Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich., invested and committed a total of $85 million in three new investments for its $1.9 billion endowment.
At a Dec. 13 meeting, the university's board of trustees accepted the recommendation of its finance committee to invest $30 million from MSU's common investment fund in the Edgbaston Asian Equity Trust, a global equity ex-U.S. strategy commingled fund.
The fund's manager, Edgbaston Investment Partners, invests in companies in Asia ex-Japan, Australia and New Zealand, according to an investment recommendation memo to the finance committee from Mark P. Haas, vice president for finance and treasurer.
Also approved was a $30 million investment in long/short equity hedge fund Pennant Windward Fund. The fund's manager, Pennant Capital Management, uses a fundamental, bottom-up investment approach to invest primarily in U.S. equities, Mr. Haas' memo said.
Finally, trustees approved the commitment of $25 million to ASF VI, which will invest in secondary deals in North American and European buyouts. The fund is managed by Ardian US, formerly called AXA Private Equity, Mr. Haas said in his memo.