Mel Williams, who helps manage money for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's endowment, is leaving to establish an investment firm that is seeking $250 million from investors.

The new Chapel Hill firm, TrueBridge Capital Partners, will manage a "fund of funds" that invests in venture capital funds, said Mike Condon, chief investment officer for the Georgia Tech Foundation. Condon said he has reviewed TrueBridge's investment materials.

Such investment vehicles typically raise money from wealthy individuals and institutional investors such as university endowments. The funds make it easier for investors to invest money in venture capital funds, which in turn finance young, private companies with high growth potential.

The departure of Williams, a vice president at UNC Management Co., is the latest local example of a national trend: university endowment managers seeking to cash in on their expertise by forming specialized investment firms.

Duke University's chief investment officer, Thruston Morton, left at the end of last year to form an investment firm in Charlotte, Global Endowment Management.

Endowment executives such as Williams know that they can make more money on their own if their firms are successful, said Jon King, president and CEO of UNC Management, which manages $2.2 billion in investments.