Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., may conduct an "invitation-only” search for additional buyout managers and hedge fund managers, said Don Fehrs, senior investment officer. The $3 billion endowment has $100 million available to commit to new private equity managers over the next year to reach its private equity goal of 20% of total assets. It has 16% committed to private equity. The plan is to have the same weighting in venture and buyout funds; the portfolio is now overweighted in venture. Cornell will not issue RFPs, but use its existing network of contacts to select managers, he said.
Hedge funds now account for 16% of total assets and are primarily equity based, Mr. Fehrs said. Staff is conducting an analysis to determine whether to add arbitrage funds to the lineup. Funding for both asset classes would probably come from reducing passively managed domestic equities. There is no timeframe for decisions about the changes.