Macalester College hired Investure to provide outsourced chief investment officer services.
The OCIO firm will take over the responsibility of the investment management of the college’s $841 million endowment effective Sept. 1, the St. Paul, Minn.-based college announced in an Aug. 6 news release.
The decision by the college’s board of trustees will result in the shuttering of its four-person internal investment office, which has been managing the college’s assets since 2002. Before then, the college’s chief financial officer oversaw the investment management of the endowment.
That staff includes Gary Martin, chief investment officer, who could not be immediately reached for comment.
“While this will be a new experience for Macalester, it is common for colleges and universities to work with private firms to manage their endowments,” said Carrie Norbin Killoran, chair of the board of trustees, in the news release. “This strategic shift in our investment approach has been made with one overarching goal in mind: To deliver consistent performance that grows the endowment’s assets over time.”
According to Macalester College’s website, the endowment returned a net 9.5%, equal to its benchmark return, for the year ended March 31, the most recent data available. For the three, five and 10 years ended March 31, the endowment returned an annualized net 6.6%, 7.3% and 6.3%, respectively, compared with the respective benchmarks of 6.4%, 6.9% and 6.5%.
As of March 31, the endowment’s actual allocation was 19.8% domestic equities, 16.3% private equity, 13.4% international developed markets equities, 12% hedge funds, 11.4% fixed income, 8% real estate, 5.8% each emerging markets equities and energy/timber/agriculture, 5% private credit, 2% infrastructure and 0.5% cash.
