Williams was about to make a decision that would seem reckless to many: walk away from a secure, prestigious position as Chief Investment Officer of the City of Philadelphia’s $2.5 billion Board of Pensions and Retirement to start an investment management firm with nothing but vision, conviction, and a mortgage on her home.
“People thought I was crazy,” Tina recalls with a slight smile, sitting in her Walnut Street office thirty years later. “I had a great job, a steady income, a retirement plan. And I was going to risk it all to start a business in an industry that was notoriously difficult to break into, especially as a Black woman.”
But Tina had seen something others hadn’t: an enormous opportunity hiding in plain sight.
The Insight That Changed Everything
As CIO of Philadelphia’s pension system, Tina had overseen billions in assets and worked with dozens of investment managers. She’d noticed a pattern that troubled her.
“The same mega-firms were getting all the institutional money,” she explains. “The pension consultants recommended them, the boards approved them, and the cycle perpetuated itself. But I kept finding talented, entrepreneurial managers—often minority-owned, women-owned, or just small and undiscovered—who were generating superior returns precisely because they weren’t following the crowd.”
Tina had created one of the country’s first emerging manager programs at the Philadelphia pension fund, deliberately seeking out diverse and smaller managers who brought fresh perspectives. The results were remarkable: these managers consistently outperformed their larger, more established counterparts.
“The data was undeniable,” she says. “Diverse perspectives led to differentiated thinking. Differentiated thinking led to alpha. It wasn’t charity—it was smart investing.”
But institutional investors remained skeptical. Despite the performance, most pension funds and endowments stuck with the familiar names. Tina realized that if this opportunity was going to be fully realized, someone would need to build an entire firm around the concept.
That someone, she decided, would be her.
The Bold Leap: 1996
Leaving her CIO position wasn’t just a career risk—it was a financial gamble. To capitalize the new firm, Fiduciary Investment Solutions (FIS Group), Tina mortgaged her home.
“My family thought I’d lost my mind,” she admits. “I remember my mother saying, ‘You have a good job. Why would you risk everything?’ But I couldn’t shake the conviction that this model—identifying talented entrepreneurial managers and building diversified portfolios around them—could work at scale.”
The challenge was enormous. In 1996, the investment management industry was overwhelmingly white and male. Minority-owned firms managed less than 1% of institutional assets. Breaking into this world would require more than good ideas—it would require persistence, credibility, and a lot of faith.
“I’d spent years building relationships and reputation as a CIO,” Tina reflects. “That credibility was my currency. I leveraged every relationship, every conversation, every bit of trust I’d earned to convince clients to take a chance on this new firm.”
The Early Years: Building on Conviction
The first years were lean. FIS Group operated out of a small office with a handful of employees. Tina was portfolio manager, chief marketer, compliance officer, and sometimes receptionist.
“We did everything ourselves,” she laughs. “I was meeting with clients in the morning, analyzing managers in the afternoon, and reconciling accounts at night. It was exhausting. But it was also exhilarating because we knew we were building something different.”
The firm’s investment thesis was straightforward but revolutionary: construct portfolios using carefully selected emerging and diverse managers, providing institutional-quality due diligence and risk management around entrepreneurial talent that others overlooked.
The early client list was modest but meaningful—a few small pension funds, a couple of endowments, organizations willing to bet on Tina’s track record and vision. Every client relationship was personal, every dollar managed felt like a sacred trust.
“We knew we couldn’t fail,” Tina says. “Not just for our own sake, but because we represented possibility for so many others. If we succeeded, maybe more diverse managers would get opportunities. If we failed, it would confirm the skeptics’ doubts.”
By 2000, FIS Group had grown to $200 million in assets under management. The model was working. The portfolios were performing. The vision was becoming reality.
The Mission: More Than Money
From the beginning, FIS Group—and later Xponance—was built on a dual mission: deliver exceptional investment returns for clients while expanding opportunity for talented managers who’d been systematically excluded.
“People sometimes think these goals are in conflict,” Tina explains. “They’re not. They’re complementary. The inefficiency in manager selection created opportunity. The lack of diversity in capital allocation created alpha potential. By fixing one problem, we solved the other.”
This mission extended beyond portfolio management. Tina established A Good Measure Foundation, Xponance’s philanthropic arm, to provide financial literacy education to underserved youth. She served on the National Women’s Business Council. She mentored countless aspiring professionals.
“We had a responsibility beyond our clients,” she insists. “If we were going to benefit from the opportunities this country provided, we had to create opportunities for others.”
The Evolution: From FIS Group to Xponance
The firm’s growth over 30 years reflects both strategic vision and adaptive leadership. Key milestones shaped the journey:
2000-2010: Steady growth to $2 billion AUM, establishing FIS Group as a premier emerging manager platform.
2010-2015: Expansion into systematic equity strategies and broader multi-manager capabilities.
2017: Launch of Aapryl technology subsidiary, codifying FIS Group’s manager selection methodology into predictive analytics.
2018: Strategic acquisition of Piedmont Investment Advisors, adding direct equity and fixed income capabilities.
2020: Rebranding as Xponance, symbolizing exponential impact and expanded solutions.
2021: Entry into alternative investments through XAlts, extending the emerging manager model to private markets.
Through every phase, the core mission remained: find talent others miss, construct portfolios others won’t, and create value by thinking differently.
The Challenges: Headwinds and Resilience
The journey wasn’t without obstacles. The 2008 financial crisis tested the firm’s resilience. Market downturns strained client relationships. Industry consolidation made it harder for independent firms to compete.
“There were moments of doubt,” Tina acknowledges. “Times when the overhead felt crushing, when clients left, when the path forward wasn’t clear. But we kept returning to the mission. Why did we exist? What problem were we solving? As long as those answers remained compelling, we kept going.”
The firm’s employee-ownership structure, established early, proved critical during difficult periods. Team members had skin in the game, shared in success, and rallied during challenges.
“We weren’t building something just to sell it or take it public,” Tina explains. “We were building something to last, something that reflected our values. Employee ownership ensured everyone was invested—literally and figuratively.”
The Impact: 30 Years Later
Today, Xponance manages over $20 billion across multiple strategies, employs 150+ professionals, and serves institutional clients nationwide. But the numbers only tell part of the story.
Over three decades, Xponance has:
- Allocated billions to diverse and emerging managers, helping dozens of firms launch, scale, and succeed
- Generated significant alpha for clients, proving that inclusive manager selection is smart business
- Created wealth and opportunity for employees through 100% employee ownership
- Provided financial literacy education to thousands of youth through A Good Measure Foundation
- Influenced industry practices, demonstrating that diversity and performance are complementary
“The proudest moments aren’t the big deals or awards,” Tina reflects. “They’re hearing that a manager we seeded fifteen years ago now manages billions. Or learning that an intern we hired is now a portfolio manager elsewhere. Or seeing students we taught financial literacy to return as college graduates interested in finance careers.”
The Vision Endures
As Xponance celebrates 30 years, Tina is both reflective and forward-looking.
“The decision to start this firm was the scariest thing I’d ever done,” she admits. “But it was also the most important. Not because of financial success, but because it proved something essential: when you expand opportunity, everyone benefits. When you embrace diverse perspectives, you make better decisions. When you invest with purpose, you generate returns that matter beyond quarterly statements.”
She pauses, looking out the window at the Philadelphia skyline.
“Thirty years ago, people asked why a woman of color would try to compete in an industry that didn’t want her. Today, people ask how we’ve succeeded for so long. The answer is the same: we focused on what we could control—the quality of our work, the integrity of our relationships, the strength of our mission. Everything else followed.”
Why It Matters More Than Ever
The challenges that motivated Xponance’s founding haven’t disappeared—they’ve evolved. Wealth inequality persists. Representation in finance remains inadequate. Talented professionals still face barriers.
“The work isn’t done,” Tina emphasizes. “In some ways, it’s more urgent than ever. The capital markets have enormous power to shape society. Who manages that capital, how they think about risk and opportunity, what values guide their decisions—these things matter profoundly.”
Xponance’s next chapter focuses on expanding impact: growing the alternatives platform, integrating AI and advanced analytics, developing the next generation of diverse investment leaders, and continuing to prove that inclusive excellence drives superior outcomes.
“The vision that started in 1996—that diverse perspectives create competitive advantage, that expanding opportunity generates alpha, that finance can be a force for good—is more relevant today than ever,” Tina concludes.
“We didn’t just want to build a successful firm. We wanted to prove a point: that when you give talented people opportunity, remove artificial barriers, and invest with purpose, extraordinary things happen. That vision hasn’t changed in 30 years. It’s just getting started.”
The Founding Vision in Numbers:
- 1996: Year founded, $0 in initial client assets
- 30 years: Of proving the model works
- $20B+: Current assets under management
- 150+: Team members, 100% employee-owned
- 500+: Institutional clients served
- Dozens: Of diverse managers seeded and supported
- Thousands: Of students reached through financial literacy programs
- 1 bold vision that changed everything
“Starting Xponance was terrifying. Growing it was hard. But proving that inclusive excellence drives superior results? That makes every challenge worthwhile.” —Tina Byles Williams, Founder & CEO
