The complexity of investments continues to grow, and institutional pools of capital from endowments to pension funds are suffering from too much risk and not enough return. Yet managing these investments and creating and implementing governance structures are seldom an integral part of the organization's core mission or its operations. "That's the way it has always been," say many directors and executives. As a result, a board of directors or investment committee often believes it needs to make all the decisions--or outsource money management and hope for the best.

As...