Kathleen Jacobs has resigned as CIO of the New York University Endowment Fund, having served in that role for eight years.
Her departure, which took effect Sept. 30, was announced Sept. 29 in a memo from Executive Vice President Martin Dorph to members of the university's senior leadership.
"Over the past eight years, Kathleen transformed and institutionalized the University endowment, created a best-in-class investment office and program, and generated strong investment returns significantly exceeding the policy benchmark," Dorph wrote.
The endowment had $5.3 billion in assets as of Aug. 31, 2022, down from and $5.8 billion the year before, according to the university's consolidated financial statements for those fiscal years, the latest available data.
University spokesman John H. Beckman didn't provide information on why Jacobs left, where she is going or who will replace her permanently or temporarily.
"We expect to commence a search for her successor soon," he wrote in an email.
Separately, Beckman confirmed that Cynthia Nascimento, managing director of investments, resigned effect Sept. 30.
"Ms. Nascimento has been a valuable team member of the NYU Investment Office for 11 years," Beckman wrote in an email. "We are thankful for her invaluable contributions, work ethic, and dedication to the University."
He didn't provide additional details.
Beckman didn't provide investment return data, and the consolidated financial statements don't describe yearly returns. The only return data information is a 20-year annualized performance net of fees in which the endowment's 7.3% return topped a benchmark of 6.1%, for the period ended Aug. 31, 2022.
