One of Nick Cavalla's best-known investments is a prehistoric group of megalithic monuments that, according to legend, had been warriors frozen by a witch's curse.
The newly appointed CIO of Cambridge University's £1.2 billion ($2.4 billion) endowment fund, together with a friend — Nat le Roux, who left his position as chief executive officer of spread-betting firm IG Group Holdings PLC, London, and remains deputy non-executive chairman of the firm — bought the Rollright Stones in 1997 with the aim of preserving one of England's most treasured stone circles. The duo paid £60,000 ($95,200 at the time) for the archaeological site, which is located near Chipping Norton, about 60 miles from London.
Estimated to have been erected between 1500 BC and 3500 BC, the Rollright Stones had been sold in a public auction by the previous owner. Messrs. Cavalla and le Roux sold the site to a non-profit organization called the Rollright Trust in 2001. They donated some of the proceeds of the sale to the trust. Both remain trustees.
"We knew we probably wouldn't make any money," Mr. Cavalla said in a recent telephone interview. "We just wanted to make sure that it didn't become just any other tourist attraction."
