University of Alabama System’s investment committee approved a commitment of $20 million for its $2.38 billion pooled endowment fund, as well as a change in strategy for one fund manager and a termination of another manager.
At a Sept. 5 meeting, the Tuscaloosa-based university's investment committee approved a $20 million commitment to Grain Communications Opportunity Fund IV, an infrastructure opportunistic fund managed by Grain Management, which invests in telecommunications and digital infrastructure assets.
The commitment falls within private real assets, which make up about 11% of the pooled endowment portfolio, according to a webcast of the meeting.
Within diversifying strategies, the committee approved a switch from the Graham Tactical Trend “Capped Beta” strategy to Graham Tactical Trend, a different strategy still run by Graham Capital Management.
Also within diversifying strategies, the committee terminated the Taconic Opportunity Offshore Fund, a fund managed by Taconic Capital Advisors.
Taconic Capital Advisors “is a fantastic firm,” according to Nolan Bean, CIO and head of portfolio management at Fund Evaluation Group, the system's investment consultant.
However, “from a portfolio construction standpoint,” the manager “didn’t bring as much to the portfolio as the rest of the other existing managers,” Bean said at the Sept. 5 meeting.
Taconic Capital Advisors didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
