University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, invested or committed a total of $210 million in five investment strategies.
UM's board of regents hired The Mitchell Group to manage $100 million. It is a new relationship. The firm invests exclusively in publicly traded equities of energy companies, including those involved in energy exploration, production, transportation, refining and services, said Douglas L. Strong, interim executive vice president and chief financial officer of the university, in a report to regents.
Regents also approved a recommendation from Mr. Strong and the university's investment team to commit up to $25 million in Balboa Retail Fund I, managed by Balboa Retail Partners, a new manager for the $10 billion endowment fund. The fund will seek undervalued retail properties that are controlled by distressed owners.
Also at the April 16 meeting, Mr. Strong reported to the board about commitments the endowment staff made to new funds using the same strategy that are offered by existing managers. Regents' approval is not needed for these commitments.
In private equity, the endowment committed $40 million to Athyrium Opportunities Fund II, managed by Athyrium Capital Partners. It will make structured debt investments in health-care companies “using the debtor's intellectual property as collateral,” Mr. Strong said in his report.
UM investment staff also committed $15 million to Emergence Capital Partners IV, a venture capital fund that will invest in software companies that provide Internet-based services. Mr. Strong said in his report that the fund's portfolio managers will focus primarily on “software as a service,” cloud services, mobile business applications and digital media servicers.
In real estate, existing manager Magna Hospitality Group received a commitment of $30 million to Magna Hotel Fund V, which will invest in limited-service hotels in major urban markets in North America.
